Kiki's Delivery Service
I love this movie because I am a functioning human and it's impossible not to love this movie if you fit that criteria.
Kiki is a charming 13 year old witch who has moved away from home in order to complete her witches training. It has always tickled me that she decides to open up a flying delivery service. The idea is so far fetched and anti-stereotypical of a witch that it breaths fresh air into the very concept of witches and witchcraft. And what's additionally phenomenal is that Kiki acts her age! She's crazy awkward with boys and really self-conscious about her appearance. She carries around a lot of self doubt and insecurities. I think a big reason why she's so endearing to the general public (really why a lot of Studio Ghibli characters are so endearing) is that her character is so believable.
Mr. Myazaki has mentioned that he created the town Kiki goes to as a sort of generic European town borrowing from a lot of different architectural designs ranging from Sweden to Germany to Italy. He also created the timeline that Kiki inhabits as a place where WWII never happened. So I guess in a world where The Great War really was the war to end all wars zeppelins are still a cool and viable mode of transportation and not a gigantic hydrogen bomb waiting to explode. Although I suppose that Kiki's utopian society still discovered that travel by balloon isn't exactly a sane option.
Only Yesterday
A 27 year old woman who has been dubbed a hopeless spinster takes a two week summer vacation in order to work on a farm harvesting flowers to be made into dyes. She tells a local guy boring stories about when she was 10. Then she has an awkward conversation with his family where they try to convince her to move to the country and marry the guy which she ultimately decides to do. I kid you not, that is the entire plot of this movie.
There's a reason this is the only Studio Ghibli movie that was never translated and distributed in America.
Porco Rosso
This movie will always remind me of a tedious road trip I took with my family to California and my then 2 year old nephew who screamed "PORCO ROSSO" every time we tried to play a different movie in the DVD player and who then proceeded to fall asleep when we finally turned it on, but if you tried to put in something else he'd inexplicably wake up and scream for Porco Rosso again.
Fond memories.
The movie however, is fun and lighthearted about a man who has been cursed to look like a pig. It never explains why he was cursed or how/if the curse can be lifted. Nope. He's just a pig man and that's that.
I would really like someone to explain to me why he is a pig.
Pom Poko
A delightful movie about a group of raccoons who attempt to sabotage a housing development that is threatening to take over their natural habitat. They fail and then disguise themselves as humans in order to live among them undisturbed. There's a moral in there somewhere too... I'm sure you can figure out what it is.
I love this movie. I think this is my favorite Studio Ghibli movie thus far. The animation style is the most creative (in this person's most humble and 100% accurate opinion) and the characters are simply delightful. It also deals very strongly with Japanese folklore....which means I probably should have watched it in Japanese but there are a myriad of reasons why I didn't. None of which I'm going to elaborate on.
And speaking of Japanese mythology... if you aren't too much of a prude to watch this movie you'll notice a stark difference in animal anatomy between a Japanese raccoon and an American one (at least in regards to the opinions of the animation industry and not actual physical raccoon anatomy). However, said anatomy is necessary in order to maintain the accuracy of the Japanese folklore being portrayed. I could lecture as to why this isn't inappropriate but I think this post is long enough as it is.
Until next time...
