At long last, we poor Westerners are finally able to see Karigurashi no Arrietty, thanks to the newly-released Blu-Ray disc in Japan. The picture quality is outstanding, as we would expect. I'm always amazed at the artistry of Studio Ghibli's movies, the painterly quality to their work It's really wonderful to watch, and I have to admit, I'm really becoming tired of the same rubbery, plastic look of Hollywood CGI cartoons. I miss the authenticity of the paintbrush.
Mind you, I also have a Sony direct-drive turntable from the late 1970s, and a Sega Genesis connected to my (hd) CRT television. And my hair is turning silver. I'm at that point where everything was better two decades ago. Younger readers should respond with the necessary skepticism.
That said, c'mon, be honest. You'd rather watch an animated movie with glorious hand-painted artwork. You'd crawl through sewers if another Miyazaki or Takahata movie was on the other side.
12 comments:
Hahah..far from it Daniel. Many share your sentiments about the wonder of seeing hand crafts in animated films. The backgrounds in Arrietty are stunning as to be some of the best the studio has ever done. Even more astonishing considering the short production time.
That being said, it's nice to see how CG elements were used in Arrietty. Miyazaki is simply too old to understand how to use them properly, but their subtle use in Arrietty added so much depth and scale, I'm glad Yonebayashi dug up the CG for this film. Everything, from the drawn animation itself, to the backgrounds, and the CG synthesis was all technically tighter than in Miyazaki films; Yonebayashi has less of Miyazaki's so called 'crankiness' about him. However, Miyazaki's influence is so big in the studio it's hard to distinguish in Arrietty what Yonebayashi's true voice is.
Anyway, I think it's important to understand when and where to use all the tools available, and for me, this film hit that mark.
How right you are. In my case everything was better four decades ago. I will be 65 next month, but I still wait for the next Miyazaki with the same sense of wonder that I had when I was a teen. There is no comparison between real art and cubicle-produced CGI.
By the way, Arrietty is available at P2P sites. Just saying. Love your blog. Don't get the flu again any time soon...you had me worried there.
OMG i love your blog it's amazing and am a BIG fan of miyazaki work and I just watched The Borrower Arrietty I FELL IN LOVE WITH IT I might see little people in my house :3 I loved I really did and it remind me of a French story had the same thing about little people X3
I LOVED this film. So much detail in every frame. It left me wanting WAY more. I hope they adapt more of the books.
I 100% agree with you! I think a little CGI in animation and live action is fine, but I hate when it's over done and you lose the sense of detailed artistry from the work because of it.
good to know. downloading it as we speak
The film will debut in the New Zealand International Film Festival on July 22nd. Although my order for the Blu-ray is on its way, I'm not cheating myself from experiencing it in true widescreen glory. I'll be going to both showings in the Auckland area next month.
http://www.nzff.co.nz/auckland/film/a0cd18fd-4c51-40c7-aaa4-2f1055de4565
I knew you’d come round to my way of thinking sooner or later. The problem with CGI is it has no wabi. I’d even go so far as to urge Studio Ghibli to re-work all their films to cleanse them of every last trace of it.
I'd make a run through that sewer every day.
This movie is amazing, I can't believe the amount of details in this movie.
I just love it. Hiromasa Yonebayashi did a great job.
I absolutely agree with you, I definitely prefer traditional animation that has that unique feel that modern animation struggles to achieve. From the perspective of an 18 year old I have to say that Miyazaki's work is, and always has been, better than that which the major animation companies assemble, not to say that it is absolutely terrible, but it doesn't match the feeling one can get from watching a Miyazaki film.
"No matter how many weapons you may have, or how many poor robots you use, you can't live separated from the earth."
I always think of this quote from Sheeta when I think of Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki. Their dedication to the use of natural resources is second to none because they truly believe that you lose something special when you try to get technology to do a man's work. The people of Laputa realized this and abandoned their flying castle as a way to make amends, but I wonder if we can do the same. It seems almost impossible to regress and abandon the technology that we now rely on.
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