Tuesday, August 05, 2008

 

All Pictures (c) 2007, 2008 Studio Ghibli.


It seems that Miyazaki’s latest film is aimed at very, very little kids. It’s Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, and it’s premiering at the Venice Film Festival in competition apparently. I emphasize “in competition" because usually Miyazaki-san’s work is beyond the reach that his contemporaries need to have to even be considered rivals.


And this stunning work is no exception.

Still, I can’t help but have this George Lucas feeling, that aesthetically Miyazaki’s (Studio Ghibli) product is beyond reproach--but substantively, story-wise, something’s feels lacking in a way that a movie like Spirited Away, by comparison (or even Howl’s Moving Castle) seems made all the brighter.



What I’m trying to illustrate is way Miyazaki-san and Co.’s present efforts suffer in comparison to their earlier ones, and while none of their efforts will suffer when being compared to the efforts of their American animator countrymen, the level of quality in the storytelling and characterizations we’ve come to expect may be falling by the wayside.



I hope, and sincerely that is, that this is not becoming a thing of the past, that maybe the young generation will pick up where the older ones left off.
Thanks to Ghibli World for these tips.

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