Recently Studio Ghibli have revealed their next project, to be released in Japan in Summer 2010: Karigurashi no Arrietty (Arrietty the Borrower) is their take on Mary Norton’s novel The Borrowers, which has already seen a couple of film and TV adaptions.
As the title already suggests, this one has the usual Ghibli spin of focusing on a strong female lead.
At the helm is Yonebayashi Hiromasa, who served as animator and animation director on various earlier Ghibli productions.
I just hope this film will somehow find its way into more theaters around the world than Ponyo did.
I’m still pretty annoyed that the initial German distributor first delayed and then dropped that film altogether.
I remember watching the film adaptation of The Borrowers as a kid and intensely hating it for some reason (maybe it was the fact that I now ‘knew’ where all my things have been disappearing to! ).
Of course, I may like it if I rewatch it with adult eyes now. Studio Ghibli is like the Pixar of the East, so I’ll wholeheartedly be looking forward to this, no questions asked. Thanks for the update, totoro!
OMG you just made my day. I love the borrower films and novels. Its a perfect setup for Studio Ghibli to do. When I visit the museum this month Ill make sure to question about it. I only hope I will be in Japan when it is released. It does take a rather long time for it to be released in America with dub English, if it makes there at all. I can only wait and hope it will be another masterpiece.
Just went to the site and I loved what I saw even though I couldn’t understand any of it, can’t speak Japanese you know. Yay, another film to look forward to especially since I am such a fan of anime.
This sounds very intriguing! I’ve always loved the story of [i]The Borrowers[/b], and I can imagine Studio Ghibli putting their unique take on it, especially with the focus being on Arrietty.
There is a full trailer that was released during the Iron Man 2 showing that showed more of a plot line between the borrower Arrietty, her family (including a father and what looks like to be an aunt), and a normal size boy. It looks like Arrietty befriends a sicken boy that comes to the countryside to live in their home.
It is surprising to not see much ad-time for this Ghibli film like on tv or on the trains but it is still extremely expected to be a big event. The premiere date is July 17 and full week after Toy Story 3 (July 10) comes to Japan. So July is a pretty big event for animated movies.
When it comes out I’ll make sure to give a full report on the movie and audience reaction. XD
Urgh jealous. I’d kill to go back to Tokyo. Yesterday marked one year since I returned and the last few weeks I’ve been thinking “this time last year I was…”
Looking forward to the film however…whenever I end up seeing it.
Haha I do count my blessings. Karigurashi no Arrietty makes up everything that I have missed movie-wise in the past year. Usually it frustrated me to wait at least a month or two for American movies to come out here in Japan (sometimes at selected theaters).
This is a great chance for Ghibli to add their own personal touch to the Borrowers. Plus even more exciting aspect is that this is the youngest directer at Studio Ghibli that isn’t Miyazaki or Takahata. This will be a great chance to see if there can be a successor to Studio Ghibli that can uphold their standards and beliefs. Unfortunately, Miyazaki’s son (who had worked on Tales of Earthsea) didn’t turn out so well. Because of that failure Miyazaki is wary to try and let anyone do the work other than himself or Takahata (Miyazaki is a bit of a workaholic). If you want to see for yourself Tales of Earthsea is coming to America dubbed this summer I believe, so you can decide what to think of it as well.
Wow, I can’t believe I hadn’t heard of this film until now! Of course I have no idea what they’re saying in the trailer, but it looks pretty good regardless; the animation is beautiful. I’m not a huge fan of The Borrowers, but I have faith in Studio Ghibli. The first time I heard of Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke, I didn’t really like the sounds of them, but both of the films blew me away once I got the chance to watch them. By far my favorite Studio Ghibli film is Grave of the Fireflies
Ah yes, Howl’s Movie Castle. That was the first Ghibli film I saw, and much like A Bug’s Life, while it’s not my favorite, it holds a special place in my heart for introducing me to something I now love
I have a question for all you Ghibli fans out there. Is Ponyo on par with other Ghibli works? I have a few friends who have seen it, and they say that it’s a bit more childish that Naussica, Mononoke, Whisper of the Heart and the others. I’ll probably see it either way, but I’m interested to see what you guys think.
Personally it isn’t in my top five of studio ghibli films. I do admire Ponyo for Miyazaki’s stubborn passion to use as little cgi in the movie as possible. All those scenes of the sea, all hand-drawn animation believe it or not.
Comparing to other studio ghibli films it does rank high for hand-drawn achievements but what I think brings it down is the lack of story. This is Miyazaki’s version of the original Hans Anderson’s Little Mermaid. In some ways he accomplish in telling the story of the Little Mermaid in his own way with some Japanese flair. There are even some details that were left out of Disney’s own Little Mermaid that Miyazaki included. The point that weakens it down is the lack of climax and emotional attachment to the characters.
The children are great and I think it was wonderful to have such young characters play the roles but to most of the audience including myself it is hard to believe that these children are lovestruck. I’m all for love but it is a hard emotion to convey in teenagers and adults let alone in five-year-olds. It isn’t that I don’t want to believe and I can understand that Miyazaki was making this more for kids (as he said so himself) than anyone else, but to believe in the characters give life to the story.
It was also difficult to feel for the story as there really was no villain. I know the father was played as a villain figure but to me he wasn’t threatening enough. The climax was more like a hill than a mountain peak. If maybe the father was more menacing or another creature or character that could have made the heros struggle a bit at the end I think it would have been more complete. Audiences want to hold their breath until the climax reaches a fulfilling solution. In Ponyo it was as if you watch the movies until the very end and than wonder if it truly is the end or not.
All in all the story was there but tone down so that a five-year-old might understand it all. In truth I learned that Miyazaki’s weak point is endings so maybe this was his one that got away. I still enjoyed and love that it still proves that hand-drawn animation can be art that is entertaining.
Have you read/seen any interviews with Miyazaki about Ponyo? A lot of the points you addressed were, seemingly, done on purpose. It is merely “inspired by” The Little Mermaid, rather than trying to be a telling of that story and is also inspired by a lot of other Japanese books and such.
Sosuke and Ponyo weren’t supposed to be “in love” (the way a married couple are) but rather just “love each other” like close friends do. He has spoken about how in their futures they would probably date other people but still have this strong connection.
I find the film charming to be honest. Its not his best but its still a pleasant way to spend 90 minutes.
Ponyo is definitely one of my favourite Ghibli movies. It was the first I ever saw in theatres (and only the second or third I had seen, period), and watching it with my friend is definitely one of my fondest memories of '09. It’s not a perfect movie, and I understand where the criticism is coming from, but I look past these flaws and enjoy the childlike wonder, transportive scenery and overall magical vibe you get from the film. When I saw it, I didn’t need any 3-D glasses to make it feel like I was there - just good art and storytelling was enough. That’s how it should be.
Very much enjoyed The Secret World of Arrietty…although it’s not the “best” of Miyazaki’s work I’ve seen, it was the most enjoyable from start to finish. In other words, it was more coherent than Mononoke and calmer than Totoro or Kiki. It appears that its North American box-office take will end up higher than that of any other Ghibli theatrical release (and maybe higher than Pokemon 3 and/or Yu-Gi-Oh!), which bodes well for future releases in the States. Anyone else here see the movie in North America?
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Thanks for the update, totoro!
