Originally Posted By Doobie This topic is for discussion of the October 16th Toon Talk Review of Sprited Away at: <a href="News-ID114610.asp" target="_blank">http://LaughingPlace.com/News-ID114610.asp</a>.
Originally Posted By actingforanimators Kirby, Great review and with all your usual candor, and thus a valid and valuable perspecitve on the film. Great job. One note: Miyazaki records both the final vocal track and the score AFTER the fact, not before. There is some scratch track so that exposure sheets can be drafted, but final dialogue gets recorded after the film is completed. So oddly enough Wise and Lasseter had the added advantage of working with a look that already existed - as the Japanese language track also has numerous moments where the dialogue seems "out of sync". Anyway, don't agree with your p.o.v. so much, but think you have many valid and thoughtful points all -- as usual -- presented in a terrific article. Thanks! AFA
Originally Posted By narkspud Not the only mixed review by any means. You stated your honest opinion, and validated it with good evidence. And a B+ is still a "fresh" on the tomatometer. I saw one self-proclaimed "Christian" review site which gave the movie the maximum 4 stars for quality, and an "abomination" rating for Christian values because Chihiro didn't VANQUISH the spirits in the name of the Lord. Now THAT'S a mixed review. (There was another Christian review site that 100% recommended it BECAUSE of its Christian values, so let's not start grousing about that, **please.**) As for me, I found the story totally absorbing, the visuals breathtaking, and the plot holes irrelevant to my enjoyment. But that's me. I'm a sucker for gorgeous visual art, entertaining set pieces, and living, breathing animated characters. "Sleeping Beauty" is my favorite animated feature for these same reasons, even though the plot holes are huge and the character development is weak. "Spirited Away" has much better character development, and oh my gosh, those images!! From one amazing adventure to another! I still prefer SB because of the music and romance and Mary Costa, but "Spirited" is now a close second on my list of all time favorite animated features. I'd be interested to know, Kirby, how you thought "Spirited Away" compared to the last several Disney animated features. Thanks for the review! narkspud
Originally Posted By uruseiranma actingforanimators, it's true! There's one part in the film where Haku is speaking to Chihiro, and his mouth isn't moving, and they do the same in the recent version. In the next 20 days, I hope to conduct an interview with one of Studio Ghibli's assistant animators, who has worked on ever Miyazaki-Directed film.
Originally Posted By Inkan1969 Kirby, this was your first anime movie? Does that mean that you've never seen "Kiki's Delivery Service"? If you haven't you should try it out. It's easily Hayao Miyazaki's most accessible movie ever. No bizarre monsters and strange plot twists in "Kiki". Instead it has a fairly straightforward story in a realistic town, ending with a breathtaking rescue scene. Very well written review, Kirby. We do appreciate your honesty and your skill at arguing your point. I myself had some trouble sifting through the movie during its second half, though we both still liked the movie a lot. Here's some more trivia for you. - Jason Marsden can be heard playing Tino Tonitini in "The Weekenders" - Tara Strong played Spot the Chicken in the 101D TV series and is currently playing Ingrid Third in "Fillmore". So Kirby, are you going to review "Pokemon 4Ever", a Miramax release? - Inkan <a href="http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/~jfl/intro.html" target="_blank">http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/~jfl /intro.html</a>
Originally Posted By Tascar Kirby, I completely agree with your opinion of the film despite my being a big fan and follower of anime. I personally thought that "Spirited Away" was actually probably the weakest of Miyazaki's films. I suggest another one of his works like "Princess Mononoke, "Laputa," or another work of Studio Ghibli's such as "Grave of the Fireflies."
Originally Posted By ToonKirby >I'd be interested to know, Kirby, how you thought "Spirited Away" compared to the last several Disney animated features.< See today's "Jim on Film" column, that pretty much sums up my point of view as well. "Kiki's Delivery Service" is actually one of my neice's favorite movies, so I'll have to watch it with her one of these days.
Originally Posted By fabdisbabe I saw Pokemon 4 - there's a moment at the end that compares, if you follow Pokemon at all, to "Rosebud" in terms of movie secrets. The whole theatre practically yelled at this point. Cool. The animation quality was spotty, having been done by several different studios - the CGI was very good, character animation TV quality but for a few moments of absolutely breathtaking anime beauty - my favorite being the moment where they are up in the tree. I hated the last Pokemon film, but would actually pay to see this one again. The mini film before it is nowhere near as good as Pikachu's Vacation nor Pikachu and Pichu, but is a basic intro to Ash's character and explains, which made me go OHHHHH, I get it! That Pokemon world is another planet in another galaxy, and that there are no "animals" there, which is why you never see dogs, cats, horses or birds in any of the Pokemon shows or films. Michelle
