Castle In The Sky (1986)

Set audio to Japanese, and subtitles to English. But why is this intro in American English playing? I can't imagine anything I want to possibly watch less than an intro track. I'm already here, and committed - I don't want to be told anything unless its from the creator of the work. Trailers are spoilers. Next track.

Taking a break almost half-way through. So far, so good. Though I haven't seen this movie before, I recognize something almost immediately, something that must be coming from Miyazaki himself: a sense of gentleness. Things happen, bad things drive forward the plot, but there something about Miyazaki's worlds that seem inclined to be kind, even when the situation gets mean. The endless references to air and flight are to be expected now. I also expect the high attention to detail, but I continue to be pleasantly surprised by it anyway.

I recognize a few other themes, like war, meddlesome beauracracy, the crudeness of technology, and the infinite wonder and resilience of nature. The characters are thin, again, but their motivations are made clear enough, and are believable. For a second there, I thought the pirate leader was going to get some deeper characterization as she let her guard down a little. But it was mostly an opportunity lost, or deliberately not carried forward. The physics are not believable, but I am learning to just go with the flow on that one.

Something a little more jarring is the voicework. There are times when from the sound of the voices you can clearly hear the approximate size and shape of where they are, and it doesn't match what's on the screen. Someone was yelling in a vast open airy space, and yet you could hear some echo off the studio walls that shouldn't have been there. It's a small thing, and probably long since improved upon over the decades, so I guess it can't be helped. I often spot little commonalities with Akira, like the way someone looks or sounds when they fell, or groan, etc. I'm also picking up changes in the animation quality, which I imagine to an expert allows you to tell about what year it was made.

Enough intermission, already too long.

This felt a lot like the last Ghibli movie, maybe even more strange and less subtle. I almost have the impression that the author was thinking the audience didn't get the point of the last movie, war bad nature good, so let me spell it out even simpler for you this time: stop fighting and be nice to your mother. Who could disagree with this message? And yet, all I am left with is the lingering shot of a flying space tree, powered by a giant glowing crystal, leaving the Earth forever. What?

Worth seeing, but I can't see myself ever coming back this way agian.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

Knowing the greatness that is to come, Nausicaä seems a bit like an early (but good) draft of a greater story. All the elements are there, but it feels like a little something is missing. Maybe it was something about the dialogue, or depth of characterization, that could have been a little deeper. I almost hate to say anything critical at this point, because I'm comparing to it later works that I've already seen.

Again, I watched it in the original language with subtitles. One of the special features on the disk shows the all-star cast of English speaking actors used for the dub. It seemed like they put so much effort into it, and had so much fun doing it, that I should re-watch it using dubbed voices. But I feel like that is a side pursuit I don't need right now. I'm having enough trouble staying on track.

Another special feature showed the history of Studio Ghibli up to the release of Howl's Moving Castle, I think. It also showed twice as many movies by Ghibli and/or Miyazaki that I even knew existed. I'm still not entirely clear on who made what, but I'm quickly getting the sense I should focus on whatever Miyazaki was personally involved in (and not just produced by his studio).