Ponyo
I gotta say, a lot of my inspiration as an artist comes from Miyazaki's work. He's a really inspiring guy. He writes most of his stuff, he's an amazing animator, he's really a great role model. His movies are always a joy to watch. The characters' subtle movements and human tendencies, the amazing sense of composition, movement and awe that he creates with his art and with his stories. Anyone who hasn't seen all of his previous work, go watch it. You'll want to create incredible worlds and characters of your own after seeings any Ghibli movie. :poly142:
Anyways, that's out of the way. Back to the topic at hand:
Ponyo
In its opening minutes I was transported from the theatre as often happens while watching a Miyazaki film. I was completely taken by the world he created on the screen. All sort of strange sea creatures littered the screen, the movement was amazing to watch yet had a surreal feeling to it. The animationg wasn't completely clean and perfect but it was somehow refreshing. As the movie continued I felt this less and less. I'm not saying it was a bad movie, not at all. I enjoyed it. I just don't feel it lived up to his previous work. And it's not like he's losing his touch, Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle are wonderful movies. The story and characters of Ponyo were as delightful to watch as from any of his other movies, there was just something missing. I think what did it was the ending. It felt like they ran out of time and just had to end it there.
I guess this is what I thought:
Pros
Great animation, inspiring as always. Innovative and refreshing.
The story was entertaining and had as awe-inspiring and broad a scope as Miyazaki's previous work, which is wonderful.
The characters were quirky and unique, which is a bit rare these days, but Hayao always pulls it off.
Cons
What I didn't like was that I sometimes found myself fidgeting in my seat and waiting for the next thing to happen. I think the movie told too little with the amount of time it had. Granted, the potential was amazing. The story in itself is visionary and unique but it could be told more interestingly at times, in my opinion. I don't like being forced to wait for something to happen for no reason. :poly141:
In conclusion, it was a good movie. I enjoyed it. I'll most likely add it to my collection. It just didn't draw me in and suspend me in its world for the duration, which Hayao's movies usually do. It still made me run out of the theatre itching to draw characters and breathe a quality of life into them as Miyazaki does.
What did other people think about the movie?
Anyways, that's out of the way. Back to the topic at hand:
Ponyo
In its opening minutes I was transported from the theatre as often happens while watching a Miyazaki film. I was completely taken by the world he created on the screen. All sort of strange sea creatures littered the screen, the movement was amazing to watch yet had a surreal feeling to it. The animationg wasn't completely clean and perfect but it was somehow refreshing. As the movie continued I felt this less and less. I'm not saying it was a bad movie, not at all. I enjoyed it. I just don't feel it lived up to his previous work. And it's not like he's losing his touch, Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle are wonderful movies. The story and characters of Ponyo were as delightful to watch as from any of his other movies, there was just something missing. I think what did it was the ending. It felt like they ran out of time and just had to end it there.
The "final test" I was waiting for turned out to be a conversation.
I guess this is what I thought:
Pros
Great animation, inspiring as always. Innovative and refreshing.
The story was entertaining and had as awe-inspiring and broad a scope as Miyazaki's previous work, which is wonderful.
The characters were quirky and unique, which is a bit rare these days, but Hayao always pulls it off.
Cons
What I didn't like was that I sometimes found myself fidgeting in my seat and waiting for the next thing to happen. I think the movie told too little with the amount of time it had. Granted, the potential was amazing. The story in itself is visionary and unique but it could be told more interestingly at times, in my opinion. I don't like being forced to wait for something to happen for no reason. :poly141:
In conclusion, it was a good movie. I enjoyed it. I'll most likely add it to my collection. It just didn't draw me in and suspend me in its world for the duration, which Hayao's movies usually do. It still made me run out of the theatre itching to draw characters and breathe a quality of life into them as Miyazaki does.
What did other people think about the movie?
Replies
I saw this a while back (albeit with horrible engrish subtitling) I noticed there wasn't a lot of highlight and shadowing but the movement of everything was amazing, the water especially.
In talking to a friend about the highlights and such she brought up a good point that a lot of artist when they get older their style gets looser. I figure that and also maybe he's harkening back to the coloring style of his older movies like Laputa.