have to admit I wept like a baby at the end of this, my wife is still teasing me about it, but the wish to leave my son with more happy than sad memories is a very strong and fraught feeling for me.
― too young for seapunk (Moodles), Monday, 29 June 2015 21:46 (nine years ago) link
i also realize this movie is for babies so its ok that i didnt like it but im so sick of this ITS FOR ADULTS TOO hype bullshit when it is clearly NOT
― Cory Sklar, Monday, 29 June 2015 21:48 (nine years ago) link
I probably wouldn't choose to watch this independent of children, but there is definitely a poignancy that I can relate to as a parent of a child the same age as Riley.
― too young for seapunk (Moodles), Monday, 29 June 2015 21:53 (nine years ago) link
Are you quoting a 16 year old or is that your actual opinion
― da croupier, Monday, 29 June 2015 21:54 (nine years ago) link
Lol xpost
16 year old me wasn't into richard kind either
― Cory Sklar, Monday, 29 June 2015 21:55 (nine years ago) link
i was... underwhelmed by this. even some of the best pixar movies have climaxes that feel, if not perfunctory exactly, then kind of rote. "inside/out" felt a lot like that for much of its length. the inventiveness of the premise did not extend to the mechanics of the action. it also had that problem where it kept making up new rules for the world of the film, to the point where it began to feel quite arbitrary.
that said, there were lots of little clever bits, such that i rarely didn't have a smile on my face. i liked some of the character designs a lot, even if they weren't that original. ("disgust" was the weak link in all respects.)
― wizzz! (amateurist), Monday, 29 June 2015 22:49 (nine years ago) link
also: poor, poor bing bong :(
― wizzz! (amateurist), Monday, 29 June 2015 22:50 (nine years ago) link
of course, that whole changing-the-rules-every-five-minutes goes double for some ghibli movies. and it gets a little irritating in ponyo and, to a lesser extent, howl's moving castle. but in general the ghibli films are so fucking inventive and weird that i don't mind. (on a side note i rewatched kiki's delivery service last week and i think that might be the stealth best ghibli movie?)
― wizzz! (amateurist), Monday, 29 June 2015 22:51 (nine years ago) link
i put totoro / kiki / porco rosso / laputa on the same pedestal
― like a giraffe of nah (forksclovetofu), Monday, 29 June 2015 22:59 (nine years ago) link
what about nausicaa??!
― wizzz! (amateurist), Monday, 29 June 2015 23:00 (nine years ago) link
Manga version blows Nausicaa away.
― Falconetti Pot (Leee), Monday, 29 June 2015 23:35 (nine years ago) link
otm, after reading the books the movie became nigh unwatchable for me, except muted as just something cool to see in the background.
― a mallomar full of chamillionaires (Doctor Casino), Monday, 29 June 2015 23:36 (nine years ago) link
leee otm
― like a giraffe of nah (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 30 June 2015 00:06 (nine years ago) link
basically all of the "lone girl versus / as-a-manifestation-of the unknown or semi-supernatural" films (nausicaa, howl, spirited away, ponyo, mononoke) are good and occasionally great but not upper tier
actually, add "the wind rises" to the top five up there; i'd be hard pressed to rank them beyond that though
― like a giraffe of nah (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 30 June 2015 00:10 (nine years ago) link
― a mallomar full of chamillionaires (Doctor Casino), Monday, June 29, 2015 6:36 PM (50 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
challops!
― wizzz! (amateurist), Tuesday, 30 June 2015 00:28 (nine years ago) link
ahemhttp://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/7b/7f/81/7b7f810667562148ca5626c6b3153d0f.jpghttp://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/museum/mei/
― like a giraffe of nah (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 30 June 2015 00:39 (nine years ago) link
(you're welcome btw)
― like a giraffe of nah (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 30 June 2015 00:43 (nine years ago) link
I'd been looking forward to seeing this one with my kids. Finally did tonight, and ... pretty disappointed. Reminded me a bit of one of those EPCOT pseudo-educational film before-the-ride movies, but stretched out to feature length. Not boring, just sort of functional. At the same time, it didn't seem quite fleshed out well enough to support its running time - a lot of the movie was just this not terribly thrilling "we need to get the x to the y!" race - though I did love the central conceit of sadness and joy being equally vital components of growing up. And I'd much rather something minor like this than a "Monsters U," no question. But at times I flashed back to "Monsters Inc.", and how wonderfully that movie handled somewhat similar subject matter, yet in a much more creative manner than what this one attempts literally.
Other random thoughts:
1) Design-wise, I actually thought it was pretty uninspiring for Pixar. The main characters were a bit like boring Muppets, and all the little sub-Minion tic tac characters were sort of missed opportunities.
2) I try to see most Pixar movies in 2D, but this felt like the first Pixar movie that really seemed like it was trying to be 3D. Like, lots of things flying at the screen, playing with perspective or otherwise seemingly designed to make the most of 3D. Sort of distracting.
3) I cry at virtually every movie I see with my kids. I love the experience. I probably even cried, most recently, at "Jurassic World," since I love watching them watch movies so much. But weirdly I did not cry at this one.
4) Was surprised at how not funny it was. In fact, early on they use the old "Be positive!" "OK ... I'm positive this is a bad idea" groaner. And then they do it again! And I can't believe they threw in a lame "Forget it, Jake ... " "Chinatown" gag.
5) How long was Riley at the new house? A few days? And jeez, wouldn't that house go for, like, $10 billion dollars in San Fran? Or is that the bad part of town?
6) Bing Bong also seemed like a missed opportunity. And as my older daughter pointed out, shouldn't he have made a fleeting appearance in the opening montage of formative memories?
7) Joy was pretty condescending, wasn't she? She was basically Leslie Knope.
7) The nightmare music was the music from Disney's "Haunted Mansion" ride!
8) I would watch an entire movie about the inner lives of cats.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 30 June 2015 02:10 (nine years ago) link
on a side note i rewatched kiki's delivery service last week and i think that might be the stealth best ghibli movie?)
we just went thru a Miyazaki festival and, yeah, I agree.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 30 June 2015 02:17 (nine years ago) link
"Kiki's" is great, one of my older daughter's faves. Also, some great Phil Hartman in the English version.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 30 June 2015 02:25 (nine years ago) link
the moment where hartman comes back and says "I'm here too Kiki!" is the moment i determined never to watch a dubbed miyazaki again.
― like a giraffe of nah (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 30 June 2015 03:33 (nine years ago) link
kiki is (of course) a very early miyazaki dub, none of the others are that obnoxious
― insufficiently familiar with xgau's work to comment intelligently (BradNelson), Tuesday, 30 June 2015 03:51 (nine years ago) link
(assuming that the fox totoro is out of print and wiped from memory)
Spirited Away > Kiki > Howls > Ponyo > Mononoke > The Wind Rises > Totoro
― Norse Jung (Eric H.), Tuesday, 30 June 2015 04:24 (nine years ago) link
i like the fox totoro! the vhs one right?
― like a giraffe of nah (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 30 June 2015 04:33 (nine years ago) link
― insufficiently familiar with xgau's work to comment intelligently (BradNelson), Monday, June 29, 2015 10:51 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
i thought that there were two dubs, one for the first theatrical release, and it was re-done for the DVD/Blu-Ray. maybe i'm mixing it up with a few other films. (yes, i /know/ there was an original, botched american release of nausicaa as "warriors of the wind." i'm talking about disney re-doing a few english dubs.)
― wizzz! (amateurist), Tuesday, 30 June 2015 05:21 (nine years ago) link
More than most need to know:
http://animeenglishdubreviews.blogspot.com/2009/09/dub-review-kikis-delivery-service.html
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 30 June 2015 12:03 (nine years ago) link
I saw the Japanese version of Kiki last week at a screening – marvelous.
― Norse Jung (Eric H.)
otm
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 30 June 2015 12:06 (nine years ago) link
Totoro deserves more love
― too young for seapunk (Moodles), Tuesday, 30 June 2015 13:24 (nine years ago) link
Was Sadness supposed to resemble Velma from Scooby Doo?
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 30 June 2015 21:08 (nine years ago) link
she wasn't a lesbian.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 30 June 2015 21:10 (nine years ago) link
kiki > mononoke > totoro > spirited away > ponyo > howls
― difficult listening hour, Tuesday, 30 June 2015 21:22 (nine years ago) link
grew up with the fox totoro, never seen the disney one but fiercely partisan anyway
― difficult listening hour, Tuesday, 30 June 2015 21:27 (nine years ago) link
Princess Monolake.
― :wq (Leee), Tuesday, 30 June 2015 21:41 (nine years ago) link
oh yeah i like the fox totoro too, i just forgot to acknowledge it when criticizing the disney kiki
― insufficiently familiar with xgau's work to comment intelligently (BradNelson), Tuesday, 30 June 2015 23:40 (nine years ago) link
Liking anything more than Spirited Away is fucking insanity.
― Norse Jung (Eric H.), Wednesday, 1 July 2015 04:47 (nine years ago) link
spirited away has never been my favorite miyazaki film lol
― insufficiently familiar with xgau's work to comment intelligently (BradNelson), Wednesday, 1 July 2015 04:57 (nine years ago) link
otm except i don't rate howls
you can't put totoro at the bottom of a spectrum
It's infantile and cloying.
― Norse Jung (Eric H.), Wednesday, 1 July 2015 05:00 (nine years ago) link
gtfo
― insufficiently familiar with xgau's work to comment intelligently (BradNelson), Wednesday, 1 July 2015 05:19 (nine years ago) link
Eat shit and die.
― Norse Jung (Eric H.), Wednesday, 1 July 2015 05:21 (nine years ago) link
that's the ghibli spirit!
― wizzz! (amateurist), Wednesday, 1 July 2015 17:07 (nine years ago) link
I haven't seen any of the Pixars since Toy Story 3 and was kinda thinking that I was over them, but this was wonderful. The mixed genders of the emotions in Riley's head (as opposed to the uniform gender representation in the adults) struck me too; the subtle suggestion that we only take on firm gender identities while in the process of growing up is typical of Pixar at their brilliantly subversive peak (see also, the critique of the "graduation" in The Incredibles). I teared up a good four or five times, which isn't something I normally do--I'm thinking the combination getting married yesterday and my accompanying some children to the movie (it was my friend's three-year-old's first time seeing a film in the theater) had me in an unusually (and appropriately!) vulnerable emotional state. I suppose that I could share the above gripe about the so-typically-Pixar move of overdoing the peril, but I also credit the film for its constant invention--the film never coasts on its premise, but rather keeps finding new ways to explore it (the "abstract thought" scene...wow).
Beyond that, I laughed, partially in amazement, at the joke about bears in San Francisco, and groaned at the Chinatown reference while at the same time being somewhat impressed that a children's film in 2015 even bothered making a reference to Chinatown. And I loved the fact that I was watching what is essentially a family version of a Charlie Kaufmann script.
Lava looked pretty, but I may have been a bit more susceptible to its brand of corniness had the song not reminded me cringingly of Jack Johnson (the beach-bummmy singer/songwriter, not the guy Miles Davis wrote the one album about).
― The New Gay Sadness (cryptosicko), Thursday, 2 July 2015 00:36 (nine years ago) link
the song reminded me of "Hey Soul Sister."
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 2 July 2015 00:38 (nine years ago) link
Song reminded me, musically and thematically, of Josh Ritter's "The Curse."
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 2 July 2015 02:03 (nine years ago) link
(see also, the critique of the "graduation" in The Incredibles)
― Nhex, Thursday, 2 July 2015 03:05 (nine years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bq5vt_KUj5o
― wizzz! (amateurist), Thursday, 2 July 2015 05:28 (nine years ago) link
(xpost)
― wizzz! (amateurist), Thursday, 2 July 2015 05:29 (nine years ago) link