Miyazaki Films

To start with, I'm sure this topic has been seen before. But at the current moment, I am in a dilemma of deciding which Miyazaki film(s) to buy.

From "Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind" and "Spirited Away" to "Howl's Moving Castle" and "Kiki's Delivery Service," plus many others, what is (are) the best to get started on if I were to buy them. Or which ones are your favorite titles and why.

Also, I saw this thing about a film called "The Cat Returns" and the cast of voices is great: Tim Curry, Cary Elwes, Kristin Bell, plus the story sounds interesting. Is this film decent or better than any of the Miyazaki films?

I understand its all opinion and maybe I should get all of them or check them out to find out for myself, but just seeing what some people think would be nice.

I would suggest...

Laputa - The Castle in the Sky

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

Porco Rosso

My Neighbor Totoro

...in that order although there are plenty of fine films to choose from.

I haven't seen them all (yet), but here's my rankings of what I've seen:

1. Spirited Away
2. Kiki's Delivery Service
3. Castle in the Sky
4. Howl's Moving Castle (I think it was a close associate of his that did this...)
5. Princess Monoke

They are all good in their own ways, though Princess Mononoke is my favorite. If you like Miyazaki films, you should check out Satoshi Kon's films. He did Paprika, Tokyo Godfathers, Paranoia Agent, Milennium Actress, and Perfect blue. Film-Guy

I concur.

[QUOTE="Film-Guy"]They are all good in their own ways, though Princess Mononoke is my favorite. If you like Miyazaki films, you should check out Satoshi Kon's films. He did Paprika, Tokyo Godfathers, Paranoia Agent, Milennium Actress, and Perfect blue. Shad0ki11

I concur.

Perfect blue was a bit confusing at first though, that and Paprika.

I would suggest...

Laputa - The Castle in the Sky

My Neighbor Totoro

Lord_Daemon

Honestly, I don't think he's made a movie I haven't unabashedly LOVED. In my list of favorite directors, he probably makes the top THREE.

Here are two early works I giddily recommend that I don't expect anyone else will mention:

That second image coming from Miyazaki's brilliant series, Future Boy Conan. Notice how he totally ****ing stole Lana's design for Sheeta.

[QUOTE="Shad0ki11"]

[QUOTE="Film-Guy"]They are all good in their own ways, though Princess Mononoke is my favorite. If you like Miyazaki films, you should check out Satoshi Kon's films. He did Paprika, Tokyo Godfathers, Paranoia Agent, Milennium Actress, and Perfect blue. Film-Guy

I concur.

Perfect blue was a bit confusing at first though, that and Paprika.

Paprika's story can be a bit confusing. It's one of those movies you may need to watch twice. The animation in that movie is superb.

[QUOTE="Lord_Daemon"]

I would suggest...

Laputa - The Castle in the Sky

My Neighbor Totoro

A_Tarkovsky

Honestly, I don't think he's made a movie I haven't unabashedly LOVED. In my list of favorite directors, he probably makes the top THREE.

Here are two early works I giddily recommend that I don't expect anyone else will mention:

That second image coming from Miyazaki's brilliant series, Future Boy Conan. Notice how he totally ****ing stole Lana's design for Sheeta.

I loved The Castle of Cagliostro. Since Miyazaki directed it, it was a alot different from the actual Lupin III. Lupin's personality is much more toned down in that movie, but Miyazaki does it in a way that makes the movie flow really well.

[QUOTE="Film-Guy"][QUOTE="Shad0ki11"]

[QUOTE="Film-Guy"]They are all good in their own ways, though Princess Mononoke is my favorite. If you like Miyazaki films, you should check out Satoshi Kon's films. He did Paprika, Tokyo Godfathers, Paranoia Agent, Milennium Actress, and Perfect blue. Shad0ki11

I concur.

Perfect blue was a bit confusing at first though, that and Paprika.

Paprika's story can be a bit confusing. It's one of those movies you may need to watch twice. The animation in that movie is superb.

The music in it was oddly catchy too.

[QUOTE="Lord_Daemon"]

I would suggest...

Laputa - The Castle in the Sky

My Neighbor Totoro

A_Tarkovsky

Honestly, I don't think he's made a movie I haven't unabashedly LOVED. In my list of favorite directors, he probably makes the top THREE.

Here are two early works I giddily recommend that I don't expect anyone else will mention:

That second image coming from Miyazaki's brilliant series, Future Boy Conan. Notice how he totally ****ing stole Lana's design for Sheeta.

I never saw the Lupin movie, used to kinda like the series when I was younger but now I find it a bit too silly. Since you are a miyazaki fan, what do you think of Satoshi Kon's films if you have seen any of them?

I'd throw Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away in that list, but if you have to pick one go with either of these. Castle in the Sky is my favorite, as it's just plain entertaining and wondrous but My Neighbor Totoro holds the most sentimental value for me.

Honestly, I don't think he's made a movie I haven't unabashedly LOVED. In my list of favorite directors, he probably makes the top THREE.

Here are two early works I giddily recommend that I don't expect anyone else will mention:

That second image coming from Miyazaki's brilliant series, Future Boy Conan. Notice how he totally ****ing stole Lana's design for Sheeta.

A_Tarkovsky

Good addition! I don't know why but when the insistant Miyazaki threads come up I've been increasingly, but quite unintentionally, removing the Lupin film from his works. I guess because it's not entirely a Miyazaki film and I mentally place it over to the side in the Lupin film category.

Nevertheless...it has all Miyazaki's brilliant trademarks and it might as well be so I should remember to include it in the future.

[QUOTE="A_Tarkovsky"][QUOTE="Lord_Daemon"]

Shad0ki11

I loved The Castle of Cagliostro. Since Miyazaki directed it, it was a alot different from the actual Lupin III. Lupin's personality is much more toned down in that movie, but Miyazaki does it in a way that makes the movie flow really well.

Really, when you look at how intricate the storytelling and set-pieces are in this film, it's quite humbling. It's not hard to figure why Spielberg loves some obscure, cheap anime from the 80s.

[QUOTE="A_Tarkovsky"][QUOTE="Lord_Daemon"]

Film-Guy

I never saw the Lupin movie, used to kinda like the series when I was younger but now I find it a bit too silly. Since you are a miyazaki fan, what do you think of Satoshi Kon's films if you have seen any of them?

You really should see Castle of Cagliostro. It's got all the fun of the show, but the artwork, animation, and characterization is far above the series.

Don't watch the dub, though. Once you get over all the voice-actor celebrities, you start to tire of the excessive profanity that fails to gel with the otherwise pretty innocent tone.

[QUOTE="Shad0ki11"][QUOTE="Film-Guy"][QUOTE="Shad0ki11"]

[QUOTE="Film-Guy"]They are all good in their own ways, though Princess Mononoke is my favorite. If you like Miyazaki films, you should check out Satoshi Kon's films. He did Paprika, Tokyo Godfathers, Paranoia Agent, Milennium Actress, and Perfect blue. Film-Guy

I concur.

Perfect blue was a bit confusing at first though, that and Paprika.

Paprika's story can be a bit confusing. It's one of those movies you may need to watch twice. The animation in that movie is superb.

The music in it was oddly catchy too.

It was amazing. I have the OST. XD

The music in Satoshi Kon's movies are done by the same composer: Susumu Hirasawa.

My favorite songs from the Paprika OST are The Girl in Byakkoya, Shi zuku Ippai no Kioku ("Parade" according to iTunes), and Mediational Field.

[QUOTE="Film-Guy"][QUOTE="A_Tarkovsky"][QUOTE="Lord_Daemon"]

A_Tarkovsky

I never saw the Lupin movie, used to kinda like the series when I was younger but now I find it a bit too silly. Since you are a miyazaki fan, what do you think of Satoshi Kon's films if you have seen any of them?

You really should see Castle of Cagliostro. It's got all the fun of the show, but the artwork, animation, and characterization is far above the series.

Don't watch the dub, though. Once you get over all the voice-actor celebrities, you start to tire of the excessive profanity that fails to gel with the otherwise pretty innocent tone.

I will add it to me Netflix list, though I will have to remove one or two movies first. My queue is always full of movies, I love netflix so very much:P Perfect blue is...different. Lots of nudity in it and it can seem occasionaly confusing, but overall I would say its good. not his best, but still good.

For those who are interested, here's the first episode of Future Boy Conan:

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=future+boy+conan&emb=0&aq=f#

The other episodes are available on youtube.

The theme song is kinda funny when compared to the fairly dark material.

Get Grave of the Fireflies. Though technically not a Miyazaki film, it was still made by Studio Ghibli and it's the best of the bunch.Black_Knight_00

I also recommend Whisper of the heart, the screenplay was by miyazaki and its a studio ghibli film. It is one of the the few films which always makes me smile.

[QUOTE="Black_Knight_00"]Get Grave of the Fireflies. Though technically not a Miyazaki film, it was still made by Studio Ghibli and it's the best of the bunch.Film-Guy

I also recommend Whisper of the heart, the screenplay was by miyazaki and its a studio ghibli film. It is one of the the few films which always makes me smile.

[QUOTE="Film-Guy"]

[QUOTE="Black_Knight_00"]Get Grave of the Fireflies. Though technically not a Miyazaki film, it was still made by Studio Ghibli and it's the best of the bunch.A_Tarkovsky

I also recommend Whisper of the heart, the screenplay was by miyazaki and its a studio ghibli film. It is one of the the few films which always makes me smile.

Miyazaki really gets the concept of innocence in children, the ending especially of Whisper of the heart is so beautiful to watch. First time I saw it was on a DVD collection of Studio Ghibli films my teacher got from Japan, so the translation in the subtitles wasnt so great. I bought the DVD the next day though, that film and Amelie are the two films that make me smile the most.

[QUOTE="A_Tarkovsky"][QUOTE="Film-Guy"]

[QUOTE="Black_Knight_00"]Get Grave of the Fireflies. Though technically not a Miyazaki film, it was still made by Studio Ghibli and it's the best of the bunch.Film-Guy

I also recommend Whisper of the heart, the screenplay was by miyazaki and its a studio ghibli film. It is one of the the few films which always makes me smile.

Miyazaki really gets the concept of innocence in children, the ending especially of Whisper of the heart is so beautiful to watch. First time I saw it was on a DVD collection of Studio Ghibli films my teacher got from Japan, so the translation in the subtitles wasnt so great. I bought the DVD the next day though, that film and Amelie are the two films that make me smile the most.

Has anyone heard of miyazaki's new film Ponyo on the cliff? It sounds wonderful, he also did a bunch of short animations for a japanese film festival. I would love to see anything new of his. Film-Guy

Ahaha I just mentioned it earlier. Yeah, I'm pretty excited. Apparently its his own adaptation of the Little Mermaid. But from what I understand is that the big hit at the Venice Film Festival was "The Sky Crawlers" (by Mamoru Oshii)

[QUOTE="Film-Guy"]Has anyone heard of miyazaki's new film Ponyo on the cliff? It sounds wonderful, he also did a bunch of short animations for a japanese film festival. I would love to see anything new of his. Sajedene

Ahaha I just mentioned it earlier. Yeah, I'm pretty excited. Apparently its his own adaptation of the Little Mermaid. But from what I understand is that the big hit at the Venice Film Festival was "The Sky Crawlers" (by Mamoru Oshii)

[QUOTE="Sajedene"]

[QUOTE="Film-Guy"]Has anyone heard of miyazaki's new film Ponyo on the cliff? It sounds wonderful, he also did a bunch of short animations for a japanese film festival. I would love to see anything new of his. A_Tarkovsky

Ahaha I just mentioned it earlier. Yeah, I'm pretty excited. Apparently its his own adaptation of the Little Mermaid. But from what I understand is that the big hit at the Venice Film Festival was "The Sky Crawlers" (by Mamoru Oshii)

Oh I know... Miyazaki + Little Mermaid -- what could go wrong?

I like all of Miyazaki's films :).

Dont wanna bump a topic for no reason, but I just got a boxset of all the studio ghibli films:D Got it imported, japanese dub only though, english subtitles though. Film-Guy

Are they region 2? Because if they are, then it sounds like it would be an expensive box set. I payed a whomping $40 for Only Yesterday because it's not available in region 1, but it's worth it.

[QUOTE="Film-Guy"]Dont wanna bump a topic for no reason, but I just got a boxset of all the studio ghibli films:D Got it imported, japanese dub only though, english subtitles though. ernie1989

Are they region 2? Because if they are, then it sounds like it would be an expensive box set. I payed a whomping $40 for Only Yesterday because it's not available in region 1, but it's worth it.

Not sure of the region, it works on DVD players in the U.S from what I have tried. My friend got it imported for me so I dont know how much he spent. Probably more than 40 at least. Its a a nice plastic silver case.

[QUOTE="ernie1989"]

[QUOTE="Film-Guy"]Dont wanna bump a topic for no reason, but I just got a boxset of all the studio ghibli films:D Got it imported, japanese dub only though, english subtitles though. Film-Guy

Are they region 2? Because if they are, then it sounds like it would be an expensive box set. I payed a whomping $40 for Only Yesterday because it's not available in region 1, but it's worth it.

Not sure of the region, it works on DVD players in the U.S from what I have tried. My friend got it imported for me so I dont know how much he spent. Probably more than 40 at least. Its a a nice plastic silver case.

o_o, that means either the DVD isn't region locked, or all of your DVD players are region free :P.

Japanese dub only? DUB? XD. I always preferred the Japanese versions, but sometimes the english dub is fine (Spirited Away was good imo, even if it was by disney...because to me, disney never fails to deliver :)).

[QUOTE="Film-Guy"][QUOTE="ernie1989"]

[QUOTE="Film-Guy"]Dont wanna bump a topic for no reason, but I just got a boxset of all the studio ghibli films:D Got it imported, japanese dub only though, english subtitles though. Bass7

Are they region 2? Because if they are, then it sounds like it would be an expensive box set. I payed a whomping $40 for Only Yesterday because it's not available in region 1, but it's worth it.

Not sure of the region, it works on DVD players in the U.S from what I have tried. My friend got it imported for me so I dont know how much he spent. Probably more than 40 at least. Its a a nice plastic silver case.

o_o, that means either the DVD isn't region locked, or all of your DVD players are region free :P.

Japanese dub only? DUB? XD. I always preferred the Japanese versions, but sometimes the english dub is fine (Spirited Away was good imo, even if it was by disney...because to me, disney never fails to deliver :)).

I dont mind the english subtitles, but the only english Dub I prefered was howls moving castle since it had Christian Bales voice:D

Personal bias: I LOVE Miyazaki's films. All of them. And I happen to be fond of the dubs for all of them. There's just so much more that I enjoy from them in watching these movies in my native language, plus, with a good selection of voice actors in the dubs, it's just so much more pleasant to listen to them in English. Some of my favorites include:

KIKI: This movie got me into Miyazaki, and to this day I still hold it close to my heart. Phil Hartman's Jiji is noticeably different from his Japanese counterpart, true, but I personally found him hilarious and a joy to listen to every time. Kirsten Dunst was also great as Kiki. The additional music pieces aren't as lovely as the rescore for LAPUTA, but I liked them anyway, and I hope nobody rags on me if I say that I loved the Sydney Forest songs at the OP and ED.

LAPUTA: Another favorite of mine. There's been a lot of controversy over the Disney dub of this film (as with TOTORO), but personally I love this movie better in English because it makes some clever casting choices for most of its characters: Dola and Muska especially, and I also liked the new score by Joe Hisaishi. The leads are probably a tad too mature-sounding and the script chattier than necessay, but otherwise this is a dub I enjoy unreservedly. Of course I like the Japanese version too, but the dub gets more replay value with me.

TOTORO: I love this movie so much because the title character reminds me of my pet guinea pig. There are a lot of people who argue that the FOX dub is superior to Disney's version, but I think both versions are excellent in their own right. The first was a classic of its time, but the newer dub really does add a lot to the film, especially in the casting of two actual sisters as Satsuki and Mei.

MONONOKE: Breathtaking movie, excellent dub. Seeing this in the big screen was a treat for me.

-Jon T.

My favourite Miyazaki films are Grave of the fireflies and Princess Mononoke. My favourite work of Miyazaki is something not popular over here which is conan Boy of the future. If anyone of you watched this anime, you'd see how much Studio Ghibli movies were inspired by that anime.

[QUOTE="Bass7"][QUOTE="Film-Guy"]

Not sure of the region, it works on DVD players in the U.S from what I have tried. My friend got it imported for me so I dont know how much he spent. Probably more than 40 at least. Its a a nice plastic silver case.

Film-Guy

o_o, that means either the DVD isn't region locked, or all of your DVD players are region free :P.

Japanese dub only? DUB? XD. I always preferred the Japanese versions, but sometimes the english dub is fine (Spirited Away was good imo, even if it was by disney...because to me, disney never fails to deliver :)).

I dont mind the english subtitles, but the only english Dub I prefered was howls moving castle since it had Christian Bales voice:D

Actually, studio ghibli's dubbing or should I say Disney's dubbing is the best dubbing company ever because of the high production values and A grade actors they hire to do the voice overs so no need to worry about English Dub's quality.

My favourite Miyazaki films are Grave of the fireflies and Princess Mononoke. My favourite work of Miyazaki is something not popular over here which is conan Boy of the future. If anyone of you watched this anime, you'd see how much Studio Ghibli movies were inspired by that anime.

[QUOTE="Film-Guy"][QUOTE="Bass7"]

o_o, that means either the DVD isn't region locked, or all of your DVD players are region free :P.

Japanese dub only? DUB? XD. I always preferred the Japanese versions, but sometimes the english dub is fine (Spirited Away was good imo, even if it was by disney...because to me, disney never fails to deliver :)).

I dont mind the english subtitles, but the only english Dub I prefered was howls moving castle since it had Christian Bales voice:D

Actually, studio ghibli's dubbing or should I say Disney's dubbing is the best dubbing company ever because of the high production values and A grade actors they hire to do the voice overs so no need to worry about English Dub's quality.