The latest from Ghibney

Walt Disney Studios and Studio Ghibli are responsible for the largest amount of quality hand drawn animation of the 20th century. I've thought about it and I think I can say that statement without any doubt in my mind. Especially Disney. I give them a hard time a lot because of their tightwad, jerky, no fun allowed economic policies, but at the same time, no one company has done more for the world of animation, hands down. So Disney is an obvious choice, no surprise. But why Ghibli?

Ghibli for those of you who may not know is a Japanese animation company founded, I think, in the 80s by a couple of directors, Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata and their producer Toshio Suzuki. Ever since then, they have produced animation of extremely high quality on a relatively quick schedule. Being that they are a Japanese company though, there was not a whole lot of market permeation of their product in the US. Even if there was, not a whole lot of people are just going to throw down money for some oddball anime stuff when the most experience they've had with the genre is the regrettable Speed Racer import. That includes me. I'm very glad Disney has championed the effort to market the Ghibli name in the US. Somehow we all just trust the mouse and his seal of approval.

So far Disney has tried to release the bigger titles of Ghibli. Nothing surprising, just good business sense. Therefore we've seen most of the great Miyazaki titles, but he's only half of the directing clout of Ghibli. Isao Takahata has been all but ignored by Disney, but that changed with the latest two releases: Pom Poko, and My Neighbors the Yamadas.

Pom Poko first, because I don't have a whole lot to say about it. It is just very odd to westerners I think. It's your basic environmental tale about the city taking over the countryside and the inhabitants rising up against impossible odds. In this case our underdogs are raccoons. Raccoons that have the ability of transformation. I think this is out of Japanese mythology or folklore or something, but I don't know. In any case, the story is pretty standard, but the subject matter is so goofy and cliche and cheesy that I just had a hard time watching with much enjoyment. It boggles my mind why Disney chose this particular Takahata to release when there's at least one (Graves of the Fireflies) that has garnered much more praise. Probably something to do with copyright I guess.

My Neighbors the Yamadas is a much better pick of the two. It paints a picture of the life and times of a Japanese family living in the modern world. It is based on a comic strip and is quite funny, but at the same time it feels very genuine. There is the idea that their family isn't perfect but that doesn't keep them from being united. They may yell, the parents may argue, but in the end, they are a family that stands together. There are even a couple of nice speeches framing the film that talk about the sanctity of marriage and how being a family is not easy and requires a lot of patience and work, but that perserverance is fully rewarding. A film based on those sentiments is very refreshing, but there are more reasons that this film gets a strong recommendation.

First, its animation. It is based on a comic strip and it shows. It doesn't even really have the polished, clean look that characterizes most anime. It looks like some sort of weird cross between Charles Schultz's Peanuts and Bill Plympton's animation. On top of that there is an influence of the simple and direct style of Japanese Wood Prints, especially in the nature scenes. To complete the odd tone of everything, the color scheme is pastel-ey, almost like watered down water colors. This simple style is brought to life by technically complex and fluid animation. Lots of sweeping shots or panoramic views complete with great lighting effects. You see it and wonder aloud, how can this look real when it looks like this? The scene where Mr. Yamada is watching a baseball game on TV is so lifelike while using such simple strokes that it reminds me of why I enjoy animation so much. The individual pictures don't have to be lifelike at all, the motion infuses life and creates a world.

The next great part about the Yamadas is its episodic storytelling. Instead of trying to tell a long story (there are a few long sequences), Takahata basically divides the film up into groups of skits that deal with a particular dynamic or character in the family. The nearest comparison I can come up with is the on-again-off-again-Broadway production of You're a Good Man Charlie Brown. For an analogy with a Japanese flair, it is like sampling little bits of sushi from a large plate. Every scene has a new distinct flavor that is complete in itself. The only problem that I noticed about this method of storytelling is that it lacks the pace for a full 100 minute film. In my mind Takahata needed some "numbers" to break up more of the skits. With You're a Good Man, you get skits and then Snoopy fighting the Red Baron or the troupe singing about Peter Rabbit. With the Yamadas, there are only skits. After 60 minutes you get a little restless. Still enjoying the film, but a little restless.

True to form Disney did a good job dubbing their new vocal tracks, but I have some issues with how they did this one. First, I love the way this film sounds in Japanese. The rhythm of the language just compliments the film better than English in my mind. Second, the Japanese actors speak like normal people. It keeps the family down to earth and real. The English actors, especially Jim Belushi as Mr. Yamada, play up the comedy a bit too much for my taste. It's almost like they should have retitled the film My Wacky Neighbors the Yamadas for this English dub. Lastly, they change a few key lines. One, in particular, changes the whole dynamic of a scene. Mr. Yamada is upset about not having his umbrella. He calls and asks someone to bring it. No one at home has time because they're so busy. He eventually gets so upset that he says "Fine! I'll just Buy one!" to which Mrs. Yamada says "Oh, good, can you pick up some pork?" The American version has him say "Fine!" and hang up. He then goes, buys the umbrella and pork and the scene plays out. In the Japanese version he says "No Way!" (at least that's what the subtitles say.) This makes the scene when he passes by the pork, pauses, and finally buys it a whole heck of a lot more touching. It also balances out the end when the rest of the family meets him with Umbrellas. What a great scene of working through life's minor difficulties through forgiveness and love rather than playing the destructive game of one-upsmanship. The scene isn't ruined by the translation, but is definitely damaged. Despite its faults, I still like watching this with the dub so I can enjoy the animation rather than having to read subtitles all day.

The music is cute. The main theme is kind of a kitschy western folk dance, but the music between the skits again reminds me of Peanuts in the form of Vince Guaraldi-ish piano licks. The music over the top of the skits is placed for comedic effect and includes sources like Que Sera, Sera and Mahler's 5th. Hey, nothing that includes Mahler's 5th can be all bad. A very fun musical score that fits just right.

It's a good package. Disney doesn't need your support, but Ghibli sort of does. They're doing just fine, but for them to distribute to America they need fans. For Disney to continue to release these films they need to be economically prudent investments and this requires fans. Want to become one? Just ask me how. You won't be sorry.