Spirited Away (2001)
Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki, Kirk Wise
Starring: Rumi Hiiragi, Miyu Irino, Mari Natsuki
Rated: PG for Some Scary Moments
Running Time: 2 h 5 m
TMM Score: 5 stars out of 5
STRENGTHS: Animation, Story, Characters, Fun, Worldbuilding
WEAKNESSES: -
A young girl wanders into the realm of the spirits and begins working at the magical bathhouse that resides there.
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Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki
Starring: Christian Bale, Emily Mortimer, Billy Crystal
Rated: PG for Frightening Images, And Brief Mild Language
Running Time: 1h 59m
TMM Score: 4.5 Stars
STRENGTHS: Animation, Themes, Characters, Lots of Fun
WEAKNESSES: Ending
A woman must break a curse with the help of demigod, Howl.
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Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Directed by: Isao Takahata
Starring: Tsutomu Tatsumi, Ayano Shiraishi, Yoshiko Shinohara, Akemi Yamaguchi
Rated:NR (Suggested PG-13 for Disturbing Content and Images)
Running Time: 1 h 29 m
TMM Score: 5 stars out of 5
STRENGTHS: Story, Perspective, Animation, Themes
WEAKNESSES: Pacing
A young boy and his little sister struggle to survive in Japan during World War II.
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The Wind Rises (2013)
Directed By: Hayao Miyazaki
Starring: Hideaki Anno, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Miori Takimoto
Rated: PG-13
Run Time: 2h 6m
TMM Score: 4 Stars
Strengths: Animation, Main Character
Weakness: Not Enough Time Spent on Early Love Story
A fantastical character study of Jiro Horikashi, the man who designed the Mitsubishi Zero Fighter Plane.
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Ghost in the Shell (1995)
Directed By: Mamoru Oshii
Starring: Atsuko Tanaka, Iemasa Kayumi, Akio Ôtsuka
Rated: NR
Run Time: 1h 23m
TMM Score: 5 Stars
Strengths: Animation, Philosophical Discussions
Weakness: Doesn’t Always Explain Difficult Concepts
Major Motoko Kusanagi of Section 9 is the most advanced cybernetically modified human ever, her entire body being replaced with robotic parts. When a cyber terrorist hacker, The Puppetmaster, eludes section 9’s grasp, Major is faced with a mystery which tangles the state’s actions, the future of humanity, and her own identity.
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Akira (1988)
Directed by: Katsuhiro Otomo
Starring: Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Saski, Takeshi Kusao
Rated: R for Graphic Violence and Brief Nudity
Running Time: 2 h 4 m
TMM Score: 4.5 stars out of 5
STRENGTHS: Story, Animation
WEAKNESSES: Compressed and Dense Story
In the distant future of 2019, warring biker gangs in Tokyo get mixed up in powers far beyond their understanding.
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Alita: Battle Angel (2019)
Directed by: Robert Rodriguez
Starring: Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley, Keenan Johnson, Lana Condor, Eiza Gonzalez, Edward Norton
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 2 h 2 m
TMM Score: 4 stars out of 5
STRENGTHS: Overall Story, World Building, Production Design, Acting, Soundtrack, Action, Faithfulness to Material, Rosa Salazar
WEAKNESSES: Cheesy Dialogue Doesn’t Always Translate Well To Screen, Storyline Feels A Bit Jumbled, Keenan Johnson, Lots of Exposition
A cyborg without memory searches for herself and her place in a violent and chaotic world.
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Pom Poko (1994)
Directed by:Isao Takahata
Starring:Shincho Kokontei, Makoto Nonomura, Yuriko Ishida
Rated: PG for Violence, Scary Images and Thematic Elements
Running Time: 1 h 59 m
TMM Score: 3.5 stars out of 5
STRENGTHS: Originality, Humor, Animation Style
WEAKNESSES: Length, Finding Target Audience
A group of shape-shifting “raccoon dogs” fight against the humans who plan on turning their forest into a development.
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Children Who Chase Lost Voices (2011)
Directed by: Makoto Shinkai
Starring: Hilary Haag, Corey Hartzog, Leraldo Anzaldua
Rated: TV-14
Running Time: 1 h 56 m
TMM Score: 3 stars out of 5
STRENGTHS: Animation Style, Originality, Design, Soundtrack
WEAKNESSES: Pacing, Legnth
A lonely young girl meets a mysterious boy on a mountain. When he disappears into a world beyond, the girl follows him and eventually discovers things about both her past and the boy’s.
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Porco Rosso (1992)
Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki
Starring: Shuichiro Moriyama, Tokiko Kato, Bunshi Katsura Vi
Rated: PG for Violence and Some Mild Language
Running Time: 1 h 34 m
TMM Score: 4 stars out of 5
STRENGTHS: Whimsy, Artwork, Unique Story, Music
WEAKNESSES: Meandering Plot, Low Stakes
Set in 1930’s Italy, a veteran World War I pilot cursed to look like a pig fights off air pirates and goes on other whimsical adventures.
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Mary and the Witch's Flower (2018)
Directed by: Hiromasa Yonebayashi
Starring: Hana Sugisaki, Yuki Amami; dubbed by Ruby Barnhill, Kate Winslet, Jim Broadbent
Rated: PG
Runtime: 1hr 42min
TMM Score: 3 Stars
STRENGTHS: Animation
WEAKNESSES: Simplicity, Derivative, Pacing
Staying in the country with her Great Aunt in the country is boring little Mary to tears. With no one to play with really, she follows a couple of neighborhood cats into the woods and finds a blue flower and a broomstick. The rare flower Mary has found gives her magical powers and the broom whisks her off to a magical school with a magical and terrifying secret.
To be honest, I was i bit disappointed in this film. Maybe it's just that I have been spoiled by Studio Ghibli movies but this first offering from new Studio Ponoc felt like well trod territory to me. If you have never seen Studio Ghibli films like “Spirited Away,” then I suppose this movie would seem extremely innovative. However, I feel about this film the way I felt about Pixar’s “Good Dinosaur”. It’s alright. In fact for an extremely young child it would be preferable to “Spirited Away” since that film is more intense.
That is the problem though. This film seems like a movie a kid might outgrow and certainly I felt like an adult in a kid’s movie as I watched.
That being said, the animation is beautiful. On par with Studio Ghibli movies you can certainly see the roots of the director in that company. Some of the flying sequences are squeal worthy, they are so fun.
But that is really the extent of it. I felt it was too slow, especially when the characters are as simple as these are. Even the story seems very derivative of “Spirited Away,” Narnia, and Harry Potter. What a unique idea. A kid has magical powers and ends up going to a magic school where she finds out that she holds the secret to destroying some great darkness.
Yup. No big twists here guys.
The simplicity of this film is the simplicity of a children’s book. It isn’t bad and even, I think, has its place. If you have young kids and tire of the latest Dreamworks drek and cash grab, this film will be quite refreshing, but if you are just and adult fan of anime, you can probably skip this one.
