Animation

Despite the unpleasantness towards the end (this seems to pervade many Japanese anime), and some really cheesy science, Akira remains in my mind, the king of the scifi anime genre, condensing elements of the mammoth manga into 2 hours. Brilliant animation that has not been superceded by later CG fusions such as Ghost in the Shell. In the original release it was far, far better to see it subtitled than in the horrible US dub. However, the re-release of the film on DVD has included a far superior dub that is eminently watchable.

Fusing CG and hand-drawn cartoon, this is a clear influence for "The Matrix" trilogy. A Cyberpunk story of man and machine that, as is so common in Japanese anime, descends into weirdness.

The first film may have had its faults but overall it pulled off a good piece of cinema. This film, continuing with the character of Batou, ups the visual look of the story considerably. However, apart from a couple of interesting "ghost-hack" sequences, I have to say that what the film has in style it loses in story. The script is structured like the first film, but it is lumbered with larger quantities of ham philosophy and the weak plot very quickly bored me, I'm afraid. Give this one a miss, and opt for the far superior, "Stand Alone Complex" Instead.

Apparently this story is a reimagining of "Ghost in the Shell", rather than a sequel. Actually, its just as easy to see the first series as coming prior to the events in the first film.
Great stuff. Visually superior to the film, with an interesting story arc that spans the "complex" episodes about a mysterious ghost-hacker known as "the laughing man". One or two episodes are a bit weak, but in general it hold together well. One warning though - it's not children's viewing, despite the cutsy tanks in it. Avoid episode 10 if you're of a squeamish nature.

I never understood the fascination for this film in the west. Maybe it reminds people of the Hanzel and Gretal story. I donno. I hated it. I watch it and all I see is and admixture of Shinto philosophy that reminds me of the darkness in humanity.

My favourite Ghibli to date.

Infamous in Asia this anime is beautful but perverse. The series/film fuses JudeoChristian imagery (not beliefs) with Buddhism to create an almighty mess, Philosophically it's a parent to "The Matrix".

Unrivaled music threads this simple story of Mawgli. Humorous and never patronisiing.

Defying logical explanation, this film didn't seem to get the publiciity it deserved. I laughed almost continuously through most of it as it has some of the funniest dialogue ever found in a Disney cartoon.

Cheap animation, yes, but wonderfully spirited adaptation of the novel - and even though it edits out some stuff and changes the name of a character, it comes closer to the spirit of the book than the Disney version. ... Though I have to admit a certain bias: the version with US voice-over really grates (though I think it was done first) - the voices simply don't match the characters.

Great CG (though the movement of people looks a little marionette like), and a decent story that ultimately descents into a Shinto take on Gaia philosophy.

Nice idea, not unreminiscent of "Gibson'e The Difference Englne". But logic is missing in teh story, and it ultimately fails

The story is fine, but if you remove Hammy the red squirrel from this and you remove a lot of the humour.

This first movie adaptation of the famous manga is fairly lame. Poorly directed and poorly acted it has none of the tension of the anime (I have my doubts for the choice made for some of the cast too).

The film may be written to formula, but the world it creates is so magical it's hard not to be drawn into it. The visual characterisation of Remy the rat is spot-on - as indeed are all of the caricatures presented in the film. And while at times its a little sentimental and it's not a continuous stream of jokes and laughter we can forgive those things, for this is a joyful film of the first order (though I'm undecided whether it will wear well in the long term).

As for the short that preceded it, Lift Off... I nearly strained my diaphragm laughing.

Great use of rotoscoping to improve acting skills. The story is fine as far as it goes too.

Sentimental and Nostalgic at times, Up paints an animated pastiche of old age and family relationships, that leans more heavily on the message than on the humor on occasion. It nevertheless pulls off a great piece of animation.

It's beautifully animated, but it lacks the wit and humor of previous pixar films, and as a result suffers from being overly cutsy.

Can I go out on a limb and say that a number of Miyazaki's movies are over-rated. No? Well, that I'm afraid, was what I was thinking when I got around to seeing this. I'm pleased that, this film at least, transcends my general thoughts on his movies.

Like other famous Japanese animated films that include aspects of Ghost in the Shelland Akira, and Final Fantasy, but more especially Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke is deeply rooted in Shintoism, much of which goes straight over the heads of Western audiences. While I found this difficult to enjoy in Spirited Away, here, I found the Shinto aspects much more of a curiosity and the the story itself can be read at an environmental level and Ashitaka's quest for the removal of his curse is handled expertly.

There's no getting around it: the animation is generally superb in this film (if not always free from being disturbing). However I can't help wondering about various motifs in anime that I find something of a cliche: compare, for instance, Tetsuo's loss of control over his body in Akira, with Ashitaka's loss of control over his arm here.

Would I recommend it? Yes, absolutely. If you want a good introduction to Miyazaki, this is the one I'd check out.

This is the funniest of the ice-age films so far. The asides with Scrat, the sabre-tooth squirrel, and his eternal hunt for a nut are integrated into the film much more seamlessly than in previous films. Throughout thie franchise he is easily the funniest character created, and it has been a shame that he has acted largely as a distraction from the main story.

Fairly bad effort that redeems itself towards the end. Still not worth watching though.