From Up on Poppy Hill

I agree with the last review, its a lovely movie!

so lovely, It's an amazing one.

Studio Ghibli did it again! During this time where CGI in animation movies is more often the rule than a exception Studio Ghibli showed the world that they are still the undisputed rulers of traditional animation.

The animation is stunning, with every scene you get the feeling that you are looking at a beautiful painting. This is one of the reasons i am always drawn to their work.

The story was good. I liked the fact that it was taking place in 1964. It somehow gave the story a more authentic setting. The ending was okay, i would have liked it more if there was a clear sign that after both of the main characters heard that they are not brother and sister they would hold hands, or kiss. To show the viewers that they are in a relationship now, but i guess that can be accounted to the 1960ties norms and values together with Japanese shyness.

My advice with movies from Studio Ghibli is: do not compare them to their earlier work. I am not saying that they will never exceed their masterpieces Spirited Away or Princess Mononoke, but they set the bar extremely high. You should enjoy these movies with an open mind without taking in consideration their earlier work. If you do that than these movies are still miles above everyone else in traditional animation.

Young love sprouts amidst efforts to save a beloved campus clubhouse in this charming, small-scale schoolyard drama from Studio Ghibli. The product of a single-parent household, Umi is a responsible teenager whose dedication to preparing family meals takes precedence over her after-school activities. That changes when she meets Shun, a similarly bright, composed boy who introduces her to bustling afternoons in the Latin Quarter, a dusty, three-story, common meeting ground for extracurriculars. Drawn together, the two nurture a spark, but something comes up before they can make anything of it. In its aftermath, they’re forced to step back, reassess their feelings and try to move forward as friends when they were so close to becoming something more.

Like the very best Ghibli locales, the Latin Quarter brims with life, color and delightful peculiarity; a chaotic mess of excited kids with diverse tastes. The students’ enthusiasm for the building, and for preserving it when the administration threatens to have it replaced, brings essential flavor to a film that might otherwise seem too softly-spoken. Its relief allows the simple beauty of Umi and Shun’s relationship, and the poignant resolution of their individual stories, room to unfold at a more appropriate pace. A dueling narrative that serves both, short-changing neither. And, in between the heady personal drama and the energetic activities around the old building, there’s sill time to explore the peaceful, everyday life around 1960s Yokohama. Rich rewards for those with the patience to soak it all in. It’s a real delight.

"I kept raising the flags, hoping they might help him find me."

A marvelous romantic story by Ghibli, being the first time I ever watch a non-fantasy romance in their movies and, altho the story is not the most original, it's so charismatic and done with all the qualities of the studio that it's impossible not to like

With a magnificent drawing, a naive story in which it has been impossible for me not to cry at the end.

This was a very well done romance movie and clearly shows that Goro Miyazaki is making strides as a director himself (Tales from Earthsea was just so convoluted). The characters are very nice (though nothing too deep) and the story goes at a nice (although at times slow) pace. The art and music are spectacular as one would expect from a Ghibli film. The only big thing that I'd like to add is to definitely watch this with the English dub. I actually found that it added a lot more to the experience with many extra added lines (there are seriously quite a few monologues/lines that are not in the Japanese version), a better translation and much more natural dialogue versus the Japanese subs (at least the retail Japanese ones that I think that I saw it with). This reminded me a lot of Whisper of Heart although not quite as developed as that classic. Anyway, this is a definite watch for any Ghibli or romance movie fan.