joelmc Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 I'm looking for a birthday gift for my daughter. Has anyone seen "Howls Moving Castle"? It looks good, but you never know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarhfive Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 joelmc, I recommend, if it is available, "Whisper of the Heart" (1995). A wonderful story of two adolescents at the age where the world opens up for them. A simple and beautifully told tale. Also, Miyazaki's handiwork is...well...awe inspiring! "My Friend Totoro" (1993) might be more suitable, if your daughter has not reached adolescence. Wonderful illustration and an imaginative tale. Of the six Miyazaki films I have seen (so far)--my favorite. Hope this note helps! Rusty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarhfive Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 joelmc, I need to correct another one of my posts... "My Neighbor Totoro" (1993), not "My Friend Totoro". I need a new prescription for my reading glasses. Rusty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wuntvor Posted February 4, 2006 Share Posted February 4, 2006 OK I will admit that I am new to this message board. I will also admit that I am a lover of all things anime (Just look at the anime list on my homepage). I will also admit that I have been watching classic movies on TCM and AMC for years. I love films like It's a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th St. done without comercial breaks around Christmas time. I can watch The Wizard of OZ, Willy Wonka, Dr. Doolittle, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Hundreds of times, and probably have. These all fall in my designation as Classic films for the entire family. And don't any of you try and tell me you haven't watched them! I also watch other classics, the type less common, things like Imitation of Life. Gentlemans Agreement, Patch of Blue, Harvey, Auntie Mame, or Look Who's Coming to Dinner. All of these films because of the moral and anti-bigot nature of them. I also love musicals. Meet me in St. Louis, Singing in the Rain, My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music. These are films that I can never see enough times. So when I see this bashing of Miyazaki's films and the works from Studio Ghibli, I really get angry. I agree that TCM may be running these because of something going on behind the scenes It is common knowledge that Pixar and Disney are talking partnership, and that Disney bought the rights to dub all of the Ghibli films. So it is quite possible that Disney is pushing this a bit. I don't know for sure, and I really don't care. Disney has lost a lot of respect from me after they closed down their 2-D animation studio and let all of their animators go. That is right. No more 2-d Features from Disney. All of their stuff is going to be like Chicken Little from now on. Or else be DTV sequals like Bambi 2 or Cinderella 2, or any of the other sequals that have been released in the last few years. None of them done in the US. So who is doing CLASSIC 2-D hand drawn cell animation? Why Studio Ghibli in Japan. In fact they just released a film 2 years ago called Howl's Moving Castle. It was the largest grossing film in Japanese history. It is estimated that 1 in every 5 people in Japan saw it at the theater. It played here in the states last year. Yeah, it came out the same week as Shark Boy & Lava Girl. Shark Boy & Lava Girl played at the nice stadium seated Dolby surround theater here in town. Howl's Moving Castle played at the run down old converted church near the University where they play the film from the Cannes film festival and Rocky Horror Picture Show with audience participation. I wanted to cry. It was even dubbed in English by Disney. This sort of appreciation of animation is why this thread exists. I have seen a lot of people say things about getting a channel for anime and watching this stuff there. Actually there is a channel for anime It is only available in New York and some parts of California. It is also part of the Pay Per View package on Comcast cable. The Anime Network. They show maybe 5% of the anime released in Japan in the last year, and that they show over and over and over. There are spots for anime. The Stars Action Channel has anime on Friday night at Midnight. G4 has anime sometimes. Cartoon Network plays a few of the biggies on Tuesday, Wednesday, & Saturday nights, at 12:30am Best time for people who work at 5:00am the next day or have to go to school. Yes, we in America love our anime. Hey wait a minute. What are all of these Saturday morning Cartoons. Mew Mew Power, Magical Do-Re-Mi, Shaman King, Digimon, Beyblade, Sonic X, One Piece, IGPX, Pokemon, Yugi-Oh. These are all anime. In fact there are more of them than the ones that aren't. Wonder why that is? There are a lot of really good animated features out there. Not all of them are Japanese. Films like Cats Don't Dance, Iron Giant, Rock & Rule, and Animalimpics. I bet most of you haven't even heard of these films. Cats Don't Dance was released in 1997 by Turner Feature Animation. Natolie Cole sang in it and Gene Kelley helped with the coreography. It was in the theaters for 1 week. Subway sandwiches did toys for it. Nothing else was heard about it for years when the DVD was finally released in 2002. It was a winner of multiple Annie Awards (The equivalent of the Acadamy Awards for animation) Iron Giant was almost as bad. It got a bit more publicity. Rock & Rule was just released to DVD last year It aired in 1983! Featured Music by Debbie Harry, Cheap Trick & Iggy Pop and was done by Nelvana the same company that brought us the Care Bears. As for Animalympics, this is a rare gem that is almost impossible to get ahold of. For the few that have seen it, all we can say is why? It is a GREAT film. Is anime for kids? Well I wouldn't let young children watch some of it. What they do allow here in the States is hacked to death. Crud they even edited Sonic X. They changed the names of all of the characters in Tokyo Mew Mew and changed the title to Mew Mew Power. They also edited out most of the magical girl transformation scenes. I suppose I can understand that one. There is a whole class of people who are anime purists. They despise what Fox & CN have done to anime here in the States. Why did they hack it all up? Because it wasn't suitable for young viewers. There are entire episodes of Yugi-Oh that will never air in the States. Want to know why? People die in anime. Yep. Just look at some of the boards for Full Metal Alchemist (Currently Playing on Cartoon Network) They killed a main character. Anime can be downright dark. Also it can be extremely graphic. Does anyone remember a show that aired in the States a few years back called Monster Rancher? A great anime. Of course everyone died in the end. I think American families where so upset about that that the show was immediately cancelled and the DVD releases stopped at disc 4. That wasn't even a 1/3 of the way through the series. Getting ahold of the entire series of Monster Rancher in English? Can't be done. Good luck. So why all the hype about Miyazaki's works? Simple, Miyazaki san is the Disney of Japan. No one else comes close. And the films that are being shown? Well My Neibor Totoro (the Disney Dubbed version with Japanese audio available) and Whisper of the Heart won't even be released in the US until March. Yep we all got to see them 2 months before they were available in DVD at the stores, and they never played in the theaters here. Most of the other films shown have only been available in DVD for about a year now. None of these shows ever, and I do mean EVER, show on any channel. I think Castle in the Sky (Laputa) played on the Disney Channel once. I know Kiki's Delivery Service has. Princess Mononoke may have played on a few different stations at some time. Pom Poko, Porco Rosso, Naussica, Whisper of the Heart, Only Yesterday. These have to my knowledge NEVER EVER PLAYED ON AMERICAN TV BEFORE. And you complained about this? They all played commercial free un-edited in both English & Japanese with subtitles. I was so happy I was dancing a jig in the kitchen. I get to see Whisper of the Heart, the movie The Cat Returns is based on, Un-edited and in English. I couldn't wait to see how they were going to handle the Country Road Japanese translation scene. They got Olivia Newton John to sing the opening credits! Oh Yeah! I'm so happy. Cool! This 42 year old anime otaku wishes to thank TCM. I would love to see Howl's Moving Castle, Kiki's Delivery Service, Cat's Don't Dance, Iron Giant, Rock & Rule, and Animalympics air on your channel some day. These films all have the right to the name Classics They are all pieces of Classic Animation. 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