 "Just beautiful!" | 2009-10-02 |
| - Reviewed By User: AYB4ELCS5AM8P |
The story of a young witch out in the world to earn her broom, so to speak; another beautiful movie from the incomparable Hayao Miyazaki.
Fans of this director will need no introduction, nor even a review to buy this movie. My review title just says it all. The plot of the movie is benevolent, but the main thing about his movies from this period of his work is just that they are all so beautiful. This movie, and others are set in a romantic European-esque period about the turn of the last century. The buildings are stately, the people are beautiful and well dressed and for the most part well behaved, the scenery is wonderful. if I were a cartoon character this is the type of movie I would choose to inhabit too. It's just a real fairytale setting that you would imagine that a later date Cinderella would settle in, and something the polar opposite of Tim Burton.
The plot is nice and fun too, with just the right ingredients, benevolent witch folk, a young witch out to make her way in the world where witches are part of the ordinary world, just like doctors or postmen. She is befriended by a friendly baker, and is given a base from where she embarks on her career and makes new friends.
The dubbing is just great as well and provide just the right feel for the characters. They include the young Kirsten Dunst and the late Phil Hartman. A thoroughly enjoyable movie for the young and old. |
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 "heaven for those who are sick of pixar" | 2009-09-19 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2RCKPPP055X6U |
This film is not a comedy, like a pixar film (and I bring up pixar because John Lassetter keeps appearing on all these Japanese films to "introduce" you to them, and he refers to Miyazaki as his "good friend"). It's a more serious type of cartoon, with quiet, emotional moments. And for some reason it feels like you become the character and the environment is a realistic environment instead of a noisy, cartoonish one (the writer doesn't stress about trying to make people laugh; he justs tells his story as beautifully as possible, taking his sweet time). It's a simple tale, and yet there are many pleasant details in the screenplay. Kiky is a great example for younger kids; she gives with little thought of reward. If you are the type who wants noise and funny stuff in cartoons, this may bore you. But that's because it's different, and in my opinion better. Amazing flying scenes. And if you are into inspiration, this is perfect for you.
The only bad thing about this film is that there is no perfect language track; the japanese language track is contaminated with english in some parts (the radio), and the spanish and english tracks have music on a very important scene in which the japanese language track has no music (Kikie is staring at the ocean meditating). Also, the spanish language track changed Kiky's name to Nicky, which seems to create another character entirely. Another thing about the english is that it doesn't sound so life-like, as in the spanish or japanese, but it sounds more like actors in a play exagerating their lines, and the "theme" song used for the english and spanish is different from the japanese version (very unecessary). Therefore, one star down. The best, in my opinion, is the japanese, simply because the voices seemed more fitting (the english track has a 12 year old boy with the voice of a man of 20). The only other bad thing is the forced john laseter "introduction which plays automatically... you actually have to fast forward!
Other than that this movie is really awesome. If you care about cartoons, SEE IT! |
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| "Grandma loves it!" | 2009-08-22 |
| - Reviewed By User: A22TY9DTX045JU |
| I am a Grandmother of 9, ages 15yrs thru 6yrs. I first saw this movie several years ago and really enjoyed it and the others by Hayao Miyazaki. As my grandkids were born and matured, I remembered his movies. I recently purchased this movie and ALL of my "kids" love it! The movie has different levels in it that makes it appealing to the different age groups that watch it. All of my "kids" like to watch it time and time again. |
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| "Charming, but a bit slow" | 2009-08-14 |
| - Reviewed By User: AK0CENM3LUM28 |
Kiki's Delivery Service / B00005JM2O
*Spoilers*
I absolutely loved Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Princess Mononoke, and Spirited Away, but I have to confess that I found "Kiki's Delivery Service" a bit slow.
The movie is a delightful and charming 'coming of age' type film, featuring a kind-hearted little girl (barely thirteen), setting off on her own in an ancient tradition to become a witch, as her mother is. Once you accept the setup, that witches are real, and very normal (except, apparently, in the charming little seaside village that Kiki eventually takes residence in), the movie becomes mostly just another charming "day in the life of" films, not totally unlike My Neighbor Totoro. Which is fine, if you're looking for something relatively slow-paced, charming, and wholesome - I'd recommend this over pretty much any other children's movie that's come out in the past decade - but if you're looking for the action and philosophy of "Mononoke" or "Nausicaa", you won't really find it here, and if you're drawn to the mysticism of "Spirited Away", there's not much of that here either - except for flying, Kiki doesn't know any magic or spells to perform.
Not that there's anything wrong with that - not every movie has to be incredibly action-oriented, or deeply philosophical, or stocked with unusual or intriguing monsters. But I found myself mildly irked by Kiki's massive mood-swings - and while they are certainly realistic for a young thirteen-year-old out on her own for the first time, I tend to prefer the maturity of Nausicaa or at least the emotional growth of Sen ("Spirited Away"). While Kiki 'grows' in the sense that she finds a purpose in her flying (although I would have preferred it to be 'saving people' as opposed to 'saving my crush', since that seems a little limiting), she doesn't really seem to grow in terms of how she relates to the people around her, and I'm not sure how I feel about that.
Or perhaps I'm being too hard on the movie because, for some reason, I found Kirsten Dunst's voice-acting distracting. I don't know how to explain that except that she sounded too much like Kirsten Dunst, and I kept slipping out of the immersion as a result. That's probably more my fault than anything else, though.
Waffling aside, I enjoyed "Kiki's Delivery Service" well enough. Adults will find it charming, and I think children will genuinely love the idea of striking out on your own with nothing but a talking cat and a flying broom. I just won't be coming back time and again like I do with some of Takayama's other movies. |
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| "An inspiring and imaginative film" | 2009-08-08 |
| - Reviewed By User: A14IB09NJ4JMY9 |
| I was first exposed to Hayao Miyazaki's work through this film, which in turn led to my seeking out other titles like Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind, and many more, and to breathlessly expect each and every one of his subsequent releases in the years since. I won't go into details on the story, because I figure that the film itself is it's own best salesman, but I will say that this is a film that is not to be missed. The themes in this work are timeless and translate well across all languages, cultures, and any other barriers you can imagine. The animation itself is superbly rendered, thanks to Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki-san's own pursuit of perfection in everything they do, and Jo Hisaishi's music is as lively and essential as ever. Do not miss the opportunity to add this film to your collection, whether you are an anime' fan or not. This film is really that good. |
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| "Another Beauty" | 2009-07-31 |
| - Reviewed By vamommy |
| I love many of the movies in this line, with Totoro being our favorite. This is one of the prettier movies from the studio and that is saying a lot. The plot is very unique and it makes for a great Halloween tradition. |
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