Ponyo Blu-Ray Vs. Film - How Do They Compare?

 Let's take a look at how closely the Ponyo Blu-Ray compares to 35mm film.  In each of these pairings, the film version will come first, and then tbe Blu-Ray.  This is just like the old days of Electronic Gaming Monthly, whee!  Is Ghouls 'N Ghosts on the Sega Genesis arcade-perfect? Let's find out!

A short note on the differences between film and BD.  Despite our advances in digital technology - these Blu-Ray players and big-screen teevees - we still have a long way to go to match film.  35mm film has 1,200:1 contrast, no compression, full color spectrum, and three times the resolution of 1080p.  So says "John Smith," the video producer I've been corresponding with lately.

Spirited Away, uncompressed, takes up 1.5 Terabytes.  That's 1,500 GB.  By comparison, Blu-Ray currently stores 50GB and DVD stores 4.7GB.  We've come a long way from the days of VHS, but we are nowhere close to equaling 35mm film.  Isn't consumer electronics such a wonderful scam?  We'll be scrapping our Blu-Ray for Super Blu-Ray by 2019.  Hah!

Anyway, kids, chat time's over.  Let's see how Ponyo Blu-Ray compares to the original.

Ponyo on Blu-Ray - Here Are the Screenshots

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you Ponyo on Blu-Ray Disc. These images come from a trailer on Disney's newly-released Race to Witch Mountain. You might want to rent that movie and see how Ponyo looks on your plasma screen.

I wanted to add in some commentary from the video producer who tipped me to these images, but that's going to take a couple extra posts. For this post, we'll focus on the good news of the hour - the screenshots. Please keep in mind that these are snapshots from the trailer, and when review copies of the BD become available, they should look better still.

As always, click on the photos to see them in their fullest size. You can see all the Ponyo photos here.

Amazon's Ponyo Blu-Ray Page Now Available

Amazon.com now has their page for the Ponyo Blu-Ray.  They haven't listed the release date yet, but as soon as it's available, they'll post it.

Deep Thought (9/4)

I've got Blu-Ray pics of you-know-what. I'm examining them closely now. Big report to follow soon.

Oh, and the Minnesota Vikings did really well this preseason.

Where is Ponyo Playing in Australia? Now We Know!

Ponyo is now playing in theaters across Australia, so I encourage every one of you to head over to the multiplex with friends and family in tow.

Where is Ponyo playing?  Madman has the list of theaters (with direct links) on their Ponyo page.

Feel free to share your stories and antecdotes from down under.  As you can see, I've written many posts about Ponyo - I hope I haven't spoiled anything for you!

P.S. Ponyo is being shown in both Japanese and American soundtracks.  Be sure to contact your local theater to find which version you want to see.  Be sure to see both versions and share your impressions.

Why Did Disney Scrub the Titles From the Ghibli DVDs?

Can somebody in the know please explain this to me? These are the main menu screens from Disney's Region-1 DVDs for Whisper of the Heart (Mimi wo Sumaseba) and My Neighbors the Yamadas. Where are the main titles? There is no title on the main screen.

I've never seen anything like this; even the crummiest low-budget DVD release still remembers to put the title on the main menu screen. This is about as basic an issue as you can get.

The really strange thing is that My Neighbor Totoro does have a main title. It's the same font as on the cover, and it's animated, too. So, clearly, this was not a goof-up or some bizarre creative decision. Somebody in charge deliberately chose to scrub the movie titles from the main menus for these movies.

I'm not bringing this up to grind an axe. This is just something that has bugged me for years, and I've never been given a reason for why this happened. The more cynical-minded could just chalk this up as one more instance of Disney burying the Ghibli library in the back yard, only doing the bare minimum as required by the distribution contract. I know this irritated me to no end, and many Ghibli Freaks have felt the same way, no doubt.

The second and third wave of DVDs were a definite improvement over Mononoke, Castle in the Sky, and Kiki. The more unified design was a welcome change, even if the color scheme (dark heavy red at the top) is a bit off. So there clearly was more effort put into promoting the Ghibli catalog. But no titles? What is this all about? Such a gesture smacks of disrespect. Was that deliberate or not? I honestly don't know, and I would prefer to think it all boils down to a creative decision (let's show an animated clip from the movie).

The relationship between Studio Ghibli and Disney has been rocky since the start, and most of it points back to the Mononoke fiasco in the States. There has been a degree of distrust on both sides, but a warming of relations has commenced over the past year, with Ghibli's new President Koji Hoshino taking the helm. He has made improving relations with Disney, and building Ghibli's brand in the USA, a priority.

That good will has paid off lately, as we saw with Ponyo, and I hope it continues with the new DVD reissues later this year. That means no more stupid gaffes with the main menu screens. As always, we'll cross our fingers and hope for the best.

P.S. One thing that's always puzzled me is why Disney never established Studio Ghibli as a seperate product line. I understand the need to promote the corporation at all costs, and these conglomerate treat rival studios the way the church treats rival religions. But I don't believe Ghibli, with its slight output of foreign movies, could eclipse the Disney empire in the public's mind. It's not as though children exposed to My Neighbor Totoro will refuse to ever watch Pinocchio or Ducktales again.

Wouldn't it be smarter to establish a seperate product line - "The Studio Ghibli Collection"? This is much smarter from a branding and market-building angle, and it does provide a degree of independence from the Disney brand - a crucial distinction if we are ever to see Omohide Poro Poro and Umi ga Kikoeru released on our shores. Is there a reasonable reason why this option was never pursued? Or does this just come down to promoting Buddhism during Lenten Mass?

My Neighbor Totoro DVDs

Here's a quick look at the previous DVDs for My Neighbor Totoro.  The one on the left is the old Fox pan-and-scan, and the one on the right is the 2006 Disney release.  Both are now out of print, and we're awaiting the reissue of the movie in time for Christmas.

To be honest, I'm not sure why Disney is shutting down and reissuing their Totoro DVD.  There was certainly nothing wrong with it; the subtitles were accurate (the Japanese R2 used "dub-titles"), the American dub was excellent, the packaging was very nice, and the picture was superb.  They even remembered to put the title of the movie on the main menu - a very bizarre omission on their other American Ghibli DVDs.

I would be thrilled if the new Totoro DVD features the Japanese movie poster for its cover, the way Ghibli's DVDs are now released in Japan.  I don't know what new changes would be needed for this "special edition" that aren't already available.  Let's hope this isn't just a cynical cash-in on Disney's part.  A John Lasseter commentary track would be nice.  Heck, a Daniel Thomas commentary track would be even better.

I know there are a lot of people who still prefer the old dub from the Fox release, so there's a certain collector's value to be had with that older version.  But I just couldn't stand the cover design, with its airbrushed colors and fake, plastic smiles.  This old cover (on the VHS) kept me away from Totoro for many years; it was only after Roger Ebert wrote about the film for his Great Movies series that I changed my mind and decided to watch for myself.  Isn't that crazy?

The matter of pan-and-scan is pretty obvious, and there's no need to rehash that old hangup.  That's a crank habit that deserved to be buried, and I sincerely hope we never have to deal with the "full screen" fiasco again.

Ponyo and the Fussy Baby

I think Ponyo should feel grateful that the fussy baby didn't get any more scenes, because he very well could have run away with the picture.  This scene was very popular with audiences; that initial closeup of Baby Schnooks drew big laughs every time.

If Ponyo were an American production, Baby Schnooks would definitely be spun off into his own running franchise, like that neurotic meekrat from the Ice Age series.  He wouldn't even have to do anything; just send him on location and let him quietly sulk.  Baby Schnooks goes to the health care debate!  Baby Schnooks goes to the World Series!  Baby Schnooks versus Jared the Subway Guy in a stare-down battle royale!

I think we may be looking at the next Keyboard Cat, folks.

Seriously, though, this is one of the great "silent" scenes in Ponyo.  There's an entire conversation taking place between Ponyo and the fussy baby without a single word being spoken.  Even body language is kept to a bare minimum.  But in their long stares, there is a connection taking place.  What are they thinking?  Who knows.  It's a mystery in a movie loaded with such little mysteries.

This reminds me of a dream I had earlier this summer, where I was playing with a brown lab retriever, and we saw something funny.  I can't remember, maybe a squirrel stumbling around or something.  But the dog and I both smiled and laughed, and as we looked into one another's eyes, an almost mystical connection took place.  For this brief shining moment, we knew what the other was thinking.  We were meeting as equals and we never made a sound.

When Ponyo and Sosuke sail away in their toy boat, the baby starts crying and, well, being fussy.  Ponyo then rushes back in her Kermit the Frog form, smooshes and hugs Baby Schnooks, then hops away.  The Disney dub inserts an "explanation" into this moment - "Aww, you have a cold!" - but no such lines are spoken in the Japanese soundtrack.  The baby is just being fussy.  I think this moment plays very differently when you see it in the original language, and I do wish Disney had resisted the tempation to rationalize everything. 

Everyone Has Their Reasons - Thoughts on Nausicaa's Title Sequence

Some screenshots from the spectacular credits sequence in Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind.  This is an exceptionally brilliant series of shots, combined with Joe Hisaishi's swelling score.  The first time I saw this movie, watching on a run-down, impossible-to-see bootleg copy, I knew I was in for something special.  Here is an animation film with depth.

Whenever I'm asked to name my favorite Hayao Miyazaki movie, I always cop out and reply, "Whichever one I saw last."  But if push comes to shove, it's pretty clear to me that Nausicaa and Totoro are his finest directorial films.  Between the two lies the great emotional and artistic depth of Miyazaki's vision.  And I think you can make the case that Nausicaa is the finest anime film ever made.  Its variety in tone and style, its depth and complexity, its personal honesty, its willingness to ask hard questions without providing answers, and most of all, it's thrilling and exciting animation - all of these qualities forge a masterpiece.

I think Nausicaa is the direct successor to the 1968 landmark film, Horus, Prince of the Sun, the spiritual successor.  I have the vision in my mind of the middle-aged Miyazaki revisiting his youth, reexamining, honing, perfecting, understanding.  Future Boy Conan was a part of this thread, but its feet were firmly planted in his goofy love of cliffhanger serials.  With Conan, Miyazaki frowns and smiles, and then laughs.  There are no such laughs with Nausicaa.  The serious, complicated depth of Hilda, anime's most influential heroine...she's the one who casts her shadow over this movie, just like Marlon Brando's shadow was cast over The Godfather, Part II.

This title sequence in Nausicaa is breathtaking.  Do you feel the same sensation?  The paintings, patterned after the Bayeux Tableaux, were very carefully crafted and painted, and it shows.  Details, colors, textures are remarkable, vivid.  I'm reminded a little of Yuri Norstein's first directorial film (also from 1968), which wrapped itself in the mantle of the great Russian artists.  These sequence of shots also seem to evoke the memory of Andrei Tartovski's Andrei Rublev, of the final series of shots that closely examine the artist's masterpieces.

Miyazaki reveals his ambitions with this scene.  This is not a modest introduction by any means.  The amount of care and dedication in creating this tableaux is evident, and only raises the stakes for the rest of the movie.  You are in for a challenging ride, dear viewer.

I especially enjoy the cutting between the tapestry and the shots of the God Warriors stalking the landscape like prey.  These are ancient warriors set to burn the world, and they move with a quiet grace.  Is Miyazaki lamenting these creatures as monsters, or does he identify with them?  In a story that pits man against nature (and man against himself), human beings are not treated as the innocent victims nor the valiant heroes.

The God Warriors are not depicted as villains.  These events are treated as matter-of-fact, and it's only later that we realize these "gods" fulfilled the suicidal wishes of their human creators.  The signs of human civilization are abstract, fractured; these warriors are themselves humanized.  There is an elegance to their movements...can we almost identify with them?  We can surely sympathize with them; this shocking idea bears itself out in the story of the lone survivor, who is dug out of the earth and then grown in his womb by warring empires.  This final God Warrior becomes a tragic figure in Nausicaa's climactic showdown.

This moral complexity, this ambiguity, haunts this film.  "Heroes" and "villains" are exposed as myths, local tribal myths.  Nausicaa's vision of peaceful coexistence is severely challenged, if not rejected outright, by neighboring tribes.  And the locals commit violence in the name of their greater good.  Everyone who lashes out in violence does so with a sense of justice from their point-of-view.  We may identify with all of them; we may identify with none of them.  Everyone Has Their Reasons.

It's easy to take Nausicaa's side through all of this; she is the main character, after all.  But she is swayed by the same fiery passions as everybody else.  Her moment of rage, when she cuts down a room full of guards, is the most shocking moment in the entire movie.  Nausicaa's violent killings echo in your head and you can't wish them away with simplistic platitudes.  Miyazaki has entered the realm of Yojimbo and The Searchers, only with a far deeper sense of sorrow.  He quietly fears that this is the fate of all men, and he no longer has any idealistic faith in the ending.  Preachy morality has been banished.  The cowboy in the white hat has been banished.  Doubt has entered the picture, doubt and sorrow and hope.

Nausicaa is a movie with an ending, but it does not end.  It cannot end, because its many questions can no longer be answered.  So the conflicts continue, and the Sea of Decay grows, and Miyazaki's Heroine continues to ask questions and search for answers.

Omohide Poro Poro: Production Artwork

Thanks to the magic of the intertubes, we have a look at the fantastic production artwork for Omohide Poro Poro.  I think I'll split the "present" and "past" styles into seperate posts.  Let's take a look at the painting for the 1960s scenes.

The art design in these scenes is a masterstroke.  Isao Takahata strikes at the very heart of nostalgia; he understands just how we process and retain memories.  The backgrounds fade at the edges, and some scenes are nothing more than bare sketches.  Others, like the great scene of the market at sunset, are vivid and saturated with lush colors.

The baseball sequence is almost barely drawn, and the players themselves are painted white, which makes them to appear almost as ghosts.  The game flashes by in a blur, which is precisely how Taeko-chan remembers her childhood crush.

This is one of the many reasons why I hold Omohide Poro Poro as Takahata's film masterpiece.  It is so masterfully constructed, so skillfully thought out, and then so wonderfully realized by the Ghibli artists and animators.  They have the willingness to take great risks and the skills to bring them to life.  I would kill to see the Americans try something as inspired as this movie.

Poster - Omohide Poro Poro

Oh, no.  I'm stuck in a post-Ponyo slump.  I have a large stack of artwork from the Ghibli films, so this is as good a time as any to devote some attention to my favorite Isao Takahata film, Omohide Poro Poro.

Here is the second poster for the film.  It's an excellent, if economic, design.  This design matches the zen art style of the movie's flashback scenes, and the sole focus on Taeko-chan informs us that this will be a character-driven story.  This poster also informs us of the movie's major deviation from the manga on which it was based.  Hmm...now that I think about it, this poster is quite daring. The title is familiar, but the setting is very different; the original Japanese comic focused on the author's childhood in the 1960s.

I'm also reminded of the art design for My Neighbors the Yamadas, which really ran with this art design and created something truly special.  If you expect to see wall-to-wall details in your animated movies, you're bound to be disappointed.  But there's something to be said for the zen approach.  Another gutsy move.

The Heidi Fansub Project Needs Your Help!

Excellent news, everybody!  Heidi is being translated by the Minor Ja Nai fansub group.  Progress has been extremely slow, but the first four episodes have been completed.  And, as you can see by the first screenshot, they are in desperate need of translators.  Contact them on irc (#minor_ja_nai@irc.irchighway.net).

There are so many anime clubs and websites across America, that translating Heidi should be an easy task.  This remains the one major work from Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki's career that is still not available in English.  And this is the motherlode, the crowning masterpiece, the landmark series that gave birth to the anime boom in Japan and throughout the world..

I have argued my case for Heidi (and Marco) fansubs, so everybody knows where I stand.  And many of you have offered to help.  Now I can direct you to the right people.  Don't forget that you can download the "raw" Heidi episodes, so you can get to work on the translations.  Do whatever you can to help.

Ponyo Box Office Update (Fri-Tue)

I'm a bit overdue for another box office update, but that's fine.  Ponyo's momentum has died down, and its theatrical run is just about finished.  I do hope it will continue to play in your local theaters for a while longer, but Disney has begun to ramp down the theater count, the ticket sales are dwindling, and interest on the web and this blog has slowed to a trickle.  I'd say the party is pretty close to being over.

Still, let's be upbeat and hold our heads high.  Ponyo is now Studio Ghibli's biggest success in the United States, and with limited exposure in our media-saturated landscape, this is probably the best we can hope for.  The DVD and Blu-Ray will be successful and enjoy a long run, and this will, in turn, continue to build our community of Ghibli Freaks.  That's my hope, at least.

As for me, I will continue to write about Ponyo and examine it from many angles, and I will continue to shout to the rafters that Ponyo deserves a Best Picture nomination.  That should be our new rallying cry, and this mantra should be spread across the intertubes and shared among the members of the Motion Picture Academy.  If you are a member and a voter, you need to begin making the case for Ponyo today.  Not Best Animated Feature; it's a sorry ghetto category, and everybody knows it.  Besides, Pixar always wins, and the field will be crowded with Disney (Princess and the Frog) and Dreamworks (Ice Age 3), as well as indie films like Coraline and Waltz With Bashir.

That's actually a pretty good assembly of animation features, but Ponyo stands above them all.  And it's not just a "statement" or status vote to place Hayao Miyazaki's movie among the Best Picture nominees.  It really, honestly, truly is the best movie of the year, and should finish on most critics' short lists for 2009.

Anyway, enough tilting at windmills from me.  School's back in session (boo!), so let's look at Ponyo's numbers:

Friday 8/28
Daily: $487,189

Per Screen: $554
Total: $9,632,524

Saturday 8/29
Daily: $859,649
Per Screen $977
Total: $10,492,173
 
Sunday 8/30
Daily: $541,083
Per Screen: $615
Total: $11,033,256
 
Monday 8/31
Daily: $169,082
Per Screen: $192
Total: $11,202,338
 
Tuesday 9/1
Daily: $165,575
Per Screen: $188
Total: $11,367,913
 
Note: I'll add in the Tuesday numbers as soon as the become available.  Discuss!

Update 4:00pm: Tuesday's numbers are in.

Ponyo Blu-Ray & Ghibli DVDs in December?

Ultimate Disney has Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea, Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, and Kiki's Delivery Service scheduled for a December 2009 release on DVD.  The Ponyo Blu-Ray is also expected to be released.

Remember that the Ponyo Blu-Ray will be released in Japan on December 8, and they are always the first to get the presents from Santa.  We Americans should be next in line, if not 12/8, then 12/15.  That allows for enough time to capitalize on the holiday season.

Ponyo 2009 Calendar

Now here's a real treasure to share with everyone - the 2009 Ponyo Calendar.  The photos are pretty large, so be sure to click on them to see the full size.  Go ahead and use them for wallpapers.

Obviously, I would looove to see these calendars in local stores.  There is a Japanese pop store at the Rosedale Mall in Roseville (suburb of Minneapolis-St. Paul), but they really never stock any Ghibli items.  Perhaps I should give them a call and see if they have any Ponyo goodies in stock.

I absolutely love the artwork in these photos.  I've been a fan of movie calendars since I was a kid with a 1978 Star Wars calendar hanging on my wall, well into the 1980s.  This is a great way to see what the filmmakers thought were the highlights of the movie.  It's also great to see screenshots that differ from the press release (that's where all the hi-res shots came from).

The Ponyo Calendar really drives home how terrific this movie looks.  The warm color tones, watercolor and stencil backgrounds, and solid, iconic characters merge together perfectly.  I'm sure you've seen many animation films where the cel drawings don't quite match their environments.  In Ponyo, everything gels.  The Ghibli artists have drawn upon a lifetime of experience.

That's really the thing I love about Studio Ghibli - they never rest on their laurels.  They treat every new film as if it's the first, and everyone is hungry to prove themselves.  It helps to have the two greatest living movie directors at the helm, of course.