The animated drama from Studio Ghibli by Isao Takahata is not a fantasy film but something more like an animated memoir with commentary by a past self.
Tag: Studio Ghibli
‘Ponyo’ – Hayao Miyaki’s ‘Little Mermaid’ fable on HBO Max
Part Hans Christian Anderson’s The Little Mermaid, part ecological fable, and part children’s fantasy come to life, Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo (Japan, 2008) is a gentle storybook film, a simple, sweet tale animated with a delicacy unique to animated features. Ponyo is a water sprite, a curious undersea creature and daughter of the sea gods who […]
Hayao Miyazaki’s ‘The Wind Rises’ on HBO Max
The Wind Rises (Japan, 2013) is a very different kind of feature from Hayao Miyazaki, the beloved filmmaker and animation legend famed for his lush, ambitious, inventive fantasies and mythical adventures. It was a passion project for the director and he chose it as his fitting swan song, a final feature before retiring from filmmaking […]
‘Kiki’s Delivery Service’ on HBO Max
Kiki’s Delivery Service (Japan, 1989) carries us into the experiences of a young witch as she charts her path in the real world. Sincere, spirited Kiki has turned thirteen, the age when witches leave the nest for a year of solo training. She’s ready to take on the world with her broomstick and her best […]
What to stream: Christina Ricci’s ‘Z’ and Studio Ghibli’s ‘Ronja’ on Amazon Prime and more on Netflix, Hulu, HBO Now
Amazon picks up the gauntlet of original streaming drama with two new shows debuting this week. Christina Ricci is Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald in Z: The Beginning of Everything, an Amazon original series about the high-spirited Southern Belle who took New York society by storm as the fiercely independent wife and muse of F. Scott Fitzgerald […]
Watch This: Studio Ghibli’s ‘Ronja, The Robber’s Daughter’ comes to Amazon Prime in January
Studio Ghibli, the great Japanese animation house founded by Hayao Miyazaki, presents this animated series based on the novel by Astrid Lindgren (author of “Pippi Longstocking”) and directed by Gorō Miyazaki. A hit in Japan in 2014 and 2015, the series debuts in the U.S. in an English language version (with Gillian Anderson narrating) on […]