![]() ![]() ![]() Horus is charged by his dying father to return to the village of his birth and avenge his people, all slaughtered by the ice devil Grunwald years before. It’s a classic fantasy adventure film, set in ancient Norway, whose unassuming Chosen One hero, the titular Horus, pulls the Sword of the Sun, Excalibur-like, from the body of a stone giant. Takahata’s directorial debut and Miyazaki’s first major film (he contributed scene design and key animation) was a landmark in Japanese animation history, for those reasons and more. Watch: Available dubbed on YouTube (for now) The Great Adventure of Horus, Prince of the Sun (a.k.a. A stylistic departure from previous films released by powerhouse Toei Animation, the film - based on a Shintō myth involving a storm god’s battle with the titular eight-headed dragon, the mythical Yamata no Orochi - feels more influenced by the visuals of United Productions of America and Disney’s Sleeping Beauty than prior anime landmarks, with its abstracted character animation, bold colors, and stylized backgrounds. In fact, Takahata’s career as a director began long before Miyazaki’s, arguably with this 1963 film, which he assistant-directed. Takahata, while never an animator himself, left as large an imprint on animation as a director and writer as his protégé turned partner Miyazaki, however overlooked it often is. The Little Prince and the Eight-Headed Dragon (1963) Here is a guide to the major non-Ghibli works directed or written by Miyazaki and/or Takahata, and where to watch them (if you can). We can’t help the former, but we can address the latter. But despite Miyazaki and Takahata’s outsize influence on the history of animation, many cartoon lovers still haven’t seen some of their most significant works, either for want of access or simply because they’ve never heard of them. That’s beginning to change, with American institutions like the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles holding retrospectives of both directors’ films and the distributor GKIDS bringing more and more of Miyazaki and Takahata’s extra-Ghibli works Stateside. Yet here we are, nearly four decades after the studio’s founding, with much of the work of its two great directors - Hayao Miyazaki ( Spirited Away, etc.) and Isao Takahata ( Grave of the Fireflies, etc.) - almost entirely unheralded outside of Japan and animation circles. To reflect this, this article has been expanded to include three new entries, because it's much too hard to narrow it down to just five.Studio Ghibli has created some of the most beloved animated films in the history of the medium worldwide. The studio set a benchmark for animation in not only Japan but also in the entire movie industry, and that has been the case since the 1980s. Updated Apby Jillian Unrau: There are so many Studio Ghibli movies that could be solid contenders for "most beautiful", as even some of the weaker films in their catalog would still be considered to be beautifully animated. So which Ghibli films have stood the test of time and continue to be some of the most beautiful stories ever put to animation? The messages of the movies also serve to enhance the visual elements, because the stunning animation is made all the more gorgeous by a magical or emotional story. It's difficult to choose only a few to talk about because every film is so rich with eye candy. While every film has its moments, and most could absolutely be labeled as beautiful with no argument, some films stand out above the others in the visual imagery department. The design of the Borrowers' house from The Secret World of Arrietty, or the bus stop sequence from My Neighbor Totoro are big moments that come to mind when thinking of visually captivating moments from Studio Ghibli movies. The style of their 2D animation is so evocative and detailed, and there are so many moments from individual films that stick out in people's minds long after they've seen them. If Studio Ghibli is known for anything, it's for their magical stories and breathtaking animation. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |