Ghibliotheque, the excellent podcast dedicated to all things Ghibli, is currently running a poll of the studio's best movies. Simply click on the link below to participate and cast your votes. Good luck!
It's time for another "greatest hits" retrospective of the Studio Ghibli movies, and UK movie blog Set The Tape is the latest contender. The first part of their multi-episode saga began last week and will continue in the coming days and weeks.
The writers are working backward, and here's where the rankings stand so far:
23. Tales From Earthsea
22. Porco Rosso
21. Pom Poko
20. My Neighbors the Yamadas
19. Ocean Waves
18. Whisper of the Heart
This is going to be interesting reading. If nothing else, it's gutsy to put fan favorites Porco Rosso and Whisper of the Heart at the bottom of the pile. I'm looking forward to reading the fan comments defending their favorite Ghibli movies. Do people still leave comments on blogs? Whatever.
I do hope the writers will continue to shake things up as they move down their Ghibli rankings. Please don't let this be yet another list that puts My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away on top. That's just lazy. Be a little more creative with your top pick and argue the case. Surprise us.
Today, the editorial team at Anime News Network took aim at Studio Ghibli, naming their picks for the best and worst feature films. Movies were selected for Best Movie, Runner-Up and Worst Movie. Writers who contributed to this article include Rebecca Silverman, Theron Martin, Amy McNulty, James Beckett, Christopher Farris, and Anne Lauenroth.
In the Best Movie category, Princess Mononoke received two votes. Spirited Away, The Wind Rises, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya and When Marnie Was There all received one vote.
In the Runner-up category, Spirited Away received three votes. Whisper of the Heart received two votes. The Cat Returns received one vote.
Finally, in the Worst Movie category, Howl's Moving Castle received three votes. Tales From Earths, Ponyo and The Secret World of Arrietty each received one vote.
This was a very fascinating article, with a few surprises. Aside from Spirited Away, there were no real consensus picks on the winner's side. Eight titles in all were named by the ANN writers. The obvious omission, of course: My Neighbor Totoro. Why was Totoro completely overlooked? Did the writers feel compelled to dig deeper into the Ghibli catalog for hidden gems? Were they driven by the critic's desire to appear more sophisticated than the average viewer, who would overwhelmingly choose Totoro as their favorite?
It's important to note that many of the writers noted that they have only seen a few Studio Ghibli movies, so this shouldn't be seen as a critic of the entire studio's library. Perhaps the editors should have held a weekend film festival to bring everybody up to speed.
The biggest surprise is Howl's Moving Castle as the consensus pick for Ghibli's weakest movie. I hadn't expected this result; Tales From Earthsea seemed like the easy choice. Again, it's possible that the writers sought to avoid the easy answers and dig a little deeper. Personally, I love Howl and think it's a terrific movie, but I can appreciate its mixed reputation with fans. It is very loosely based on the book, as though Hayao Miyazaki only scribbled down the back-cover description and then ran off in a completely different direction (he did much the same when adapting "The Incredible Tide" into Future Boy Conan).
At Ghibli Blog, we have conducted a couple movie polls over the years, and the winners are invariably Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro. Most of the remaining movies are clumped in together. Miyazaki is more popular than Takahata, although Yoshifumi Kondo's Whisper/Mimi usually ranks highly.
Should we conduct another Studio Ghibli movie poll? I'm curious to hear everyone's opinions now that the studio's feature films have all been released. Let me know if you wanna do it.
Back in December, a Japanese poll asked 1,000 people (700 women and 300 men) to name their favorite female Studio Ghibli characters, the ones that "best embody the characteristics that women aspire to. Both genders picked the moody Redhead with the violent mood swings. Interesting findings.
I can understand why guys would want a strong, confident and aggressive person like Nausicaa. I hail from Minnesota, after all. Our girls play ice hockey and win championships (go Gophers). But what really makes me chuckle is that Nausicaa is the number one pick from women. Don't let the stereotypically polite, demure appearance fool you; these gals are probably looking to bust some heads. And when we look at Japan's population decline, I'm guessing they have to tolerate a lot of clueless, clumsy boys.
Protipfor all the males in Japan: Hurry up and learn some skills, boys. Put down the toys and the video games, and learn to impress the gals before they beat you up and take your lunch money. Hah, hah.
Well, that's worth a chuckle. Back to the Ghibli "Ideal Woman" poll. For the most part, it's a standard sampling of Miyazaki characters. The men's picks are, frankly, a bit boring. Sheeta (Castle in the Sky) probably fits the "damsel in distress," so there's an appeal, but Kiki and Shizuku (Mimi/Whisper)? Those are very much girls' coming-of-age movies. Porco Rosso's Gina is a singer and owns her own business, but she's also a very lonely character, who escapes into a series of doomed marriages because her one true love is too being a self-loathing pig to notice. I'm not sure what this suggests about the men in the poll.
Meanwhile, the women pick San, the Mononoke Hime? She's basically Nausicaa's aggressive, darker side (Ashitaka, conversely, embodies all of Nausicaa's gentler, more "feminine" virtues). And at the end of the picture, she tells the boy that, sorry, I need my space. Ouch.
Osano, the pregnant owner of the bakery in Kiki's Delivery Service, is an interesting pick. Am I the only one who honestly thought she was a single mother? Is that cook her husband? Family or friend? Co-worker? The movie (in its original Japanese) never explicitly declares anything, one way or another. I may be wrong on this one, but that was always my honest impression, and I greatly admired the movie for its honesty. It's a good lesson for girls, don't you agree? Your life doesn't revolve around men. You can take command of your own life. Heck, even if the cook is Osano's husband, she's clearly the one in charge.
Here's the complete rankings from the poll. I'm interested to hear your opinions. Feel free to tell me I'm completely bonkers in my hypothesis, by the way.
Women's Results:
1) 20.0% - Nausicaä (Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind) 2) 18.9% - Osono (Kiki's Delivery Service) 3) 15.0% - Sheta (Castle in the Sky 4) 13.1% - San (Princess Mononoke 5) 11.7% - Kiki (Kiki's Delivery Service
Men's Results:
1) 18.7% - Nausicaä (Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind) 2) 17.3% - Sheta (Castle in the Sky) 3) 13.0% - Kiki (Kiki's Delivery Service) 4) 11.7% - Shizuku Tsukishima (Mimi wo Sumaseba/Whisper of the Heart) 5) 09.0% - Gina(Porco Rosso)
City Pages is the alt-weekly newspaper in Minneapolis-St. Paul, and they are now accepting ballots for their annual Best of the Twin Cities 2010 issue. This is a very high honor in the Twin Cities and the American Midwest, and this year, I want us to win.
I'm asking everybody, regular contributors and casual readers alike, to cast a vote for The Ghibli Blog in the Best Local Blog category. It only takes a quick moment to fill out the ballot, and you don't have to worry about the other categories if you don't want.
A win for Best Local Blogger would be a great achievement for this blog, as well as the greater animation community. This will be a win for all of us, artists and readers alike. I have always said that The Ghibli Blog would not be possible without your devoted support. Here is another opportunity to demonstrate that.
To vote, simply click on the big button on the top-right of the page, just above Heidi Marco Anne. You can also steal that button for your own use if you wish. Do everything you can to help spread the word and bring in the votes. Ballots must be entered by April 5. The Best of the Twin Cities issue will hit newsstands on April 21. Thank you very much for all your support. Now let's win this thing!
We haven't had a poll at The Ghibl Blog in a long time, so what better time than now, after last night's Oscars? Pixar's Up won the Academy Award for Best Animation Feature..what do you say? Which of the five nominees do you think deserved to win?
Here are the five nominees:
Coraline Fantastic Mr. Fox The Princess and the Frog The Secret of Kells Up "I Like Pie"
Everyone gets one vote, and we have all week to participate. Feel free to leave your comments on this post, explaining your choice. I'm very interested to hear what everyone thinks; honestly, I think this will be a much tighter race than last night's Oscars.
As always, the final choice is a jokey throwaway - I Like Pie. I just use that for laughs, and also because I don't my vote to influence the final outcome. Besides, if a movie can't compete against a slice of your favorite pie, can it really be called a good movie? I think not. Good luck!
The voting is finished, and the winner is....My Neighbor Totoro! Spirited Away had an early lead, but Totoro kept a steady pace, and in the final days, it wasn't even close. Here's the tally:
Poll Question: Your Favorite Hayao Miyazaki Directoral Feature Film?
Total Votes: 128
Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro - 2 Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind - 11 Laputa: Castle in the Sky - 11 My Neighbor Totoro - 35 Kiki's Delivery Service - 12 Porco Rosso - 11 Princess Mononoke - 15 Spirited Away - 22 Howl's Moving Castle - 4 Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea - 5
I was curious to see just how far the Miyazaki fandom stretches. Are the Ghibli Freaks familiar with all of his major films since 1979, or did they just come on board recently? In the end, the votes were pretty even across all movies. That's the thing that really impressed me. I didn't expect the second tier to be so even. It's a pleasant surprise, and it echoes my own sentiments about Miyazaki. I could pick any one of his directoral movies as the best, given my mood and what I had most recently seen.
Now, if I was pressed and had to pick the masterpieces from these ten films, as a writer and scholar, then I would consider historical relevance, the film's enduring popularity in Japan, and its impact upon Miyazaki's career. I don't know if that's a judgement for the "best" movies, or even the ones I liked the most; but it is a judgement for the most important.
Given that, I would have to conclude that Hayao Miyazaki's most important films are Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind and My Neighbor Totoro. Those really are the defining films of his career, and so much of his work fits within their paradigms, between the serious and the playful, the apocalyptic and the nostalgic. Both movies serve as the yin and the yang of Miyazaki's career in midlife and beyond, and his internal struggle between hope and despair.
So, if I have to pick Miyazaki's best directoral films, it would be a tie between Nausicaa and Totoro.
I'm thrilled to see Totoro win and win confidently, just as I am thrilled to see nearly all the movies score so well. Ponyo, of course, is too new to be judged fairly; most of us have yet to see it, and it will take repeated viewings before I am able to place it among the canon.
Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro and Howl's Moving Castle are stuck in the rear, and that's a shame, because they are both magnificent movies. Perhaps there are simply too many movies to choose from, when given a single vote. Next time, we'll try multiple voting and see what happens.
I hope Lupin isn't ignored because it's "too old." There's a nasty habit to judge anime purely by number of cels used, or by the amount of visual effects. I think there's still a prejudice to look upon anime as "jerky" or inferior to Disney-style "full animation." Both nations follow different paradigms, different theories. It's like comparing Renaissance portraits to Cubism. Each follows their own established rules, and should not be judged by the standards of the other.
When it comes to movies, you have to trust your gut. If you have a good time, if a movie makes you laugh, or cry, or think, then it has been successful. The hows and whys are just window dressing for the diehard fans. Sometimes a movie leaves you speechless, without answers, only questions. Those are the best movies of all.
As for Howl... I think it's a difficult movie for Westerners. But that's going to change over time, as Hayao Miyazaki's life and work become better known. I think this movie is going to age well, like Stanley Kubrick's movies. Sometimes a movie needs a certain amount of time to age, like a fine wine. This isn't to say that the criticisms are not valid. It's just that over time, as you grow older, such things ebb and flow.
Miyazaki is that rare director whose entire career is essential. Every film is great, and there aren't many filmmakers who can make that claim.
We're down to the final two hours for the Miyazaki poll. Time to drag in your friends and make that final push for votes. If anyone is holding out until the last second, well, now's yer chance!
As always, I'll push and prod for the underdogs. Let's see a couple more votes for Lupin, Howl, and Ponyo. Just do it out of principle.
We're down to the final two days on this week's Miyazaki poll, and it's by far the most popular one yet. Will we break 100 votes? I'm hoping so. Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro were in a close heat for the lead, but it appears that Totoro is breaking away and is now the clear favorite.
What's interesting is that nearly all the other movies are tied for third. Nausicaa, Castle in the Sky, Kiki, Porco Rosso, Mononoke...these are all effectively tied. That's very interesting, and reflects my own personal opinions. These are all excellent movies and it's so difficult to pick one over the other. That's the mark of a great filmmaker.
Ponyo only has three votes, but this is understandable. We Americans haven't had a chance to see it yet. When we do this poll again in a few months, it will fare much better.
The big surprises for me are Lupin III and Howl's Moving Castle. They are barely registering at all. I wonder why that is? I'm going to have to take that discussion to the next post, before it completely takes over this one.
Thanks once again to everybody for voting and sharing your thoughts. It's greatly appreciated as always.
Yeah, it's about time we got to these kind of polls. Ponyo is only four weeks away from its US release, so that means it's time for everybody to take stock of Hayao Miyazaki's long career. For this poll, we'll focus on his 10 directoral films, from Castle of Cagliostro in 1979, to Ponyo in 2008.
As always, vote on the poll at the right column. Have fun, and let's see who comes out on top this time. Oh, and I completely forgot about the pie! Ack! No pie this week, sorry.
Poll: Your Favorite Miyazaki Directoral Feature Film?
We're long overdue (d'oh!) with the latest polls, so we'll write down the last poll for posterity. This one was actually a tight race! It seems everybody enjoyed the US and Japan Ponyo trailers equally. You even liked the pie. But it's France that gets the gold and the solid win. I have to agree; the French Ponyo trailer was my favorite.
Thanks once again to everybody for playing. Here's the score sheet:
"Is this better than a piece of pie?" should be the yardstick for movie ratings.
Also, this is the most competitive poll race yet. France will easily win, but there's a three-way tie for second place. Anybody could pull an upset. Go Pie Go!
Also, I've already got the next poll planned. Be sure to bone up on your Miyazaki movies.
Toy Story - 3 A Bug's Life - 0 Toy Story 2 - 2 Monsters, Inc. - 9 Finding Nemo - 4 The Incredibles - 12 Cars - 1 Ratatouille - 6 Wall-E - 5 Up - 9 Pixar Shorts - 0 I Like Pie - 4
Total votes: 55
Okay, this poll has been closed for some time now, so I'm long overdue on posting the results for posterity. Let's see how it all turned out. Maybe I'll put this one up for another vote in another six months. We'll see if the voting is overly in favor of the more recent movies, or whether everyone honestly thinks Pixar's movies are getting better.
I always stay out of these polls, because I don't want my opinions to influence the results. That said, I have a soft spot for the original Toy Story, and Monsters, Inc. Of the third-wave Pixar movies (Cars forward), I think Ratatouille is the best. There's a lot to like from Pixar's "Rubber Soul" phase, but it's clearly been an adolescent phase, lots of growth, lots of struggling, very uneven but still very entertaining.
Sometimes, I find myself really enjoying Pixar's short film experiments before Toy Story. There's a spirit of discovery in those works that the later, more formulaic features lack. This is why I included the shorts in the poll. The recent forays into silent film in Wall-E and Up call back to these roots, and they also happen to be among the finest moments in the studio's canon.
The Rubber Soul era has ended; next on the lineup are sequels to Toy Story, Cars, and Monsters, Inc. The next original Pixar feature, three years away, is the first directed by a woman, which is an important step forward. But it's going to be a Disney fairy tale. A step backward.
Pixar still needs its revolutionary breakthrough, their Horus, their Heidi. Ratatouille came the closest, the latter movies seem to be holding back. This break in the production schedule should give the brain trust an opportunity to step back and determine where, exactly, they want to go. For they are now at a crossroads. One direction is the safe path, towards predictable formulas, safe routines, easy profits, and the warm embrace of the Disney brand. The other direction is far riskier, less safe, less reliable to make money. But through that path lies the salvation of American animation.
To put it easier, it's like this. The hard path takes us towards the husband-and-wife story in Up's first act. The easy path takes us towards the loud Star Wars-fueled chase scenes of acts two and three. Wall-E had grappled with the same dilemma, and wasn't able to resolve it. You either liked the first half or the second, but not both, and certainly not equally. There's a real and definite pecking order.
Where will Pixar go? Nobody knows. They could go either way at this point. And there's no question that the public would love more and more sequels. They've been conditioned to it. But for a studio that imagines itself the American Ghibli, playing it safe isn't good enough. They must continue to push forward. They must create their own Horus, their own Heidi. But it will not be easy. If creating art instead of commerce is truly the goal, they will have to risk failure. Nobody ever truly asks to be ahead of their time, but art demands it. The artform must evolve. Animation must finally break free from its babysitter ghetto.
Now that the Disney US trailer for Ponyo is available online, I thought I'd go back and revisit the movie trailers from Japan and France again. That means it's time for the newest weekly poll. Which of these Ponyo trailers did you like the best?
I won't skewer the voting with my own opinions here, so I'll just post the three trailers here. I will say that the US Ponyo trailer really looks terrific in 1080p. It's definitely growing on me, too, but that's because I had the sound down. Maybe it's that announcer I don't like. He'll never fill Ed McMahon's shoes, God rest his soul.
We're down to the last day to vote for your favorite Pixar movie, so be sure to join in and make your voice known. I promise you that Ahmedinijad won't steal this election.
I should also note that I haven't voted yet myself. These polls are often to fulfill my own curiosity about my readers more than anything. I'm a bit surprised to see The Incredibles run away with the thing. In fact, the recent movies are getting all of the votes. Does this mean that the newer Pixar films are really better? Or have you just not seen the earlier ones in a while?
If I had to pick a favorite, I'd probably go with the first Toy Story, although I've long had a soft spot for Monsters, Inc. And there are some things about the early pre-Toy Story shorts that I really love. But who am I kidding, really? I'd go for the pie.
Again, my apologies for not writing regularly for the Ghibli Blog. The ongoing crisis in Iran has swallowed all of my attention. This is a crucial moment in history, and I have to make whatever difference I can. You can follow my latest comical exploits by checking my Twitter page or my sister blog, Videogames of the Damned. Please visit there and show your support.
I saw this question asked on DisneyPixar's Twitter page, and it seemed perfect for this week's poll. As usual, everything is on the right-hand column, just below the pictures. You can vote for any of Pixar's feature films, or you can choose their shorts if you enjoy those the most. And, as always, you can cast you vote in support of pie.
The poll runs for a week, as usual. These longer polls give everyone a chance to chime in.
For posterity, here are the results of last week's poll. Thanks to everyone who participated:
Question: Which Miyazaki film at Berkeley to you want to see most?
Laputa: Castle in the Sky - 8 My Neighbor Totoro - 9 Porco Rosso - 12 Princess Mononoke - 6 I Like Pie - 5
The Up poll is closed, and everybody here seems to love it. I haven't seen it yet, but I'm going to this weekend. I may just see it tonight when the light rail drops me off at the Mall of America after work.
One interesting note about Pixar's newest feature is that critical reviews are coming almost exlusively from animation websites like Michael Sporn, Michael Barrier, and Mark Mayerson. Theirs was not merely negative, but a more nuanced, balanced criticism, and that's something I honestly prefer to the heaping praises from most of the press.
Mind you, I still haven't seen Up, and, as always, I'm hoping Pixar's newest movie is their best to date. And there's no question the studio leads the animation pack in Hollywood. But I don't think we're being served when movie critics behave like Die Hard Gamefan. These are not newborn babies. These are movies, and as Pauline Kael loved to say, great movies are rarely perfect movies.
Anyway, thanks to everyone for participating. Oh, and kudos for whoever voted for the pie. Heh heh.
This week's poll is centered on Hayao Miyazaki's appearance at UC Berkely in July. The University of California will be screening four Studio Ghibli movies in Japanese (with English subtitles) to commorate the event - Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, Porco Rosso, and Princess Mononoke.
Simply put, which of these film screenings are you looking forward to the most? If you only had tickets for one of the four movies, which one would it be? This isn't simply which one is your favorite; perhaps there's one you've never seen in theatres before.
For me, I could go with any of them, but I've already seen Totoro and Mononoke at the Oak Street Cinema (dubbed versions, though). I'd probably want to see one of the others.
The poll is at the right column, as always. Don't forget to vote for the pie!
Just so everybody knows, Marcee is really enthusiastically rooting for the French. I asked for her opinion, and here's what she had to offer:
french french french french french french french french french french french french french french french french french french french french french french french french french french
vote french french french french french french french french french french french french french french french french french
You have all been put on notice. There are still 5 days to vote, so get everyone you can to cast ballots.
This week's poll question from the Ghibli Blog: which of the Ponyo movie posters is your favorite? Cast your vote on the right column, just below the pics. If this works out, we'll have polls every week on a variety of topics, so vote early and vote often!
Remember, the poll is on the third column to your right, just under the screenshots. You can add your comments here, but be sure to cast your vote over there.
