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Comment by ggreer | Hacker News Reader

If you haven't seen any Studio Ghibli/Miyazaki films, I highly recommend them. The animation is unique and gorgeous. The stories involve conflict with nature or mistaken antagonists, not evil caricatures. While many of the films contain violence, it rarely resolves things. Also, most Studio Ghibli films have strong female leads. I think Grave of the Fireflies and The Wind Rises are the only ones with male protagonists.

In all, Studio Ghibli's works are a refreshing contrast to the romance-obsessed princesses and 3D talking animals so often put-out by Disney and Dreamworks. Even if you're an adult, they're enjoyable to watch.

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I enjoy Miyazaki films, a lot. My favourite is Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind[1] but all of them are beatiful pieces of art. I also encourage people who do not know Miyazaki to see some of his works. Princess Mononoke is a good one to start with.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nausica%C3%A4_of_the_Valley_of_...

Definitely agreed, if you've got kids Totoro and Spirited Away are good excuses to become introduced to Miyazaki's work.

If you like the anime film of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, it's worth checking out the manga drawn by Miyazaki between 1981 to 1994, over a thousand beautiful B&W pages [1]

It is a very sophisticated work that stands on its own and really deserves more attention. He is a very talented illustrator and painter.

[1] http://www.amazon.com/Nausicaä-Valley-Wind-Box-Set/dp/142155...

Totoro is the only movie I can just as easily watch with my five year old niece as my 71 year old mother. Wonderful film.

The scene in Totoro of the children growing seeds into trees during the night is one of my favorite moments of that film. Really captures a kind of childhood wonder.

The comment about how accessible the film is reminds me of watching Ponyo together with my grandmother a few weeks before her passing. It was something she really appreciated, and one of the few positive things she talked about in the following days.

Although not my favorite Ghibli film, and not such a fan of that particular dub there is something delightful and honest about all the studio's films that I find special.

Seconding the manga. One of the best graphic novels of all time, easy.

just watched princess mononoke last night. =)

> Definitely agreed, if you've got kids Totoro and Spirited Away are good excuses to become introduced to Miyazaki's work.

totoro and spirited away are my two favorite miyazaki movies. not that you're necessarily implying it, but these are not simply kid's cartoons. like a great poem, they're the kind of movie that has multiple layers of meaning and connects with people of all ages.

and i'd recommend watching them in the original japanese, with subtitles if you don't understand japanese (i don't). you lose the essential asianness & the original emotional nuance of the dialog when it's dubbed, just imho.

Another worthy recommendation is Porco Rosso [1]. Set in inter-war period Italy, pays homage to early aviation. The lead is split between titular Porco Rosso, a male fighter pilot and female Fio, engineer.

Aerial fights, pilot rivalry and general adventure drawn against backdrop of beautifull mediterranean views and fascism slowly rearing its ugly head.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porco_Rosso

There was a touching scene in this movie inspired by a short story [1] by Roald Dahl, author of wonderful children's books and adult short stories, who also took part in WW2 as a fighter pilot. It was strange coming across the short story having seen Porco Rosso several years earlier and immediately realizing the connection.

[1] http://www.roalddahlfans.com/shortstories/they.php

Wow, that's an amazing connection (though not unexpected given Miyazaki's predilection for adapting Western children's writers). I was rather impressed by that ethereal scene of the graveyard of planes in the sky (in Porco Rosso), and now I know the source. I think the same scene occurs in The Wind Rises; no doubt Miyazaki wants to make full use of the immense poetry of the image. Thanks for sharing that bit of trivia.

Don't forget Isao Takahata another founder of Studio Ghibli and director of Grave of the Fireflies, Only Yesterday, Pom Poko and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya. Yet have to see The Tale of the Princess Kaguya which is discussed in the article but the drama Grave of the Fireflies is a masterpiece to me. The only truly beautiful film in my memory which I bitterly regret having watch. To me the best movie to give you the feels of World War II, even more than acclaimed titles like "The Pianist" or "Life is Beautiful". A must see.

IMHO Isao Takahata is the primary reason why an end to Studio Ghibli doesn't make sense despite Miyazaki bitter vision of the Studios. For those who know Miyazaki's temperament it's not a big deal. My interpretation is that he would have wanted the Studios to be as true, ambitious and fantastic as a Ghibli movie. Well by visiting/knowing the Studios, I bet most of us would be quite taken aback by the lovely people and the atmosphere reigning there.

Worth watching the documentary Kingdom of Dreams and Madness.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_kingdom_of_dreams_and_ma...

The documentary is an amazing peek at Studio Ghibli (primarily of the group working on Miyazaki's last film "The Wind Rises"), even though the atmosphere is not what I'd call delightful, it doesn't lessen but increases my admiration of their work, to be able to create something beautiful in spite of the amazing pressures of animated feature film production is an incredible achievement in itself.

Thanks. I am sure I have seen at least a part of this but I had (purposefully?) forgotten all about it. One nice thing about not being Miyasaki is that my reverie about Ghibli can remain whole. :)

The animation is gorgeous but at times it can be a little too smooth for me. The greatest animation I've ever seen is still in End of Evangelion. It's not the best movie ever, but the way Asuka's Evangelion is animated during her final battle with the S2 engine Evas is incredible. Whoever animated it definitely groks momentum, inertia and how to create these effects with a limited budget/number of frames at his disposal. No amount of CGI or money could be thrown at that fight to make it look better.

Interestingly, the director of End of Evangelion, Hideaki Anno was mentored by Miyazaki and was an animator on Nausicaa. He did the protagonist's voice work for Miyazaki's last film "The Wind Rises" and Miyazaki has said that he would entrust a Nausicaa sequel to Hideaki Anno.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2013-08-22/hayao-miyaza...

> I think Grave of the Fireflies and The Wind Rises are the only ones with male protagonists

It's been a while since I watched it, but didn't Princess Mononoke have a male protagonist?

Yes, I think so (I can imagine an argument that San is the protagonist but it doesn't seem very convincing).

Castle in the Sky definitely does.

While Porco Rosso has a good female character in Fio, the lead is male, so that's another.

Basically, while there's a lot of excellent female characters in Ghibli films, there are still a number of their films with male leads.

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