Reviews

As much as I hate to say it, this really does need to be seen in theaters. The issue with a whole lot of Miyazaki's films is the massive gap in formal and narrative quality--his visuals and worlds are unparalleled, but his narratives are at best "pretty cute" and at worst distractingly stupid. This lies near the bottom of that spectrum, and it suffers greatly for it. The sense of pace is nonexistent, with the first 15 minutes covering more material than the rest of the film combined, sporadic leaps in narrative progression, near-constant unprecedented character shifts, forced love interests that add and do nothing, and there's not a single development or moment that feels earned or even contains any meaningful weight. And yet, I really don't care. When the lights dim and the screen turns bright, I immediately fall into Miyazaki's world. The animation becomes somehow more impressive on the big screen, with little details in each frame rising to the surface, and the overwhelming beauty of every moment covering up all the other issues I may have. The environments are absurdly diverse, yet all are fleshed out beautifully, with vibrant and unique colors populating each new setting, and the child-like wonder of each setting enveloping me. The sheer beauty and imagination astounds me and supersedes every meaningless complaint I have. Each frame pulls me deeper under Miyazaki's spell and I fall further in love with the world he's created. It's creative, it's beautiful, it's spellbinding, it's awe-inspiring, it's pure--who cares what else it is when it's already all that? I sure don't.