Miyazaki's 'Spirited Away' Wins Best Animated Picture 455
DavidBrown writes "Moments ago, Hayao Miyazaki won the Best Animated Picture award for 'Spirited Away.' It's about time."
In every hierarchy the cream rises until it sours. -- Dr. Laurence J. Peter
Lake-berating news? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Lake-berating news? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Lake-berating news? (Score:2)
Re:Lake-berating news? (Score:2, Interesting)
Props to him, not for berating bushes actions.. but for standing up in what he believes in. We should all follow his example.. doing what we believe in... do it to whatever extent we can. Cut through the bullshit.
Re:Lake-berating news? (Score:3, Funny)
Subscription Perks (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Subscription Perks (Score:3, Insightful)
In any case, Hollywood finally gets it right - to be sure, SA didn't have much in the way of real competition, but I was pleasantly surprised regardless.
Here's hoping that Laputa is released domestically soon!
N.
Great movie. (Score:2)
Re:Great movie. (Score:5, Interesting)
As Kirosawa used to say...
Q: What's the message of your movie?
Kirosawa: If I could answer that, I would have printed it on a card and held it up in front of the camera.
See this movie. It's art, and it's very finely crafted. Truly a masterpiece.
Re:Great movie. (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Great movie. (Score:2)
one dimensional characters which are either good
or bad but not much in between, and somehow I found
it really hard to care about the characters. They
are somehow very artificial. I suppose if you can't
live a day without anime, then this is OK but it
is IMHO sad that this won best animated picture.
interesting fact maybe? (Score:4, Funny)
Watch out (Score:2)
Darn (Score:3, Funny)
Right On! (Score:4, Interesting)
Some would compare it to Harry Potter, but really it's much more... intellectual.
Theatrical run (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Theatrical run (Score:2)
Still, the thing that sucks is that Disney IS profiting from this, and frankly I don't trust them to dub animes properly. But on the flip side of the coin, this could be a real boon, as it could really popularize anime. If disney (err... Miramax, really, but...) started bringing anime over all the time, well, I would be a happy puppy.
Re:Theatrical run (Score:2)
Dubbing (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Dubbing (Score:3, Insightful)
I actually -prefer- the dub for Spirited away, and that is a verry Verry rare thing for me.
Re:Theatrical run (Score:5, Informative)
Tragically, Kondou died in January 1998 of an aneurysm, never having a chance to direct a second film.
http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/kondo/
Re:Theatrical run (Score:2)
Re:Theatrical run (Score:2, Interesting)
Miyazaki's eulogy for his friend is very touching; it can be found linked from the Kondou page on Nausicaa.net...
Re:Disney's Plan of Control (Score:3, Insightful)
Maybe now that will change.
Buy the DVD... (Score:3, Informative)
spirited away (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:spirited away (Score:3, Interesting)
It too bad americans still make a distinction between animated movies and live action ones.
I wonder how they'll handle Avalon [avalon-movie.com]...
cinematography??? (Score:3, Informative)
yes! (Score:2, Interesting)
the movie deserves it, Miyazaki deserves it and anime deserves it.
this is a good thing for anime
p.s. and the other movies all sucked compared to this
Showing trailers for SA at my local theater... (Score:2)
It's so damn good... (Score:5, Interesting)
But then again, Disney and Dreamworks put forth anything *that* good or *that* original.
Spirited away had originality and a nice fuzzy feeling with it too, with a sense of wonder too.
And it's gonna change the way the critics view anime from now on, too. I wonder if maybe they'll do "Best anime film..." Nah...
Re:It's so damn good... (Score:2)
I assume you meant "didn't" put forth anything...
I was just going to say be careful with dissing Disney -- they released Spirited Away in the US (and will put it out on video/DVD on April 15). So you owe them.
Re:It's so damn good... (Score:2)
Yeah, I mean't "didn't"
Re:It's so damn good... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:It's so damn good... (Score:2, Informative)
Re:It's so damn good... (Score:2)
Re:It's so damn good... (Score:2)
No, I don't owe Sonny Bono (Score:2, Funny)
So you owe them.
Really? With all the lobbying DisneyCo did to get the Bono Act [pineight.com] passed?
Re:It's so damn good... (Score:2, Insightful)
The competition (Score:5, Informative)
I can only claim to have seen two of these, but I think I can say that "Lilo & Stitch" was the only worthwhile competition in this category. Still, it should rightly be considered remarkable that a dubbed foreign film won in this category, especially since Disney put almost no effort into promoting this film when it was released.
And on that note, it looks like Miyazaki's film "Castle in the Sky" will be released in the US on DVD at the same time as "Spirited Away", both of which should get a lot more attention from Disney now than they did last calendar year. Hey, whatever works....
A very enjoyable piece... (Score:5, Informative)
Miyazaki has directed an unusually large number of very nice animated pieces, and Studio Ghibli is well known as delivering some of the highest quality films out there, live or animated. I hope that this may do something to bring more mainstream appreciation to animation as an adult story telling medium in the United States.
As a note, if anyone is interested in seeing a list of other films by Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, they can look at nausicaa.net [nausicaa.net].
Certainly, look at Nausicaa.net... (Score:2, Interesting)
--Rachel (Nausicaa.net sysadmin)
And for those who haven't seen it.... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:And for those who haven't seen it.... (Score:3, Insightful)
The soundtrack for Laputa, even 16 years later, still touches a nerve. Joe Hisashi is incredibly talented - comparable to Alan Silvestri (of Forrest Gump fame).
Re:And for those who haven't seen it.... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:La puta? (Score:3, Informative)
There was competition? (Score:5, Funny)
In the field of drawn animation, Japan is a whole other ballgame.
I don't really care for anime, however (Score:3, Insightful)
Good news (Score:3, Interesting)
p.s. does "Harry Potter" not count for anything because it was a UK production?
Re:Good news (Score:5, Informative)
Just FYI, here are some other awards Spirited Away won. Note that many are purely film awards, where Spirited Away beat out non-animated features:
Also LOTR : The Two Towers Best Visual Effects (Score:2)
Also ironically amusing was the Panasonic DVD recorder commercial that had a voiceover to the effect of something like "watch what you want, when you want."
Great movie - shame about the marketing (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Great movie - shame about the marketing (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Great movie - shame about the marketing (Score:4, Funny)
Just assume it was intentional.
Interestingly, not really his best... (Score:5, Informative)
* Laputa - Castle in the Sky (Possibly the best anime ever)
* Girl From the Valley of the Wind
* Princess Mononoke
* Kiki's Delivery Service
* Porco Rosso (this one's just weird, but very good)
* My Neighbor Totoro
He's done plenty of others, but those are the best, IMHO.
I'd suggest getting the whole "Studio Ghibli Collection" from Anime on DVD [animeondvd.com].
Just my two cents...
Re:Interestingly, not really his best... (Score:2)
Which may or may not be better known as Nausicaa.
Which I can't seem to find anywhere in North America, except in the pirate stores in Chinatown.
Getting my grubby little hands on the really good stuff seems to be an exercise in futility. Almost as if Disney is intentionally blocking access to them.
Re:Interestingly, not really his best... (Score:2)
Nausicaa is not only my favorite anime, it's also one of my favorite movies. Anyone who hasn't seen it ought to get their hands on a copy.
Re:Interestingly, not really his best... (Score:2)
Re:Interestingly, not really his best... (Score:2)
Re:Interestingly, not really his best...opinion! (Score:3, Interesting)
I prefer Kiki's Delivery Service the best, and Spirited Away next, then Princess Mononoke. I haven't yet seen the others, but I've got some of his comics, like Nausicaa and some others.
It's so great that his work is finally coming out on Region 1 DVDs soon. Yay!
My favourite line in Kiki:
"Helloooo, Kitty!"
- Gigi
Princess better than Spirited? Not to me. (Score:5, Informative)
The weird thing about PM is the way Disney tried to "localise" the English version. Fortunately they didn't meddle with the story. But they hired a bunch of Name Actors to do the dubbing. Which was a waste of money, because none of the people they chose has a really distinctive voice!
Weirdest of all is hiring Neil Gaiman to "adapt" the script. God knows what that means. He didn't even make the obvious change: correcting the translators misnaming of various smoothbore weapons as "rifles".
Re:Princess better than Spirited? Not to me. (Score:5, Informative)
Being a huge fan of both Gaiman and Miyazaki I can shed some light here. Much of the script for the film (and any film really) has to be changed for a dub. Jokes, word-play, historical references, and the like usually have to be either somehow explained (with added exposition) or modified to similar item in the new language. That sort of thing is what Gaiman did. They used him in particular so he could help maintain the mythic feel and tone the movie had.
So essentially what happened was a few professional translators went through the film and did the literal word-for-word translation of the whole thing. Then they sat down with Gaiman (plus Gaiman did a lot of research on his own) and walked through it all and converted that into an english script that was both comprehensible to an american and stayed true to the original vision. As for calling the muskets/blunderbusses rifles, that was Disney's call. They had final editorial control and for some reason were adamant about calling the things rifles. Gaiman actually mentioned this in particular in his blog as one of the things he was confused by/unsatisfied with, believe it or not. There's more detail to be had if you search in his archives here [neilgaiman.com].
Re:Interestingly, not really his best... (Score:2)
http://s1.amazon.com/exec/varzea/ts/exchange-glan
(the link doesn't have one of those dumb refer cookies so click at will)
_f
Ironic the Disney didn't market this movie at all (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Ironic the Disney didn't market this movie at a (Score:2)
Re:Ironic the Disney didn't market this movie at a (Score:5, Interesting)
Remarkably enjoyable movie (Score:2, Interesting)
Maybe I speak for myself, but I found this superior to the previous "most popular anime flick in the mainstream," Princess Mononoke. That movie was also great, but like other anime movies I've seen, the plot was thin, long and wandering, which I think are qualities that turn off most (western) audiences. For some reason I didn't think tha
I heard Steve Martin is sharing it on P2P (Score:2)
Congratulations (Score:2)
Now I've gotta cross my fingers for Chicago to win the Best Live-Action Feature Oscar ;) I'm als
Fantastic movie (Score:2)
indy theatres (Score:2)
My Take on Awards Ceremonies (Score:2, Insightful)
I apologize for not making reference to this movie that won the award, and mod this
Re:My Take on Awards Ceremonies (Score:3, Insightful)
But software does get moderated. There are software awards. There are software ratings. You can buy magazines that compare software products. There are TV shows that discuss software. I flick through PC magazines (wouldn't bother paying for
Miyazaki (Score:2)
On a side note: I was very disappointed with the DVD edition of "My neighbor Totoro". Such a long wait for the DVD edition, and then they f* it up. I'll just transfer my VHS movie to SVCD.
Re:Miyazaki (Score:3, Informative)
That's because it was a shoddy, quick-job done by Fox so they could get it out the door just under the gun of their distribution rights expiring. You can expect Disney/Buena Vista to release a very nice 2 disc version (just like Spirited Away, Kiki, and Laputa/Castle in the Sky are getting on the 15th) at some point in the future.
Michael Moore got booed (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Michael Moore got booed (Score:4, Informative)
Adrien Brody was legendary (Score:3, Interesting)
But Brody.. wow. A summary for those who missed it:
Brody gets up on stage, looking completely floored. He says he didn't write a speech because whenever he did for any award in the past, he didn't win. He goes on for a while, flustered as hell, then he mentions they're already flashing the "Time's up" at him, but he's just getting started on his thank yous, to his parents, to the filmmakers, etc.
Now he's WAY over max time, and
All his movies deserve an Oscar (Score:5, Interesting)
Any parents among you should introduce your child to "My Neighbour Totoro". This is by far my most favourite animated film ever and my 3 year-old daughter's as well. The magic in Miyazaki's story telling is just incredible.
Re:All his movies deserve an Oscar (Score:3, Informative)
"Mononoke Hime" is a bit gory, as you say, and yet, there is so much beauty there. Just think of the majestic elegance of the wolf gods, for example. I still have to find a cartoon that would match the glorious, powerful and elegant animation in "Mononoke".
Winners List (Score:4, Informative)
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE: Chris Cooper ADAPTATION
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE: Nicole Kidman THE HOURS
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE: Catherine Zeta-Jones CHICAGO
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM: SPIRITED AWAY Hayao Miyazaki
ART DIRECTION: CHICAGO John Myhre (Art Direction); Gordon Sim (Set Decoration)
CINEMATOGRAPHY: ROAD TO PERDITION Conrad L. Hall
COSTUME DESIGN: CHICAGO Colleen Atwood
DIRECTING: THE PIANIST Roman Polanski
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE Michael Moore and Michael Donovan
DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT: TWIN TOWERS Bill Guttentag and Robert David Port
FILM EDITING: CHICAGO Martin Walsh
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: NOWHERE IN AFRICA Germany Directed by Caroline Link
MAKEUP: FRIDA John Jackson and Beatrice De Alba
MUSIC: (SCORE) FRIDA Elliot Goldenthal
MUSIC: (SONG) 8 MILE 'Lose Yourself'
Music by Eminem, Jeff Bass and Luis Resto; Lyric by Eminem
BEST PICTURE: CHICAGO Martin Richards
SHORT FILM: (ANIMATED) THE CHUBBCHUBBS! Eric Armstrong
SHORT FILM: (LIVE ACTION) THIS CHARMING MAN (DER ER EN YNDIG MAND)
Martin Strange-Hansen and Mie Andreasen
SOUND: CHICAGO Michael Minkler, Dominick Tavella and David Lee
SOUND EDITING: THE LORD OF THE RINGS - THE TWO TOWERS Ethan Van der Ryn and Michael Hopkins
VISUAL EFFECTS: THE LORD OF THE RINGS - THE TWO TOWERS Jim Rygiel, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook and Alex Funke
WRITING: (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY) THE PIANIST
Screenplay by Ronald Harwood
WRITING: (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY) TALK TO HER
Written by Pedro Almodóvar
Re:Winners List (Score:5, Funny)
TWIN TOWERS
Did anybody else read this and think "since when was that a documentary
Get serious, please. (Score:3, Interesting)
The main point of the movie is how Western civilization *devastated* the Japanese people, especially in the form of capitalism. One funny (and tragic) reality addressed by the director is that Japanese are totally ignorant of the fact that they have lost their Japanese identity adopting capitalism and that the western people enslaved (I hate to use this word) Japanese people under the hierarchical structure of capitalism.
Notice that this film is overpainted with Japanese cultural artifacts everywhere. However, only Yubaba shows characteristics typical in the Western people. A big nose, flurry dress, and her big room with carpet and bonfire, to name a few. Her room is located on the very *top* of the building, dominating all other Japanese workers.
Haku symbolizes Japanese people who strived to learn the power from the Western civilization. He wanted to learn the *magic* from Yubaba, but what he actually experienced was that he had to lose his own name in order to do that. How Yubaba enslaved Haku? Haku himself had to *sign a contract* which forced him to *lose* his name.
So, what happened? The japanese lost their souls. The poor people who lost their identities do not have any virtues in their life other than to get more gold to be rich. The remaining value created from their priceless labor is *stored* as a form of gems in Yubaba's safe.
Why does Yubaba have a twin sister? It symbolizes director's view that the Western culture became a mutant from its origin. The _good_ western culture is the other twin Yubaba. Notice that Yubaba's sister also lives in a totally western environment. A small cottage, hand-cooked cake, tea, and so on. She, the original tradition of the western culture, is a person with bright rationaility.
Then what must Japanese do in order to destroy this terrible structure created by the evil Yubaba? Do they have to organize a revolution? Do they have to kill Yubaba?
Miyazaki Hayao's message is superior to that. Chihiro succeeds in finding and sympathizing with the common values appreciated both by Japanese people and Yubaba's sister. She symbolizes the young, future Japanese generations. From the sympathy and understanding of the *rational* Yubaba's twin sister, she proceeds on to the next stage of mutual understandings. She wakes up Haku, and he realizes his Japanese identity. After Chihiro came back to Yubaba, Yubaba is no longer her boss. She calls her name as "Oba-tsang", not as "Yubaba-sama", which can be translated into "grandmother" and "my boss Yubaba". She peacefully disarms Yubaba with her Japanese identity.
Overall, "Spirited Away" should be a movie that many Western people will get angry with (or be ashamed with); however, the great point of this movie is that it shows a way to solve this conflict peacefully, especially with the language of *rationality*, a concept which Western people are so accustomed to. It suggests a way that leads to the mutual understandings and the world peace. Here lies the greateness of this movie.
So, please, take this animation seriously. Although Yubaba's sister totally became friends with Chihiro, Yubaba refused to understand Chihiro to the end of the movie. The reason Yubaba released Chihiro and her parents is only because her contract with Yubaba became void. She is still ignorant of the terrible mistakes she inflicted on the Japanese people. I do not like to see Western people watching this movie continue to repeat this foolish mistake of Yubaba's in real world. Just by trying to remember Yubaba's twin sister, you will be able to sympathize _at least_ with the japanese people.
Re:Get serious, please. (Score:3, Interesting)
I find it interesting you mentioned that because that means the movie expresses concerns about Japan since the time of the Meiji Restoration starting in 1868? In many ways, the Meiji Restoration was actually good for Japanese society because it prevented Japan from suffering the type of political and military convulsions that ruined China in the modern European colonial era.
Re:Get serious, please. (Score:5, Insightful)
You are taking a basic, generic thesis--the capitalist west encroaches on some native populace, seduces it, which causes it to lose its soul. Sure, this is a common story that can be applied to many places throughout the world.
But not here.
Perhaps more than any other country that I know Japan has done a credible job of managing a harmonious coexistance of traditional culture with an international one. Notions that the west introduced capitalism to japan is bullshit. While arguably democracy (or something close enough to it) didn't come to japan until after the war, Japan developed a parallel capitalist culture along the lines of that of western europe regardless of the dutch, perry, or whoever else you want to point to.
The japanese have famously "embraced and extended" outside technologies, but have not done it at the expense of their cultural soul as, say, Shanghai or Jakarta is in the process of doing. Japanese culture is alive and well, and we have no particular need to sympathize with the Japanese for the reasons you suggest. The movie might be interpreted as a reminder to japanese to be mindful of the importance of traditional values, but your suggestion that it is an apt allegory for the japanese condition as pitiful victim of the west is absolute and total nonsense.
(disclaimer: 10 years lived in japan, saw movie in both languages, etc.)
YES! (Score:3, Interesting)
It has been a long time since I saw a subtitled anime on the big screen.
Marxist Miyazaki... (Score:3, Interesting)
Miyazaki is a well documented Marxist (look at Mirai Shounen Conan [nausicaa.net] and the book it is based upon, The Incredible Tide [megane.it], for proof), so I doubt he would attend an awards ceremony at a heart of American capitalism. Not to mention that he is hugely anti-war anyway.
Whilst he very much deserves the award, there are other more poltical agendas at work here.
Re:Anime? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Anime? (Score:4, Informative)
Re:It's odd (Score:5, Funny)
Re:It's odd (Score:2)
You say that like there's something wrong with it.
(Seriously, I rather agree with the grandparent. I enjoy watching some anime, but like everything, there are a few people who carry things entirely too far.)
Re:It's odd (Score:2)
Some of them delivery pizza, though, instead of working at the local Blockbuster. Or they'll work at the local Hollywood Video - less chance of censored titles.
Re:This isn't that Disney movie about the horse? (Score:2)
Spirited Away is popularly known by it's Japanese title, Sen to Chihiro.
Re:I wonder if the acadamy saw the red version? (Score:3, Informative)
--
Sig.
Re:What!!! (Score:5, Insightful)
It's also recognition that animated films don't have to be musicals for children in the Disney style.
And let's not forget... (Score:3, Insightful)
Spirited Away wasn't up against just any flavor-of-the-year Disney flick. The fact that Disney lost out to an import in the category carries extra weight.
Re:Even more Oscar News! (Score:2)
Re:for those of us (Score:2)
Re:Impressive win (Score:4, Informative)
Lupin the Third (TV), during the 1970s.
Lupin the Third (movie) The Castle of Cagliostro (or to the retrogaming crowd, the base footage used in "Cliff Hanger").
Nausicaa (AKA: Warriors of the Wind), early 1980s.
Laputa: Late 80s.
My Neighbor Totoro: Late 80s.
Kiki's Messenger Service: Late 80s.
Porco Rosso: Early 90s
Those are just the ones I know of, before the Disney imports began. This is a man who has literally pushed the envelope in terms of both realism and storytelling in animation, moreso than what has been done by Disney in the last 20 years.
The fact is, there is a reason why Miyazaki is known as "The Japanese Disney". Because he exceeds the standard that we hold American animation directors to. Considering that Disney bought the rights to his work because Mononoke Hime (that's Princess Mononoke to those who still pronounce anime to rhyme "time") made over $100,000,000 in the Japanese box office.
So frankly, this is something that applies two ways in Slashdot terms: One, it's anime. Two, it's a direct slap in the face to DISNEY. I rest my case.
Re:Michael Moore Nominated Biggest UnAmerican (Score:5, Insightful)
Finally, what is really interesting is that he is against something whose end result might give the same freedom he just exercised to millions of people who haven't had that freedom in more than 24 years.