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.