Originally Posted By mawnck Here's a shocker, and a great loss for animated filmmaking, anime or otherwise. Satoshi Kon died of cancer Monday in Tokyo, age 46. Kon directed the following: Perfect Blue Millennium Actress Tokyo Godfathers Paprika Paranoia Agent (series) ... all of which I heartily recommend, even if you don't like anime. If you don't like anime, I suggest starting with Tokyo Godfathers. It's very Capra-esque. Seriously - you need to see this. His other works explore reality, fantasy and dreams, messing with your mind as they entertain. He was a great talent, one of the best directors working in animation today, and he will definitely be missed.
Originally Posted By Anatole69 That is so sad. I really liked his films. I feel his works are as great as Miyazaki's, he just doesn't have Disney behind him to promote him outside Japan. Tokyo Godfathers is a great movie, you don't have to like anime or even animation to appreciate it. This is very sad news. - Anatole
Originally Posted By Anatole69 I also highly recommend Magnetic Rose from the omnibus film Memories. He wrote the screenplay and it stands, in my view, as one of the best short animated films ever made. - Anatole
Originally Posted By Mr3000 Sad, I really enjoyed watching his movies when they'd make their way into theaters here.
Originally Posted By Oldschool Disney Wasn't Tokyo Godfathers a remake of the John Wayne film Three Godfathers?
Originally Posted By mawnck >>Wasn't Tokyo Godfathers a remake of the John Wayne film Three Godfathers?<< Similar premise. It's not a western, the baby's not an orphan, and the Godfathers include a flaming gay guy and a young runaway girl. There's a wonderful Charles Solomon obituary today in the LA Times: >>In contrast to the musical fairy tales and comedy-adventures of American animated films, Kon's films blurred the boundaries between fantasy and reality in unsettling ways. His boldly original visions and technical sophistication made him one of the most admired directors in contemporary animation. In Newsweek, David Ansen wrote that Kon "may be the most exciting Japanese animator since [Hayao] Miyazaki." Dean DeBlois, co-director of DreamWorks' "How to Train Your Dragon," said, "Satoshi Kon used the hand-drawn medium to explore social stigmas and the human psyche, casting a light on our complexities in ways that might have failed in live action. Much of it was gritty, intense, and at times, even nightmarish. Kon didn't shy away from mature subject matter or live-action sensibilities in his work, and his films will always occupy a fascinating middle ground between 'cartoons' and the world as we know it."<< <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-satoshi-kon-20100826,0,1794857.story" target="_blank">http://www.latimes.com/news/ob...57.story</a>
Originally Posted By Anatole69 The thing that struck me about Tokyo Godfathers immediately was that it was about homeless people, one of whom was flamingly gay. These things aren't talked about in mainstream Japanese society, yet here was a cartoon taking those issues on very directly. The next thing that struck me was the balance between detailed backgrounds and cartoony people, a hallmark of Japanimation... yet the detail is taken to the next level, and the use of music and camera movement comes more from cinema than from animation. The next thing that struck me was the level of humanism in the movie. There wasn't any condescension or sentementality for the characters, they still had flaws and also admirable traits... they were complex and not two dimensional. Finally what struck me was the mastery of storytelling, and the economy. Everything moved the story forward and also built character at the same time. - Anatole
Originally Posted By leemac Wow - I feel ignorant as I've never heard of him. I'll have to try and get some of his movies now. On a related note I finally saw Ponyo on Blu-ray this week - what a wonderful movie. Truly beautiful. It did feel almost Lilo & Stitch-esque to me. It isn't Spirited Away but it was an excellent movie. I only wish that WDFA could make such consistently good movies. I'm now toying with seeing it again with the English narration - considering it has a Jonas and a Cyrus in it (presumably related!) I might just never see it.
Originally Posted By Anatole69 ^^ Outside of anime fans and serious film buffs, few people have. Like I said earlier, he lacked the publicity muscle of Disney that Miyazaki has, so he isn't as well known as he deserves to be. - Anatole
Originally Posted By leemac <<Like I said earlier, he lacked the publicity muscle of Disney that Miyazaki has, so he isn't as well known as he deserves to be.>> Although Ponyo did only gross $15m in the US. And Disney don't have international rights. According to boxofficemojo.com the movie has grossed $185m internationally of which $165m is from Japan so he still isn't finding much of an audience outside his own market which is a terrible shame.
Originally Posted By Anatole69 ^^ I know, but he is still known. I remember renting Spirited Away from Blockbuster and going into the convenience store next to it and the guy working there just lit up when he saw my movie. He went on and on about it, though he had no idea about the director per se, he knew that movie and loved it... so there has been definite penetration into the US market with Miyazaki. I saw Ponyo opening weekend in San Francisco with a Japanese friend and the theater was packed, so I am sure there are parts of the American market that are more open to him than other parts. Satoshi Kon however, is not known at all... though Paprika became a cult hit, and so did his first film, Perfect Blue. - Anatole
Originally Posted By Anatole69 ^^ I think Miyazaki is known in the Asian market, which is more sensitive to J pop culture than the American or European market. I live in Thailand now and you can find copies of Miayazaki's films dubbed into Thai at almost every DVD shop. I suspect it is similar in HK and Singapore. - Anatole
Originally Posted By leemac ^^ Gotcha. Although I was still surprised to see how low the box office grosses were outside of Japan for a director who is probably the most famous non-Disney/Pixar director. I was amazed that Ponyo only managed something like $35m outside of Japan. I loved Spirited Away - a true masterpiece. Howl's Moving Castle didn't have the same magic for me. I haven't seen Tales from Earthsea yet. Have you heard anything about The Borrowers? I believe Miyazaki only wrote the screenplay based on the famous children's book - I think it came out at the same time as TS3.
Originally Posted By leemac ^^ Gotcha. Although I was still surprised to see how low the box office grosses were outside of Japan for a director who is probably the most famous non-Disney/Pixar director. I was amazed that Ponyo only managed something like $35m outside of Japan. I loved Spirited Away - a true masterpiece. Howl's Moving Castle didn't have the same magic for me. I haven't seen Tales from Earthsea yet. Have you heard anything about The Borrowers? I believe Miyazaki only wrote the screenplay based on the famous children's book - I think it came out at the same time as TS3.
Originally Posted By Anatole69 Skip Tales from the Earthsea. It's a gorgeous looking fantasy film with a weak plot and uninvolving characters. It reminds me of Ralph Bakshi's Lord of the Rings movie in some ways. I have only briefly read that the Borrowers was successful at the box office. I haven't read if the film is any good. - Anatole
Originally Posted By leemac ^^ Ah - shame. Thanks for the advice. Did you see that Miyazaki has said that they are working on a plan to shutter Studio Ghibli? He announced that as the same time as his first sequel....
Originally Posted By Mr3000 Re: Tales from Earthsea-- it's getting bad reviews (though I WILL still go & see it), but let's be clear that it's NOT a film by Hayao Miyazaki. The director is his son, GorÅ Miyazaki. Now, I've got to look for The Borrowers...
Originally Posted By Anatole69 The blog site I read said the plans to shutter Ghibli were based on the fact they had no good new directors to carry the torch. However since the Borrowers did well the studio may have found a new director to step up and be one of the new leaders. - Anatole
Originally Posted By Labuda Sadly, I had never heard of this gentleman prior to this thread, but I'll say I'm DEFINITELY getting my hands on Tokyo Godfathers after reading this line about it: It's not a western, the baby's not an orphan, and the Godfathers include a flaming gay guy and a young runaway girl.
