Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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55 of 59 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Spirited away, June 19, 2005
With the phenomenal "Howl's Moving Castle" currently in theatres, it seems right that Hayao Miyazaki's important backload of work is being released all at once. This Japanese producer/artist/director/writer is known for his intense, magical animated films, with their strong messages about peace and nature.
A "Castle in the Sky" is the goal for miner boy Pazu (James Van Der Beek), whose father once glimpsed the floating city of Laputa (presumably named after the floating island Swift wrote of). When he rescues a young girl named Sheeta (Anna Paquin) floating from the sky, Pazu finds himself closer to Laputa than ever before. But soon Sheeta is taken prisoner by a sinister government force -- and Pazu himself must join up with a band of oddball pirates to get her back, and find Laputa.
"Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind" is a unique postapocalyptic fantasy tale, with a unique look at the natural world. Brave Nausicaa (Alison Lohman) lives in the Valley of the Wind, an oasis in a world half-destroyed by ancient wars, ad now dominated by a poisonous fungus jungle and enormous insects. But when a warship crashes near her home, Nausicaa finds herself in the middle of a power struggle, and the prize is a terrifying "god warrior" that could destroy them all.
"Princess Mononoke" is perhaps the weakest of these assorted films, but is still a remarkably lovely film. Ashitaka (Billy Crudup), a young warrior, stops a boar-god from destroying his village, but is infected with the strange ailment that drove it mad. He leaves his village, only to find himself locked in the middle of a terrible battle. On one side is a city that helps humans, but destroys nature -- and the other side is a mysterious young girl (Claire Danes) and the strange spirit that oversees the forest.
"Spirited Away" is the film that finally got Miyazaki an Oscar. Chihiro (Daveigh Chase) is on her way to her new home, when her parents stop at an old amusement park. Suddenly the park comes alive with ancient spirits, giant animals, and a greedy old witch overseeing it all. To rescue her parents -- and herself -- the little girl must team up with a strange young boy, Haku (James Marsden), who changes into a dragon.
"Kiki's Delivery Service" is formed when a young witch (Kirsten Dunst) leaves home to begin her year of solitary training. With only her smart-aleck cat Jiji (Phil Hartman) as a companion, she flies to a small seaside town and sets up a delivery service, using her broomstick for transportation. But her new life is complicated when Kiki's powers start to fade.
"Porco Rosso" (Michael Keaton) is the most skilled and unfortunate of the Italian pilots -- because of a peculiar curse, he now has the face of a pig. But though he deals with the guilt that led to his transformation, he still lives the life of a swashbuckling mercenary -- tackling air piracy, competing with a driven American pilot, and dealing with the love of his assistant and his childhood sweetheart.
Hayao Miyazaki is one of those rare filmmakers that appeals to everyone -- at a recent viewing of "Moving Castle," I saw everyone from preschoolers to grandmothers. Of the films here, perhaps only the gory (and rather slow) "Princess Mononoke" is not for everyone. In terms of scope, his skills extend from postapocalyptic sci-fi to ecologic fantasy to an offbeat Lewis-Carroll-esque mind trip.
No matter how bleak the story, Miyazaki colors his stories with thrilling aeriel chases and colorful animation, as well as plenty of enchanting settings, like the floating city, sandstone castle or the charming seaside town. He also tends to include messages about nature, friendship, selflessness and belief in oneself. These messages are only rarely hamhanded, and never simplistic.
The voicework in these movies tends to be excellent, with solid work from actors like Chase, Crudup, Dunst, and Paquin. Marsden is particularly good as the enigmatic boy-dragon Haku. On the other hand, Van Der Beek is a bit of a sour note. He doesn't do a bad job, but he does sound like the oldest preteen in the world. They should have gotten someone about ten years younger.
Ignore the label of "children's films" -- Hayao Miyazaki's films are enchanting and uplifting animated pieces, and at his best he's truly outstanding.
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42 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Six great Miyazaki movies, one worthy pack!, June 10, 2005
Thanks to the success of SPIRITED AWAY in America, the works of Japanese animation maestro Hayao Miyazaki are finally starting to get the recognition they deserve. Two years ago, when Disney issued the aforementioned Oscar-winner along with KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE and CASTLE IN THE SKY on DVD, AMAZON.COM made the very generous decision of offering all three of these masterpieces together as a three-pack. Now, with NAUSICAA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND and PORCO ROSSO slowly enchanting newcomers and a few great more Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli works on the way to America, AMAZON.COM has prepped yet another package of Miyazaki treats--this set not only includes the aforementioned movies, but also PRINCESS MONONOKE (distributed by Disney's then subsidiary Miramax). The most convenient thing about this pack is that by purchasing this deal, you'll be saving yourself the potentially costly choice of buying each one individually.
The films themselves are unquestionably masterpieces, as I'm sure you may have heard from many other people, but special mention should be made to Disney's DVD releases as well: all six of these movies have top-quality visual transfers (CASTLE and KIKI sometimes show their age in the video quality, but still look excellent) with the original Japanese language track complete with the original credits and English subtitles for longtime afficionadoes.
But for English speaking audiences who don't want to read subtitles and pay attention to the visuals, Disney has provided high-quality dubs for all six films. While dubbing in a live-action film can be distracting (especially if the voice is not associated with the actor on screen), the same arguments do not apply for anime (or cartoons in general). An animated cel stands on its own and is open to all kinds of vocal interpretation. Some argue that Disney's choice of big name actors and actresses are distracting, but on the flip side, these assembled talents such as Mark Hamill, Cloris Leachman, Phil Hartman, Minnie Driver, Patrick Stewart, Michael Keaton, Uma Thurman, Suzanne Pleshette and others help attract newcomers to these movies and give strong, solid performances in their own right.
It's not like Miyazaki sold out to the Mouse House or anything: he has stated that any adaptations of his movies should be done under the supervision of his company, Studio Ghibli and that any alterations in dialogue or music (in the case of KIKI and CASTLE; where the former's songs were changed due to licensing problems and the latter received a superbly lush and breathtaking reorchestration by the original composer, Joe Hisaishi) must not be done without consultation. Thanks to a strong campaign by PIXAR superstar John Lasseter, Disney has honored Miyazaki's wishes through their dubs, remaining faithful to the spirit of the original stories while occasionally adding to them. It should be noted that KIKI, CASTLE, and MONONOKE were not dubbed by Lasseter, but by Anime overdub veteran Jack Fletcher. But while these three dubs may not have the name "Lasseter" attached to them, they are still very much worth watching for excellent performances and solid scripting.
As far as the extras go, they range from barebones (MONONOKE) to passable (KIKI, CASTLE) to good (PORCO ROSSO) to must-watch (NAUSICAA and SPIRITED AWAY). The most common feature is a behind-the-scenes featurette on translating the movies into English (and the actors speaking fondly about Miyazaki and his work). With the exception of MONONOKE, the other superfluous but interesting extra are the Japanese trailers and storyboards synched to the soundtrack. But the real meat of extras are on both the NAUSICAA and SPIRITED AWAY DVDs, which include featurettes on the making of SPIRITED AWAY and a worthwhile history lesson on the birth of Studio Ghibli. Not a whole lot of extras for such fabulous movies, but better than satisfactory nonetheless.
Whether you choose to watch these movies in their language of origin or in the A-grade English tracks provided by Disney, Miyazaki's work is essential to anyone's DVD library, and by purchasing a deal like this, you'll not only be saving a bit of money, but getting more than what it's worth as well. I like that AMAZON.COM put together this excellent offer of a purchase. Not only is it less expensive than buying each movie individually, it's more convenient, too.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Mass of Anime Classics, October 27, 2005
Miyazaki just knows how to entertain us. So much so that a huge name such as Disney would pick up his Japanese films. And this is as good a team as I've seen in quite some time (Disney and Ghibli). Disney has the capability of getting those big named voices (Uma Thurman, Patrick Stewart, and Michael Keaton to name a few) that make these movies twice as magical as they already are.
This collection brings together not just two of Miyazaki's truest masterpieces (Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke) but also four more of his past successes. With Howl's Moving Castle looming for DVD release this is a great way to get yourself affiliated with Ghibli work. I'd recommend these to anyone but especially parents who want some family time but are completely bored with what their children enjoy. Not all movies work for the entire family, however. One, Princess Mononoke is definitely more mature than others, while Kiki's Delivery Service is geared more for the kids.
Below is a list of shorter reviews:
Spirited Away: Miyazaki's Oscar winner about a girl who gets lost in a spirit world and must become a worker to survive while also trying to save both her parents and her memory. It's a children's love story filled with morals.
Princess Mononoke: Miyazaki's action film, this movie starts out exciting and end in the same way. A fantasy epic of gods, monsters, and the humanity's capabilities for good.
Porco Rosso: Miyazaki's love of the sea and planes becomes apparent with this movie, about a man turned pig who must battles air-pirates in order to save the Adriatic. Funny the whole way through, but with a few touching moments in between.
Nausicaa...: This is a relevant tale about human and nature and our wont for destruction. The humans of the Valley of the Wind battle giant insects and a poisonous jungle to keep the jungle itself from spreading. Nausicaa isn't too serious but there is a clear theme.
Kiki's Delivery Service: This is a tale of a young witch who must go out in the world in order to learn what her capabilities are, and she takes a job as a delivery girl. As heartwarming as any of Miyazaki's films, the children will love this one.
Castle in the Sky: This film follows two young people as they seek out the mysterious castle in the sky. The girl searches to find the secrets of her past and the boy searches to follow the dreams of his dead father.
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