I didn't like Miyazaki movies at first. They just didn't interest me at all. Then I saw the videos in JesuOtaku's Month of May-azaki. Since then I've been able to see some that I borrowed from the library and compiled a list of the ones I liked most.
6. My Neighbor Totoro. It's the iconic Ghibli film as Totoro is now its mascot. I found it for the most part tolerable for the amount of whimsy and spirit of adventure it contained. Who wants to ride the Cat Bus? Me!
5. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. While this was a rather lengthy one, I have to say I enjoyed it. Nausicaa is an excellent example of a strong female protagonist (so much so that I mistook her for others), and the voice cast in the dub is solid.
4. Whisper of the Heart. Disney-dubbed after The Cat Returns but out in Japan first as the film's precursor. While this movie tended to drag out too long, it spoke to me about wanting to write for a living. And the voice cast is great, of course. Brittany Snow and Ashley Tisdale are apparently BFFs in real life as in the movie. Can't get "Country Road" out of my head though, or the fact that the lead couple is essentially Namine and Riku from Kingdom Hearts (well, Repliku maybe).
3. Kiki's Delivery Service. I wanted to see this one ever since it first came out in the US, but that was during a turbulent time in which my parents were getting divorced and I had to wait years before I could see movies that came out around that time, including Galaxy Quest. While this movie did drag in some spots as many of them do, I still liked it. It contained a similar message to Whisper of the Heart in that you have to find yourself even if you have to lose yourself somewhat in the process - and work hard at it. I just don't get why she was limited to wearing only that black dress when she wore normal clothes while she lived at home. And who sends out a thirteen-year-old out on her own anyway?? But I digress, she's still fairly awesome, and I think white is more her color.
2. The Cat Returns. I borrowed The Princess Bride, a movie I had also never considered watching until becoming a regular viewer of TGWTG.com, because of this movie. It's just so good. I found a manga version of it too, but the movie is much better. The movie derives so much from other fantasy novels in popular culture, but I don't mind at all because it's so well done and well acted. And thanks to The Dark Knight Rises I can also make Catwoman jokes that make sense in this context (otherwise my opinion of Anne Hathaway is that I thought she'd be more suitable as a Barbara Gordon than a Selina Kyle).
1. Howl's Moving Castle. I'M MOTHMAN! Okay, so Christian Bale isn't the reason I like this one (fan girls hold your fire, I didn't say he was bad). While there are several twists and turns in this movie that I don't always understand, there's not much I don't like about it. The characters just mesh so well that I want to see them succeed. Am I the only one who thinks Turnip Head got a little gypped at the end? What was up with that?
In the spirit of Doug and Rob's new show Sibling Rivalry, here are the movies my brother liked that I didn't (although we both agree on liking The Cat Returns): Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke. My brother also added Castle in the Sky to his top 5. It would rank 7 on mine - memorable only for Mark Hamill slipping into Joker mode toward the end and the song that played during the credits.
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