Eminence Online

[Japandaman]

As the subject says, this will aim to be a thread dedicated to the movies from the amazing Studio Ghibli and the ever talented Hayao Miyazaki. Anyone got movies to recommend or just general chat about the Disney from the East!

[Animax99]

haha nice way to put it 'Disney from the East'

[Japandaman]

Thanx mate...saw 30 mins of Spirited Away the other night and it looked great, will watch again from the start this weekend or maybe tonight if wifey doesn't fall asleep again.

[magsta]

Yup, Spirited Away is goood. Howl's Moving Castle is not bad too. Recently watched Ponyo at the Cliff, which I think revived the more traditional Studio Ghibli feel that was present in earlier classics like My Neighbour Totoro.
Princess Mononoke would definitely get my vote for best soundtrack though - been re-watching Eminence's "Journey To The West" version on youtube for days and days and days . Also bought Joe Hisaishi's concert in Budokan on DVD featuring music from Miyazaki's films, which I am yet to watch!! Thank goodness for Labour Day! ^^

[Animax99]

lol no probs. All Studio Ghibli's are good.

Who's watchin Ponyo in the cinemas?

[Japandaman]

Alright...spent my Friday night watching Spirited Away...not going to bore people with the details suffice to say we both loved it and thought it was of the freshest movies we'd seen for a while...great stuff and the balls of soot were sooooo cuuuutttte!!!

[zzeroparticle]

Already seen Ponyo (it's been in the States for quite some time now) and even then, I'd put it as my fourth favorite. First is still Princess Mononoke followed by Laputa, and then Nausicaa.

Princess Mononoke's generally aura of epicness is something that I've missed from the more recent Ghibli fare which is why I was somewhat disappointed when Spirited Away didn't reach that sort of level. Looking back, I think I valued Ghibli more on the basis of plotlines than the art and animation, which I've come to appreciate more of since then.

[Patrick]

Already seen Ponyo (it's been in the States for quite some time now) and even then, I'd put it as my fourth favorite. First is still Princess Mononoke followed by Laputa, and then Nausicaa.

Princess Mononoke's generally aura of epicness is something that I've missed from the more recent Ghibli fare which is why I was somewhat disappointed when Spirited Away didn't reach that sort of level. Looking back, I think I valued Ghibli more on the basis of plotlines than the art and animation, which I've come to appreciate more of since then.

Well, Mononoke was the least kid-friendly thing Miyazaki has ever done, and probably will ever do. Dismemberment and blood everywhere. Yikes! It has a fantastic score, and is also one of my favorites.

It's not at all surprising that Ponyo isn't your top pick. That is one of his MOST kid-friendly films (alongside Totoro and Kiki). Targeting that child audience limits you. And though I love Hisaishi's score for Ponyo, it is certainly derivative of previous scores, particularly for Miyazaki.

I'm glad you rank Laputa so high. I think it will always remain my favorite film. You put a floating island into your game, anime, etc, and I'm instantly won over. LOOOVE me some floating islands.

(interestingly, and I'm sure you know this zp, there are two versions of the Laputa score, one for America and one for Japan. Hisaishi recorded both of them. CRAZY!)

This is an off-the-cuff ranking of Miyazaki+Ghibli films -- I know I'm missing a few that I haven't seen yet in this list:

Laputa (aka Castle in the Sky)
Spirited Away
Princess Mononoke
Nausicaä (technically pre-Ghibli)
Ponyo
Porco Rosso
My Neighbor Totoro
Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro (technically pre-Ghibli)
Howl's Moving Castle
Kiki's Delivery Service

(I've never seen Whispers of the Heart. I suspect I wouldn't like it)

[Wander]

Ponyo was incredibly cute. The musical score was also great. The dubbed version makes it into more a kids' movie, though, so it's a little embarrassing if you go to watch it in cinemas.

[zzeroparticle]

Well, Mononoke was the least kid-friendly thing Miyazaki has ever done, and probably will ever do. Dismemberment and blood everywhere. Yikes! It has a fantastic score, and is also one of my favorites.

It's not at all surprising that Ponyo isn't your top pick. That is one of his MOST kid-friendly films (alongside Totoro and Kiki). Targeting that child audience limits you. And though I love Hisaishi's score for Ponyo, it is certainly derivative of previous scores, particularly for Miyazaki.

It was a bit of a learning curve for me. Princess Mononoke was my first Miyazaki film so the content of that gave me the false impression that his works were geared towards that level of an audience. Obviously, that was a misrepresentation and it wasn't until maybe 6 years ago that I was able to fully appreciate some of his kid-oriented fare like Spirited Away. Fast forward until now and after viewing Ponyo, I declared it to be my 4th favorite, but I ended up rating it an 8/10 (basically, enjoyed thoroughly, would recommend others take a look at it).

(I've never seen Whispers of the Heart. I suspect I wouldn't like it)

I'm fairly curious about this film. An anime blogger who I follow has given that movie an enthusiastic recommendation, so one of these days, I'll have to make time and give it a shot.