Ghibli and The Miyazaki Mystery (2005)
Studio Ghibli is Japan's most successful animation studio, with helmers Hayao Miyazaki ("Spirited Away," "My Neighbor Totoro") and Isao Takahata ("Grave of The Fireflies," "The Tale of Princess Kaguya") creating a bonanza for producer/prexy Toshio Suzuki. Generously adorned with clips from their films and their influences, the docu follows Ghibli's arc from a mid-'60s rebellion against working conditions at Toei Co. to its present powerhouse position, complete with public fun park. All interviews are illuminating, but Miyazaki is teasingly confined to pic's tete-a-tete finale with esteemed French comic artist Jean "Moebius" Giraud. Meeting of the wizened European, whose imprint is on films from "Blade Runner" to "The Fifth Element," and the apparently relaxed Nipponese helmer makes an interesting contrast, and will be of special interest to Francophiles. All credits are impeccable
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Fantastic!
This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.
Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.
Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
This doco is a closer look into the world of the most inspiring animation house in the world - Studio Ghibli. If you aren't already familiar, or in my case, obsessed with this animation crew, the main contributors are Isao Takahata ("My Neighbors the Yamadas" - 1999, "Grave of the Fireflies" - 1988) and Hayao Miyazaki ("Howl's Moving Castle" - 2004, "Princess Mononoke" - 1997, "Spirited Away" - 2001) who, is by far the visual genius at the Ghibli office. Miyazaki has delivered some of the most inspiring visuals of the highest quality with fantasy landscapes and characters that are incomparable to any other, I can vouch for this with "My Neighbor Totoro" (1988) high up in my list of favourite films.Interviews with all the key Ghibli players are present: Ghibli President, Toshio Suzuki; key directors Takahata and of course Miyazaki - plus other amusing/enlightening interviews - for example a tour of the Ghibli world via the 'biggest fan of Ghibli'. The Ghibli crew talk about their experiences working on the productions, the people they collaborated with, and the 'Ghibli experience' being a ride where fun is the primary objective. You also get a guided tour of the infamous Ghibli Mueseum by the manager of the praised museum, Miyazaki's son, where you'll see full size plush versions of Totoro and many of the characters in the films. Other content worth mentioning is visits to the locations that inspired Miyazaki's back drops, which as you'd expect, are huge tourist attractions, minus Princess Mononoke in person. Many movies are mentioned throughout as well as enough discussion with the major players, however it's more of an overview of the films and the Ghibli unit as a whole, so don't expect to see what colour underwear Miyazaki wears on Tuesdays.Being a Ghibli nut, I still learnt a lot with this doco, no point where I was bored, it gave me a buzz to see more! However this is coming from a Ghibli fan so it's hard to disconnect from this to see if others would find it interesting, plus it doesn't go as deep as some Ghibli freaks would like.