Tag: ghibli

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COMPETITION: Win a copy of Studio Ghibli's 'Arrietty' on DVD

It's been a while since our last competition, but why not spice things up a little with a chance to win Ghibli's 'Arrietty' on DVD? It was reviewed by our Lola a few months back, and it seemed to be a nice addition to Ghibli's already inspirational line-up of films.

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Lola reviews Studio Ghibli series: Arrietty (2011)

For anyone who isn't familiar with this movie, it is the latest release from the magical Studio Ghibli who have brought us many wonderful films such as Spirited Away and Ponyo. With many wonderful films under their belt everyone awaits for their inevitable flop, I mean it happens to everyone, right? Not this time. This film is truly wonderful from the get go.

Arrietty is an anime version of the borrowers, which instantly made me happy because I remember the tv show as a child which I turned into an awesome playground game thus resulting in many happy memories... Anyhow, back to the movie:

The main character in this movie is a young girl named, yep you guessed it, Arrietty. She's fast approaching 14 meaning she's to learn the skills of 'borrowing'. Her first borrowing mission is cut short however when a young boy sees her trying to 'borrow' a sheet of tissue. This is of course the worst possible thing to happen to the Borrowers who strive to remain unseen as a matter of live and death. However, instead of trying to catch them, the young boy and Arrietty strike up an unlikely friendship...

I wont say any more about the plot, as I would not like to ruin it for any of you.

Arrietty Trailer

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While it may not be an action packed movie it certainly was an absolute treat for the peepers, and made my heart swell with joy. My only negative points being it was a little bit slow to start, and there was a super cheesy farewell between Arrietty and the young boy, but it was still lovely, and I left feeling very enchanted.

Well done Ghibli. 7/10.

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Kazed reviews Studio Ghibli series: Nausicaä of The Valley of The Wind

So I'll admit this - The only Ghibli film I've seen before this is The Cat Returns, and that was a brilliant piece of cinema. I see Ghibli as the Pixar as the 2D Animation world(if that makes sense?). I've been wanting to see these films for a long time now, and now I have my chance. This will be the first of the Studio Ghibli reviews, starting with Nausicaä of The Valley of The Wind, the 2005 re-release, with the English cast. Behind all of the lush fantasy forests and imaginative over-the-top insect creatures, was basically a 'save the planet' message. This would have usually bothered me, only it was done so brilliantly and subtly that I didn't really care. Wall-E, for example, portrayed the same kind of message, but again, it was done beautifully, and wasn't really shoved down our throats like that atrocity, The Happening. I mean, really, what WAS 'happening'??? Off track. There weren't any moments within this film when I felt it was cliched at all, it all felt natural, as weird as it sounds. I think what added to this natural 'aura', if you will, was the brilliant voice acting by Alison Lohman, who played the Princess of the Valley, 'Nausicaä'. The character suited the voice perfectly, something which is difficult to achieve when something is being translated to English from another language. The emotion that she conveyed through her voice was astounding, I really felt her pain when the insects were being lured by the baby. This wasn't the only scene, but one of many; just thought this was a notable one. Patrick Stewart, Shia LeBouf, Mark Hamill and Uma Thurman also lent a hand, voicing Lord Yupa, Asbel, Mayor of Pejite and Kushana, respectively. The cast was something to admire; like Lohman/Nausicaä, each of the cast members seemed to resonate with their animated counterparts, and this was another element added to what I feel made the film as brilliant as it was. So in staying with the new rating system: Performances: 8/10 Plot: 7/10 Visuals: 7/10 Dialogue: 8/10 Stupidity factor (The higher the score, the more stupid it was): 2/10 Overall (average): 8/10 Kazed