General Discussion

338

1283

August 03, 2014 20:13:32

@mewhaku
It wouldn't really be Ghibli without Miyazaki, anyhow...
It really does hurt to see such a legacy end, though. I want to believe my heroes will live forever and will always be who they were when I looked up to them. But that's just not always true.

@Tess

I think so too, even if Studio Ghibli remains forever it wont be the same. And I fear that getting rid of all the animators and possibly replacing them with new ones (they might keep them or re-hire) will make Studio Ghibli so different. It'll only be Studio Ghibli in name, really. Unless Miyazaki decides to act as producer or something of that sort, but even then he's over 70 years old already :(

Battle

361

115

559

290

August 03, 2014 20:49:26

@Tess

I think so too, even if Studio Ghibli remains forever it wont be the same. And I fear that getting rid of all the animators and possibly replacing them with new ones (they might keep them or re-hire) will make Studio Ghibli so different. It'll only be Studio Ghibli in name, really. Unless Miyazaki decides to act as producer or something of that sort, but even then he's over 70 years old already :(

@lebratprince
@Tess
@Battle

It has been updated that they're only going to restructure at the moment, so a pause if you will.

However, on the comment that without Miyazaki it won't be Ghibli- this is partially true, but you must remember that Takahata (Only Yesterday, Pom Poko, Grave of the Fireflies...etc) was the other big director at Ghibli. Plus with Arriety, Whisper of the Heart, and a few other films they weren't directed by Miyazaki or Takahata. (Although there was usually some guidance from them. It's extremely upsetting that Whisper of the Heart's director had an aneurysm very soon after the film was finished... they were looking at him as being a 'successor' for Ghibli. Which I think he could've done.)

Ghibli is more than Miyazaki, and I think the main thing is finding a balance between the fantasy they're known for while also keeping up the recent 'slice of life' films they're also doing. I would love another film like Pom Poko for example. The thing about Takahata is that I noticed his films don't get as much notoriety outside of Japan however, due to the subject matter.

Goro (Miyazaki's son who worked on Earthsea/From Up on Poppy Hill) has pretty much shown in my opinion that he can't do fantasy however... and I don't think that he should be pushed that direction any longer. Wrecking Earthsea seemed like the start of this whole 'downswing' in a way, at least with the elder Miyazaki showing his public distaste for the work.

On its own that film is ok, but for anyone who's read the original books you can see how things went wrong... a lot. Aside from the visuals/music/design choice on the dragons I don't consider that film worth a watch. I return to it out of the atmosphere, not the plot.

I guess I'm rambling a bit but as the elder Miyazaki mentioned, Ghibli is just a name. It will most likely turn towards a new direction, but this isn't necessarily bad. Not to mention that its clear there is a lot of potential with newer directors/animators involved there. They're just young.

mewhaku

10483

August 04, 2014 04:54:07

@lebratprince
@Tess
@Battle

It has been updated that they're only going to restructure at the moment, so a pause if you will.

However, on the comment that without Miyazaki it won't be Ghibli- this is partially true, but you must remember that Takahata (Only Yesterday, Pom Poko, Grave of the Fireflies...etc) was the other big director at Ghibli. Plus with Arriety, Whisper of the Heart, and a few other films they weren't directed by Miyazaki or Takahata. (Although there was usually some guidance from them. It's extremely upsetting that Whisper of the Heart's director had an aneurysm very soon after the film was finished... they were looking at him as being a 'successor' for Ghibli. Which I think he could've done.)

Ghibli is more than Miyazaki, and I think the main thing is finding a balance between the fantasy they're known for while also keeping up the recent 'slice of life' films they're also doing. I would love another film like Pom Poko for example. The thing about Takahata is that I noticed his films don't get as much notoriety outside of Japan however, due to the subject matter.

Goro (Miyazaki's son who worked on Earthsea/From Up on Poppy Hill) has pretty much shown in my opinion that he can't do fantasy however... and I don't think that he should be pushed that direction any longer. Wrecking Earthsea seemed like the start of this whole 'downswing' in a way, at least with the elder Miyazaki showing his public distaste for the work.

On its own that film is ok, but for anyone who's read the original books you can see how things went wrong... a lot. Aside from the visuals/music/design choice on the dragons I don't consider that film worth a watch. I return to it out of the atmosphere, not the plot.

I guess I'm rambling a bit but as the elder Miyazaki mentioned, Ghibli is just a name. It will most likely turn towards a new direction, but this isn't necessarily bad. Not to mention that its clear there is a lot of potential with newer directors/animators involved there. They're just young.

@mewhaku
Very true points there. :) It's early in the morning for me, so I can't quite respond on the same scope that you expanded on this, but I do agree with you on the fact that Ghibli evolving into something slightly different is not necessarily doing a "disservice" to our previous notion of what made Studio Ghibli great.

Tess

83

338

1283

August 04, 2014 05:22:21

@mewhaku
Very true points there. :) It's early in the morning for me, so I can't quite respond on the same scope that you expanded on this, but I do agree with you on the fact that Ghibli evolving into something slightly different is not necessarily doing a "disservice" to our previous notion of what made Studio Ghibli great.

@Tess - It's early on my end too, I think that makes my rambling worse lol.
In any case I hope we can all see some clear news on this sooner or later!

mewhaku

10483

August 04, 2014 05:25:33

@Tess - It's early on my end too, I think that makes my rambling worse lol.
In any case I hope we can all see some clear news on this sooner or later!

@mewhaku

I think Goro can do amazing things he just needs a little direction. Tales from Earthsea was a mess, but From up on Poppy hill was amazing! I was surprised with how much detail they put into that movie. Goro can't do fantasy, at least not yet, but he does have some talent he can put to work.

Hoolia

0

27

45

703

August 04, 2014 06:42:20

@mewhaku

I think Goro can do amazing things he just needs a little direction. Tales from Earthsea was a mess, but From up on Poppy hill was amazing! I was surprised with how much detail they put into that movie. Goro can't do fantasy, at least not yet, but he does have some talent he can put to work.

Check out my art blog!
http://corvidae-j.tumblr.com/

Oh this hurts my heart to hear, but I guess all good things must come to an end. Although, they're not really ending just going for a change of pace I suppose. It's still a little disheartening. It's also early in the morning here so I don't think my brain processed all this information quite right haha

@mewhaku Yeah, it's not necessarily a bad thing that they're going in a new direction. I'm a bit curious now to see what they'll do. And on a side note, I feel like I'm the only one who liked Earthsea, and I did read the books too. I found the movie more entertaining I guess *shrug*

RavenHearted

0

454

157

August 04, 2014 06:44:24

Oh this hurts my heart to hear, but I guess all good things must come to an end. Although, they're not really ending just going for a change of pace I suppose. It's still a little disheartening. It's also early in the morning here so I don't think my brain processed all this information quite right haha

@mewhaku Yeah, it's not necessarily a bad thing that they're going in a new direction. I'm a bit curious now to see what they'll do. And on a side note, I feel like I'm the only one who liked Earthsea, and I did read the books too. I found the movie more entertaining I guess *shrug*

Last edited on Aug 04, 2014 06:45:07 by RavenHearted

@Hoolia - Oh yes, I'm not saying he's horrible- but I definitely think that he should be directing more 'Poppy' films, not Earthsea films. (It just pains me so because I adore Le Guin's work, and apparently Miyazaki senior took a lot of inspiration from Earthsea as well. It could've been the best fantasy film they made honestly.. but ack ;_;)

My bias aside, I definitely think he has potential, but at the same time it will be hard to live in his father's shadow. =( I think originally he didn't want to animate anything at all- I mean, didn't he originally curate the Ghibli Museum? I'm not sure. I feel for him in that respect, not to mention it is plain to see that he and his father disagree on certain topics, which must be stressful!

mewhaku

10483

August 04, 2014 06:45:33

@Hoolia - Oh yes, I'm not saying he's horrible- but I definitely think that he should be directing more 'Poppy' films, not Earthsea films. (It just pains me so because I adore Le Guin's work, and apparently Miyazaki senior took a lot of inspiration from Earthsea as well. It could've been the best fantasy film they made honestly.. but ack ;_;)

My bias aside, I definitely think he has potential, but at the same time it will be hard to live in his father's shadow. =( I think originally he didn't want to animate anything at all- I mean, didn't he originally curate the Ghibli Museum? I'm not sure. I feel for him in that respect, not to mention it is plain to see that he and his father disagree on certain topics, which must be stressful!

@RavenHearted - That's fine! To each their own. Fun fact, I watched the film before reading the books, and I actually came to appreciate the books much more for doing that. =D I think that the atmosphere visually/audibly was fantastic. The dragons' designs are spot on. Best dragon designs I've seen yet in an animated film (besides How To Train your Dragon)

I have the image book of all the concept artwork for the film, there was a lot of really cool work done with the concept of dragon-people myth and such. (If you ever want to see some of it just ask!)

I don't hate the film, I just mourn the fact that it could've been so much better.

My problems with the Earthsea adaptation are that it:

1. Aged up Therru (She is 7 in the books) and made her a love interest (WHY) I don't actually mind her aged up appearance however, I think she was a nice character. I don't consider her an accurate representation from the series of books however.

2. Smashed the plotlines for books 1 + 3 + 4 together, I wouldn't have minded just the first or third book on its own. Arren's shadow falls back on Ged's shadow, although I think Arren's madness was conveyed really well. Cob looked terrifying. Wish they could've been in the dry land for that though...

3. Pretty much white-washed the characters, and trust me I'm not trying to go down Tumblr's route, but Le Guin's Earthsea saga was known for being one of the first fantasy series to have people of color involved and to have it be meaningful and based on the environment they lived in. They are all living on islands after all! Tenar was supposed to be known for the fact that she had white skin/black hair as well, and I just feel like a lot of the world's charm was lost in removing that. On that note a Tombs of Atuan adaptation would've been cool too.

I'm a stickler for lore/world-building however. If Earthsea was purely Ghibli's work I would've been fine with it standing on its own, its just a shame that Le Guin really has never had luck finding a faithful adaptation done of her work. After this she pretty much said she won't trust her works to anyone again for film adaptations... which is a shame.

I still am thankful for the film's visuals, music, and dragon design though. You're right, it is more exciting than the books- but the books necessarily weren't trying to be jarring/exciting in the traditional fasion. It's ok to like the film though! =3 Just because I like the subtlety of the books more doesn't mean I'm right lol. I'm just fangirling a tad. But these are usually the reasons for the great amount of frustration

I just really wish we could've gotten a nice, subtle film from it. I would've loved to see the first book's meeting with Kalessin and Sparrowhawk's transformation and all that stuff. Or Sparrowhawk and Arren's journey to the dry lands. Or, heck, if we wanted to use Therru/Tenar more the 4th book is also quite nice! But that probably would've needed some introduction.

If Ghibli made a couple films on various books that would've been cool.

On a another side note I've actually written some essays on this topic slightly for certain classes, so I apologize if this comes off like one! ^^;

mewhaku

10483

August 04, 2014 06:59:11

@RavenHearted - That's fine! To each their own. Fun fact, I watched the film before reading the books, and I actually came to appreciate the books much more for doing that. =D I think that the atmosphere visually/audibly was fantastic. The dragons' designs are spot on. Best dragon designs I've seen yet in an animated film (besides How To Train your Dragon)

I have the image book of all the concept artwork for the film, there was a lot of really cool work done with the concept of dragon-people myth and such. (If you ever want to see some of it just ask!)

I don't hate the film, I just mourn the fact that it could've been so much better.

My problems with the Earthsea adaptation are that it:

1. Aged up Therru (She is 7 in the books) and made her a love interest (WHY) I don't actually mind her aged up appearance however, I think she was a nice character. I don't consider her an accurate representation from the series of books however.

2. Smashed the plotlines for books 1 + 3 + 4 together, I wouldn't have minded just the first or third book on its own. Arren's shadow falls back on Ged's shadow, although I think Arren's madness was conveyed really well. Cob looked terrifying. Wish they could've been in the dry land for that though...

3. Pretty much white-washed the characters, and trust me I'm not trying to go down Tumblr's route, but Le Guin's Earthsea saga was known for being one of the first fantasy series to have people of color involved and to have it be meaningful and based on the environment they lived in. They are all living on islands after all! Tenar was supposed to be known for the fact that she had white skin/black hair as well, and I just feel like a lot of the world's charm was lost in removing that. On that note a Tombs of Atuan adaptation would've been cool too.

I'm a stickler for lore/world-building however. If Earthsea was purely Ghibli's work I would've been fine with it standing on its own, its just a shame that Le Guin really has never had luck finding a faithful adaptation done of her work. After this she pretty much said she won't trust her works to anyone again for film adaptations... which is a shame.

I still am thankful for the film's visuals, music, and dragon design though. You're right, it is more exciting than the books- but the books necessarily weren't trying to be jarring/exciting in the traditional fasion. It's ok to like the film though! =3 Just because I like the subtlety of the books more doesn't mean I'm right lol. I'm just fangirling a tad. But these are usually the reasons for the great amount of frustration

I just really wish we could've gotten a nice, subtle film from it. I would've loved to see the first book's meeting with Kalessin and Sparrowhawk's transformation and all that stuff. Or Sparrowhawk and Arren's journey to the dry lands. Or, heck, if we wanted to use Therru/Tenar more the 4th book is also quite nice! But that probably would've needed some introduction.

If Ghibli made a couple films on various books that would've been cool.

On a another side note I've actually written some essays on this topic slightly for certain classes, so I apologize if this comes off like one! ^^;

@mewhaku

Same here! I watched the movie, enjoyed it, and thought "Oh, there's a book? I'm gonna read it then!" I don't know what it was about the books, I usually love fantasy, but for some reason I just couldn't get into them. Oh well...

Oooh yeah, I totally agree with all of your points. I usually am a stickler for movies getting things wrong, but I guess this one was different. I appreciate it even though it's flawed, I suppose. I completely agree with your point about Therru, I thought the little romantic thing she had going on with Arren in the movie was cute, but unnecessary. But yeah her design was lovely~ And yes, the dragons were awesome, the designs for those were fantastic! Ghibli has wonderful artists :D

I did hear about Le Guin not trusting her works to anyone for adaptation. I would probably do the same if it were my works on the table.

And oh yeah your reasons for being frustrated about the movie are completely valid criticisms. I've heard a lot of other people dislike it for similar reasons. It would have been nice to see them hold true to more of the lore and just plot in general, but alas it was not meant to be. That's pretty cool, that you've done this for classes! It makes for very interesting topic!

In a similar light, have you read the books Howl's Moving Castle is based off of? They also changed up the movie quite a bit, but I think for this one I was willing to let those differences slide because the movie was just so fantastic.

RavenHearted

0