Pom Poko

Isao Takahata's Pom Poko (1994) is the most disastrous film Studio Ghibli has ever made. This film made me lose my hope in Takahata (at least for the moment) and instantly prefer Miyazaki of the two Ghibli veterans - because he has never made anything nearly as bad as this one. Pom Poko is about a group of tanuki who try to protect their forest with their magical power of transformation from humans who try to take advantage of it.

The biggest flaw of the film is its writing. The preachy environmental message is lost because the humans are never shown to be bad - instead the tanuki are really, really irritating. We are supposed to sympathize with them, but they are too selfish, irresponsible and absurd to be likable. The narrative's flow is clunky and its reliance on the narrator makes the film feel uneven. Takahata's use of absurdism just goes way over the top in the film and distracts the audience from the film very badly. I've got to give the film credit for its sheer amount of ambition and imagination, but both of them are wasted with such sloppy execution.

Even the form is not constantly up to Ghibli's high standards. While art design is not so bad, but its documentary-like approach makes the absurdism feel even weirder and more off-putting. The compositions, editing and music are still good and they are the only redeeming qualities of the film. And they help quite a lot.

Simply put: Pom Poko is a disaster even though it has a few good things.

Score: 4 out of 10

Howl's Moving Castle

Hayao Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle (2004) is an adaptation of Diane Wynne Jones' fantasy book of the same name. In it a young woman is cursed, which turns her into an old woman. To get rid of the curse, she teams up with a famous wizard and his colorful crew who live on a moving castle. Even though Miyazaki creates memorable characters and wonderful scenes, the film suffers from problems in its narrative and pacing (apart from the final third). 

Ghibli's background art and animation are top-notch yet again. The character and location design are marvellous as well. Miyazaki's compositions are great as expected. Joe Hisaishi's musical score is delightful - especially the ending song.

Even though it's Miyazaki's weakest film due to problems with its screenplay, it's still an entertaining and touching adventure film with more heart than other similar films.

Score: 8 out of 10

Kiki's Delivery Service

Hayao Miyazaki's Kiki's Delivery Service (1989) tells the story of a 13-year-old witch who has to move out from her home for a year as a part of her training. Her quest to find a new home and to become accepted in the new community takes her to unexpected places. The screenplay's strengths are the characters and the dense narrative. On a thematic/metaphoric/symbolic level, the film is not as rich as Miyazaki's other films, but it is still satisfying.

As usual, Studio Ghibli's animation and art design are top-notch. Hisaishi's music is good yet again. Miyazaki's use of silence is fascinating yet again - and it also makes the musical score's effect greater.

Even though Kiki's Delivery Service is one of the "lesser" films Miyazaki has ever made, it is still a great film.

Score: 9 out of 10

Only Yesterday

Isao Takahata is the lesser known director of the two masters at Studio Ghibli - the other being Hayao Miyazaki. His anti-war film, Grave of the Fireflies (1988), is considered his masterpiece, but I beg to differ. Only Yesterday (1991) - a film depicting Japan in the 60's and the 80's - is the one I consider his true masterpiece. Although Grave of the Fireflies and Only Yesterday are approximately on the same level when it comes to quality, I prefer the latter's complexity because it is drawn from simple yet subtle moments which linger in my mind long after the ending.

Essentially the film is about a 27-year-old office worker who takes a vacation to work in the fields - while reflecting upon the time when she came of age. The dense narrative manages to create tangible portrayals of Japan during the 60's and the 80's. The film goes to tiny details in order to show how things have changed and how each period has an effect on the characters.  But most of all this film is about nostalgia - and it is a superb take on the phenomenon.

The form is even more superb. The art direction is wonderfully striking and distinctive - especially the way nostalgia is portrayed is magnificent. The compositions are beautiful and colors are used in a fascinating way. The use of music varies from subtle (background music) to intrusive (song sequences) - both of which work very well. The character design is quite flawless throughout the film.

Ultimately, Only Yesterday might be my favourite Studio Ghibli film because for me it's the most poignant one - and that should say quite a lot.

Score: 10 out of 10

Spirited Away

The Japanese animation studio called Studio Ghibli is one of the best known animation studios, and high quality is always guaranteed for all of the films they produce. Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away (2001) is probably the most famous title of their filmography, and probably the most critically acclaimed as well. Spirited Away is the story of a young, insecure Japanese girl who enters a fantasy world after her parents are turned into pigs due to their greed. 

Spirited Away has a vast amount of things going on under the surface. It is full of brilliant metaphors ranging from environmental themes (Miyazaki examines the current condition of Japanese rivers) and search of identity (in a literal way on a grand scale) to simple things (like a giant baby). Despite being "awfully rich" in its content, Spirited Away delivers a fascinating and gripping adventure that rivals most other adventurous cinematic stories.

Hayao Miyazaki was actually going to stop making films after Princess Mononoke (1997), but after he was his friend's sullen 10-year-old daughter, he was inspired to make Spirited Away. He wants to deliver a message for the insecure and shy Japanese youngsters in Spirited Away through the main character. Because of that Miyazaki said the film is "for the people who used to be 10 years old, and the people who are going to be 10 years old."

Miyazaki's talent as a great storyteller shouldn't go unnoted. The film progresses on a rapid pace yet it is so charmingly calm and feels far from a rushed narrative. The narrative flows smoothly throughout the film. Miyazaki also has a great eye for editing which strongly supports his storytelling.

It has become Studio Ghibli's trademark to draw breathtaking and haunting backgrounds for their films. The entire world literally becomes alive through the stunning background art. The quality of animation is ridiculously high. Chihoro's movement is so animated with a stunning amount of detail. The film's character and creature design are spot-on as well.

Spirited Away is a FANTASTIC film - even by Ghibli's high standards. I believe no one can resist its delicate charm.

Score: 10 out of 10

Tales from Earthsea

Earthsea is originally a fictional realm created by Ursula K. Le Guin. Hayao Miyazaki once offered her to make a film adaptation of it. She rejected the idea at first, but later wanted him to do it because she loves his films. Unfortunately, Miyazaki was working on Howl's Moving Castle (2004) at the time and couldn't begin working on the film so his son, Goro Miyazaki, decided to direct it. Tales from the Earthsea (2006) is a loose adaptation of Le Guin's books. The film follows Arren, a prince running away from a crime he committed. Eventually he runs into Shadowhawk, a powerful wizard, and thus the "true adventure" begins.

As usually, Ghibli's animation is visually breathtaking. The background art is vivid and marvellous. The character design does not differ at all from Ghibli's other films - and that is fine because it always works well. The beginning of the film is roughly paced because it doesnt succeed well in introducing the characters. The ending is also a little weird and doesnt feel like the logical closure point. The last 15 minutes drag on for quite long and the ending left me cold. Luckily everything in between is paced satisfyingly enough.

The content is more or less a failure in my eyes. Because the beginning doesnt let the viewer easily into characters, I became more and more distant to them as the movie went further. It seemed as if all the "depth" - from characters to themes - is simply rushed in a silly way. The main character is the poor man's Shinji with such weird character development that I was disappointed. There is a girl, Therru, who was handled pretty well though (I'm not going into more detail to save you from spoilers). Tales from Earthsea certainly uses most of the cliched fantasy tropes, but that is only because the original book series made them famous in the first place, so that shouldn't be seen as a flaw.

Tales from Earthsea is usually regarded as the worst Ghibli movie by far. I agree because I can clearly see why. It is an uneven film with only a few redeeming qualities.

Score: 5 out of 10