tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7196813830708036159.post5677842918141163863..comments2023-01-21T12:14:17.714-08:00Comments on Miserable Pile of Secrets: Kiki's Delivery ServiceHenryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10826787550676541006noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7196813830708036159.post-11557078357187262282012-06-05T11:06:27.493-07:002012-06-05T11:06:27.493-07:00It'll probably sound just like me when I was m...It'll probably sound just like me when I was making fun of what the American voice actor for the dad would sound like. <br /><br />Actually, what would truly surprise me is if I watched the American version and didn't like it just because of voice acting differences. I suppose that would strongly validate the importance of voice acting. It might even lead me to wonder how I'd feel about some of the other Ghibli movies had the voice acting been a bit more, you know, Britishy.Czardozhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15328299312884380446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7196813830708036159.post-70877560118710149472012-06-05T08:34:54.964-07:002012-06-05T08:34:54.964-07:00Hmm, I'm thinking maybe Will Arnett was misuse...Hmm, I'm thinking maybe Will Arnett was misused, because that dad was one of the least funny characters in movie history. Also, this two English versions thing makes me wonder if Brits ever have a hard time understanding Americans' speech, the way that we sometimes can't make out their English.<br /><br />So does this make you want to watch the other version now?Henryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10826787550676541006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7196813830708036159.post-57140636801765916702012-06-04T23:27:50.420-07:002012-06-04T23:27:50.420-07:00Dude, Arrietty's dad was voiced by Mark Strong...Dude, Arrietty's dad was voiced by Mark Strong, aka Sinestro, in the UK version, and Will Arnett, the comedy actor, in the US version. Totally different, just like I said! And the mom was played by Amy Poehler in the US. Two comedy actors. Totally different!Czardozhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15328299312884380446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7196813830708036159.post-36540306884772655072012-06-04T23:22:27.899-07:002012-06-04T23:22:27.899-07:00Totoro
Kiki
Laputa
Nausicaa
Ponyo
Howl's
Spiri...Totoro<br />Kiki<br />Laputa<br />Nausicaa<br />Ponyo<br />Howl's<br />Spirited Away<br />Arrietty<br />The Cat Returns<br /><br />And recently, Whisper of the Heart.<br /><br />That's ten out of the 20 listed on Wikipedia (including the two technically pre-Ghibli films).<br /><br />I would say I "got" Whisper, but there wasn't much to get or enjoy. Totoro seemed like a sad movie with a dying mother, yet it was packaged as a whimsical vignette, which I didn't get. I don't really remember Laputa, Nausicaa, or The Cat Returns, though the last one left me with impressions of unnecessary psychedelia. I guess Howl's and Spirited Away were pretty straightforward action flicks . . . or were they? Because that's all I got from them. Maybe your write-ups will refresh my memory. Ponyo was terribly boring, though I wasn't as morally offended as you seemed to be. <br /><br />I guess overall, the movies seem to expect you to find them unbearably charming, but I find that expectation merely unbearable. That's my main beef with what I've seen. <br /><br />The exceptions are Kiki and Arrietty. I would say that maybe Ghibli is better at comedy, but Arrietty isn't really a comedy. But they do share an irreverent attitude toward adventure and growing up. (Growing up in Whisper was kind of convoluted - too real?) Though most of the movies above are concerned with growing up, I think these two are legitimate examples of bildungsroman, with the entire journey completing a transition to adult responsibility in a natural way, rather than feeling forced.<br /><br />Kiki remains the only Ghibli movie that I liked without reservation. I might even say I love that movie. Arrietty, to my great surprise, was a really captivating film, with the only sour notes being the lack of logic at occasional points in the story, and the useless mom. But I'd be grasping at hairs, because the silly parts of Arrietty actually were charming, and it never felt pandering. Maybe I just have a soft spot for creepy invalids (and/or creepy voice acting).Czardozhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15328299312884380446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7196813830708036159.post-39435580948637063312012-06-04T14:47:06.103-07:002012-06-04T14:47:06.103-07:00Just curious, but which movies specifically have y...Just curious, but which movies specifically have you seen? And which ones did you not get?<br /><br />I found Ponyo pretty baffling, and I already said what I had to say about Totoro (I could probably say more if I felt I needed to). But Spirited Away? Howl's Moving Castle? They had their "lost in translation" moments, but, for the most part, I felt they struck the right chords at the right moments. I'll probably write more on them later, but those were my impressions on first viewing. I don't expect to comprehend the films less on re-watching.Henryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10826787550676541006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7196813830708036159.post-30899015390074216982012-06-04T10:26:44.337-07:002012-06-04T10:26:44.337-07:00"Kiki herself is much easier to relate to as ..."Kiki herself is much easier to relate to as a character than previous Miyazaki protagonists."<br /><br />This is probably the primary reason that Kiki was and remains my favorite Ghibli film. This and the fact that it's set in "one of the most gorgeously realized fictional settings in any film."<br /><br />It's sweet but not really "kiddish" like Totoro, also doesn't have the unpleasant weirdness of Totoro. And when I watch Kiki, I feel like I get it. The other movies, it's like Miyazaki and his pals are playing some kind of esoteric joke that I'm missing, but that even if you got it, would elicit only a mild and resigned chuckle. <br /><br />Those other movies, it's as if in the midst of silence, someone you don't know suddenly sighs and says, "Ah, what a world." I might initially feel sympathetic, but then I'd quickly turn skeptical at the lack of context, and think to myself, "Okay, . . . and . . .???"Czardozhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15328299312884380446noreply@blogger.com