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ON THE SHELF: Hayao Miyazaki, Princess Mononoke (1997)
01/27/2009 I don’t watch a whole lot of anime. And really, between Shin Chan and the stuff by this film’s director, what else is there to see? Hayao Miyazaki has often been referred to as the Japanese Walt Disney, and you can see why: he knows how to construct interesting animated tales, usually with strong female characters at the center. While he’s made some truly entertaining, sometimes masterful, films throughout his career, this fantasy feature from the late 90s has to be his best work, so far at least. Miyazaki managed to arrange for an all-star cast to provide the voice work. And while some seem to have voices destined for anime (Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, Minnie Driver), others proved to be interesting choices (uh, Billy Bob Thornton!), yet they matched surprisingly well with their corresponding personalities shown on screen. Trust me on that, everyone fits their part beautifully. Be warned, though: this ain’t your grandfather’s animated fantasy movie. Quite early on, you see someone’s arms shot off. There’s hardly any violence throughout the rest of the movie that comes close to that, but don’t make the mistake of thinking this is a kid’s movie just because it’s animated, or because it’s in the “family” section of your store (if you can find it anywhere in a store, that is). Also, unlike other animated films, this isn’t a short and sweet 80-minute escape from reality. You’re in for over 2 hours, something rarely seen with this genre, mostly because kids will be watching and kids have short attention spans. But you’re an adult: you can handle it, the violence will see to that. And besides, once you get pulled in (which will happen almost instantly), you won’t complain about anything being too long. This is a fantastic film that shows what some fine Japanese animation can look like once it’s done right. I have little doubt that something like this will soon find itself being remade as a live action Hollywood production, and of course, sucking. That’s Hollywood. You can’t change what’s inevitable. But you can do yourself a favor and see this. See it before it’s dragged through the mud and transformed into an unrecognizable imitation. See it before you think yourself too old to be watching cartoons, expertly crafted or not. See it with eyes unclouded, if you so choose. Comments [post a comment]
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Thursday, March 11, 2010
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