| 1. | (8 posts) | "Sen" in France |
| 2. | (3 posts) | Next Studio Ghibli Films |
| 3. | (8 posts) | Nausicaa Animage vs. Collected Volumes |
| 4. | (4 posts) | "Sen" More Disney-like? |
We looked at 78 posts by 46 different contributors.
A medium-volume week on the MML.
Julio Bruna asked, "A month ago I think I have seen something on nausciaa.net (or maybe in the ML) , saying that Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi will be release in France in Novembre or December 2001. Can qomeone confirm this ?"
Andrew Osmond replied, "That's what the person at the Barbican told me (though that was back in June and plans may have changed; no doubt ANIME LAND will carry updates)."
Julien Wilk added, "I saw twice "Sen to Chihiro" in the past weeks (I'm living in Tokyo) and also heard of an early release in France for the end of the year. Since "Porco Rosso" that was released in the main theaters in 1997 with a very professional dubbing, we also had Monoke Hime, Totoro and Yamada-kun. . . "Sen to Chihiro" seems to follow the same process as each release must be successful enough to finance the following one."
Ilan Nguyen cautioned, "There has been no official announcement regarding any release, early or late, of "Sen to Chihiro..." in France, AFAIK. And I doubt spreading such rumours could be of any help on that matter. On the other hand, it can hardly avoid causing various new and unnecessary problems to face, for both right-holders and foreign distributors. . . it would be hard to believe that releases of the studio Ghibli films abroad [out of Japan] could be considered as decisive points, in financial matters [it terms of production means for the next project], by the studio itself and the related production committees...
Outside Japan, the reaction of some people, in particular, will always have a decisive importance : how will foreign film distributors react to a film as unusual [in all possible ways, for them] as "Sen..." ? That will probably matter in the first place.
Which absolutely does not mean such releases do not mean something for them. Let us just not exaggerate the importance of such issues in the balance of the sutdio's projects.
Wondering what Studio Ghibli is doing after "Sen"? Ryoko Toyama wrote, "Ghibli is currently working on a feature-length (1hr40min) film and mid-length film (1hr10min). The feature length film is directed by Hosoda, the mid-length film is directed by a young freelance animator."
Michael Kerpan queried about Takahata, "We hear about Miyazaki announcing retirements, returns, semi-retirements, etc. -- but how about Takahata? Has Takahata cut back on his activities?. . . Will the wonderful (but unappreciated) Yamadas turn out to be his "swan song"?"
Ilan Nguyen replied, "It is actually true he is not working on any new feature-length project by now, and there is not way to know if he will have to direct another film of such a frame. . . he has already answered to questions of that kind in the past, by talking about various ideas he would like to give a form to, as short films. . . With the Ghibli Museum going to start next October, such shorts would find a way to be screened in Japan, while short films in general have almost completely lost any chance to get shown in theaters."
While not discussed on the list, the feature film looks to be an adaptation of "Howl's Moving Castle" by Diana Wynne Jones.
A shameless bit of self-promotion, "The highly anticipated "Nausicaa" comparison pages are now available. . . Many thanks to Scott Ryan for heading up the project and to Andrew Osmond for his contributions."
The pages are a brief look at the changes Miyazaki made between the original serialized Animage printing and the collected volumes. It's really neat, check it out if you've read the entire manga. Else go buy it!
Sharon Westfall liked it, "My gawd, yes, it looks like it was a lot of work! Scott, Andrew and Lawrence, thanks very much for your efforts!"
Keith Andreano wondered, "Big difference! Anyone know if VIZ is planning on releasing this version?"
Scott Ryan replied, "I would be surprised if Miyazaki would even want the serial episodes to be re-published as they are. Having two complete but slightly different versions of the story around would probably just lead to confusion down the line. If anyone feels like they are being cheated somehow, fear not. The collected editions really are the more complete telling of the saga. More panels, more pages. Plus scenes as Miyazaki wanted them to be seen. --The final draft. . . For anyone interested in further examining the evolution of Miyazaki's ideas for Nausicaa, I recommend the Nausicaa Watercolor Collection for its 45-page section of early sketches."
A "Sen" thread with (hardly any) spoilers courtesy of David Mankins, "I've used the term ``Disney film'' and ``Disney formula'' in this
message because I can't think of a better way to capture my (admittedly uninformed and half-baked) idea. . . Mike Arnold's description of _Sen_ as a film. . . in which there's a tidy resolution (perhaps too tidy?) made me think of the stereotyped contrast between American and Japanese audiences.
We saw this stereotype in play in some of the negative reviews of _Princess Mononoke_ when it was released: too complicated, the central
conflict isn't really resolved in a clear way, etc., etc.
I'm wondering if _Sen_, for its alleged tidiness, might be a success in the US because it's adopted some of the elements of the Disney
formula, *despite* being set in a Japanese onsen resort.
Mike Arnold replied, "that "stereotyped contrast" is bound to come up. Personally I'm not sure that the "Disney = simple stories = American style animation" versus "Ghibli = open-ended = Japanese style animation" is a very useful distinction. Most Japanese animation is very simple too, and a lot of the early work Miyazaki and Takahata were involved with were somewhat simplistic adventure/comedies for kids. . . Atsushi pointed out that there does seem to be a conflict between the humor and the somewhat "serious" implications of the story, and I had the same feeling. However I don't think this makes the story more Disney-like. Then again, there are questions of similiarities to "Alice in Wonderland" and so forth... One thing several Japanese commentators have been saying is that "Sen" is nostalgic in a way, reminding them of ... something from their past they can't quite put a finger on.
a lot of *Japanese* people felt the same way about "Mononoke Hime." It's too complicated, it doesn't have a point, it doesn't have a clear ending... I don't think we can say that the Japanese animation industry generally produces more complicated, vague or adult stories, or that the Japanese audience expects their animated entertainment to be more challenging than the standard Disney-like animated musical comedy.
Mike's response to David's last question, "That is a very interesting question."
Ryoko Toyama felt people should watch the film first, "IMO, of course, but it is a kind of movie that explaining in words doesn't do a justice to it. In that sense, it is closer to "Totoro". Explaining the charm of it is also difficult."
Mike wrote, "I think he was trying to refer to my discussing, and I've seen the movie 3 times. <:-/ I think the resolution in "Sen" did try to be "too tidy.". . . the problems themselves--issues that were set up by the story itself--just sort of cease to exist all of a sudden."
It remains to be seen if Disney will distribute the film in the US, but since they covered 10% of the production costs I think it's a forgone conclusion.
Joe Curzon notes that tickets are now availible for the Barbican Festival. No English subs for "Sen" (yet), but versions with Japanese subs exist. In related news, "Sen" is still #1 at the box office. Plenty of Studio Ghibli cels still being sold by Ruby Persson, if you can afford them. Ng Hun Yang whipped up a comparison of three different "Kiki" DVDs. Hyo-Dong Lee points someone to a "part-translation, part-paraphrase" of a mini-manga in the Nausicaa Watercolor Collection. Ilan Nguyen reports more "Sen" books hitting the street. Ng Hun Yang shows why people shouldn't buy bootlegs.
That's all, see you next week.