To begin with it, the story is based on the book written by a swedish writer named Astrid Lindgren, and tells us the tale of Ronja, daughter of Mattis (a bandit leader) and Lovis, his wife. She lives at the Mattis's Fortress (originally Mattisborgen), which consists on a abandoned castle, split in half by a thunderbolt that struck it on the day Ronja was born. After the storm, the rival bandit clan, Borka's Thieves, takes half of the fortress. Some time later, Ronja meets Birk, Borka's son, and they become friends, even against their fathers will. When the clash between the clans gets worse, Ronja and Birk decide to leave the fortress, starting to live together within a cave hidden in the forest.
Mattis's desire to retrieve his little girl makes him ask for a truce with Borka, reducing the rivalry between the clans a little bit. The book consists on a parable about affection and conflicts at childhood between father and daughter, the discovery of love and independence, the wisdom of a life side by side with the nature and tolerance, at a broad sense. It was translated to a bunch of different languages, and it is an international success.
You can notice that the art is a bit different than Hayao's designs, because Goro decided to bet on digital resources (while Hayao preferred to draw all Ponyo's scenaries by hand, for example) on his animations. But that's not a real problem, considerating that he was the director of Tales from Earthsea or Kokurikozaka kara, that we all know how awesome it was.
The synopsis of the animations seems a little more fanciful than the book's, but the essence is the same: Ronja is the only and loved daughter of Mattis, who's a good hearted leader of a colorful and funny group of bandits, that lives on a huge castle at the forest. Ronja was born while a storm was raging, but her personality is cheerful and loving. And much like her father, she has a good heart, but at the same time, is a reckless girl. She starts to study the misterious creatures that live at the forest, meeting other children and then, starts to question her father's behavior.
Polygon Pictures is a 3D CG partner of Studio Ghibli on the series. It will be the first time that Goro Miyazaki will be running an animated series for television. Satoshi Takebe (from "From Up on Poppy Hill") will be the responsible for Ronja's soundtrack. And that's fabulous, I love him!
Sanzoku no Musume Ronja or "Ronja - Daughter of the Thief (or Robber)" have a captivating cast and a promising story.
To me it looks so awesome as any other story coming from Studio Ghibli, and I was waiting for months until the series went out. And, if you want to know, I really loved the first five episodes. The story follows the original plot, the characters are incredibly sympathetic, the music is nice and the scenarios are gorgeous. The harpies from story are scary and the interpretation of the "wolf song" was great. I'm not the kind of people who dislikes 3D animation, although I saw some people complaining about it. Probably because I sincerely trust the Studio, and I will for sure keep watching this series!
Futhermore, Ronja and Birk are also cute together... Even giving me agony for being too naive or jumping off cliffs as if they were jumping out of bed.
Story: 9
Its funny, but sometimes it becomes a little... Weird. Especially Mattis. But Ronja's momma always save it.
Art: 9
I think it's really cool, like I said before. When you get used with the 3D effect, you will find it awesome too.
Sound: 10
The songs are beautiful and clean. Even as a musician, I really have nothing to complain about.
Character: 9
They are nice, even if sometimes the adults look a little childish and the kids too adult.
Enjoyment: 9
It's a funny and loving story. It seems to get better and better. I hope it continues this way.
Overall: 9
Give it a chance, guys! I said it was cute so many times, but I really think it is!
