Studio Ghibli

[Ashley]

With How Do You Live? out now in Japan (and do out in the West "later this year" under the comparatively rubbish name The Boy and the Heron) I thought we could have a chat about the studio given this is once again supposed to be Miyazaki's last film. 

I watched The Wind Rises last night. Think I watched it around about when it came out but wasn't really in the mood but this time round I really enjoyed it. The biopic with heavy dream sequences vibe worked well and was engrossing. I saw someone mention it's a good double feature with Oppenheimer (although I've not seen that) given they're both about scientists with a passion to create something, which in turn is used by their governments to destroy. 

Other than that I think I've seen all Ghibli films other than that 3D one, some more times than others. I'm tempted to work my way through them although I am terrible at watching films at home. 

If anyone has seen, or knows details from, How Do You Live? please use the spoiler tags. 

[martinist]

I first bought the ghibli films on DVD but then Amazon put out collectors edition blurays and stuck numbers on them so now I have to collect them all. Heres what I have. Was lucky to pick up the Kiki's Delievery Service 30th aniverary box. A lot of cool stuff in there.

https://ibb.co/wQCLMc8

https://ibb.co/qM0HhsL

[Julius]

Ghibli has probably supplanted Pixar overall as my favourite animation studio since I started watching their films (I will say this is partially Pixar's fault too for what I perceive as a pretty steep dropoff in the consistency of the quality of their films since Toy Story 3), so I'm always down to talk about them. Funnily enough it looks like you started the last thread on Studio Ghibli too, @Ashley  I respect it! 

Very excited for How Do You Live? / The Boy and the Heron, of course, and though I'm hopeful that we do see it release this year in the West, I will add the note here that they've not actually announced a release window at all for it over here. In fact, the film has been barely marketed, which Ghibli purposely did to take a stance of sorts against trailers and to save the magic for the silver screen. 

My favourite Ghibli film (and potentially animated film, period - if not, then alongside Toy Story 2 and potentially Paprika) is Princess Mononoke. Quick shout-out here to Joe Hisaishi for always absolutely crushing the scores for his Ghibli films. To give a better idea of where I stand on the Ghibli films, rather than listing them all, I'll just throw my Tiermaker list up:

(if anyone wants to complete one, I made my list using this Tiermaker) 

I own all the Ghibli films on blu-ray (I might add a pic here later) but have a few I've still got to watch, as you can see from the list above. Unfortunately missed out on watching Princess Mononoke last year in cinemas for it's 25th anniversary, but will be keeping an eye out for an opportunity to see it on the silver screen moving forwards, for sure! 

On 8/5/2023 at 6:19 PM, Ashley said:

I watched The Wind Rises last night. Think I watched it around about when it came out but wasn't really in the mood but this time round I really enjoyed it. The biopic with heavy dream sequences vibe worked well and was engrossing. I saw someone mention it's a good double feature with Oppenheimer (although I've not seen that) given they're both about scientists with a passion to create something, which in turn is used by their governments to destroy. 

It's funny, I didn't enjoy The Wind Rises all that much the first time I watched it either, but the second time around I thought it was absolutely stunning. Really speaks to being in the mood for a film and how your current state impacts whatever you consume. 

As for Oppenheimer, having watching it a couple of weeks back, I can totally see that, I'll need to give it a go as a double feature when it's released on blu-ray! They do strike a somewhat similar tone and hit similar beats, but when I think about it, the differences in director and the final product really underline the different approaches the East and West have to covering that period of turmoil. 

Also @martinist that 30th anniversary box for Kiki's is stunning, I really hope they bring something similar out for Princess Mononoke at some point! 

[Dcubed]

@Julius Grave of The Fireflies being in B-tier instead of SSS completely invalidates your list  

[Ashley]

1 hour ago, Julius said:

Funnily enough it looks like you started the last thread on Studio Ghibli too, @Ashley  I respect it! 

I am nothing if not forgetful

[Julius]

59 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

@Julius Grave of The Fireflies being in B-tier instead of SSS completely invalidates your list  

I'm glad you pointed this out, I logged in to save the list to my Tiermaker account and it seems it refreshed to a time I'd completed it in the past. 

Fixed list (used this Tiermaker instead to clearly include more of the titles at a glance):

So Grave of the Fireflies bumped up to an A from a B based on my most recent viewing (last year I think?), but yeah I don't think it belongs in the top tier of Ghibli films for me. It's a beautiful movie about cruel things and it hits hard (I'm an oldest sibling and was a bit stubborn growing up so that's a huge understatement), I just think those above it are better made films  

3 minutes ago, Ashley said:

I am nothing if not forgetful

Haha sorry, not to call you out! The only reason I knew we had a thread from some point in the past was because I thought about making one and then learned we already had one! And then it just turned out you made it, which was funny  I respect your respect for Ghibli in any case haha

[Ike]

I always disliked how Kiki's Delivery Service ends. Feels like it's just getting started and then the credits roll.

Spoiler

Mostly I just want to know if Jiji regains her magic and can understand Kiki again.

 

[Glen-i]

On 07/08/2023 at 5:01 PM, Julius said:

In fact, the film has been barely marketed

Not any more!

 

[Ashley]

Well the West is stupid when it comes to marketing. Look at the name.