Studio Ghibli Retrospective 6

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

XVI. The Cat Returns

I’m tempted to call this movie“Alice in Wonderland meets Cats” and be done with it, I really am. But I don’t think that description does it justice. For one, it’s not both of those. And two, it feels more like The Princess Bride than anything, especially in tone. Still, it’s not an “amazing film”, so who am I to dwell on comparisons?

The film’s a weird, wacky adventure story about an insecure girl who visits a weird and wacky kingdom over a misunderstanding. Or perhaps it’s not so simple? Between the cat-related gifts that Haru receives, or being kidnaped and taken to The Cat Kingdom, I guess it might be more serious. I’m still debating that one.

How’s the film? Fine, I guess. Like Ocean Waves, this was a first-time project from a director who’d never work on a Studio Ghibli project again. Also, like Ocean Waves, the movie’s blissfully short. It barely clocks in at 75-minutes, making it harmless and easy to sit through. Yet, like Ocean Waves, its short length feels like a mask for pacing problems, even if it’s technically superior.

I think my biggest issue is that we have about 35 minutes spent in The Cat Kingdom, a place filled with intrigue and one that deserves much more time in. The rest of the movie focuses on the real-world drama of Haru following her daring rescue, and it’s as contrived and silly as possible. Even Haru acknowledges how dumb it is, so why should I care? What good is it to invest my time in these hijinks?

That’s pretty much the movie in general: Haru’s getting cat-themed gifts, even though she’s a human! Isn’t that silly? Now she’s being kidnapped by sentient cats! Isn’t that silly? Now she’s turning into a cat? Isn’t that-you get the point.

Even The Cat King, who’s delightfully hammy, feels wasted. He’s built up as a stuck-up, playful lecher who only wants what’s best for himself. He throws entertainers out of his castle window because they’re “not entertaining enough”. He even hits on Haru. This slime-ball of a character should be a gem! So why’s he wasted in such a disappointing manner? The only reason I can think of is “time”.

The movie also isn’t subtle. As in, it spells out its message right up front and to Haru: always believe in yourself. Inspiring! But while this remains the underlying theme, and shows up routinely, it never feels like anything more than fortune cookie-level. And that cheapens what could’ve been a much grander narrative.

I’m being too hard on The Cat Returns. For such a minimalist project, it looks and sounds great. The characters are surprisingly detailed, and the music contains a great waltz that occasionally pops into my head without warning. I also like the part where Haru walks on birds. More of that, please!

The movie’s also really funny. I keep finding myself laughing at how absurd parts are, even during the “isn’t that silly?” moments. I simply wish that the story was more on-point with the comedy, or that it was longer. Because while Ocean Waves being short was a blessing in disguise, The Cat Returns being short works to its detriment. And that saddens me, as I like the premise. Still, I know this movie’s popular amongst younger Studio Ghibli fans, so…

XVII. Howl’s Moving Castle

I hated this movie initially. I found it confusing, I thought its characters were dull, and that it dragged on aimlessly for too long. And that worried me, because it’s a Hayao Miyazaki movie. Still, I persisted. And while I don’t exactly love it, even after several re-watches, I can at least respect it. I guess that’s character development?

Getting the obvious problems out of the way, the story’s a mess. Miyazaki’s not one for excellent writing, since he always writes his films as he goes, but his other works have some level of consistently. At least they flow like actual movies. Howl’s Moving Castle feels like it’s making itself up as it goes, a classic case of “the tail leading the dog”. Fitting, seeing as how the movie was originally meant as a Mamoru Hosoda project, with Miyazaki coming on later.

The Witch of the Waste also bugs me. Initially, she’s the primary antagonist. By the halfway point, however, the movie shifts gears, and she’s reduced to a pile of mush with an inconsistent bout of dementia. It’s like Miyazaki didn’t know what to do with her, so he relegated her to the sidelines while focusing on Sophie and Howl’s relationship.

Sophie doesn’t fare much better. Beginning as a bore, she’s cursed by The Witch of the Waste. This isn’t terrible, she’s a lot more fun old, but her curse is inconsistent. Even with the subtle implications that it’s tied to her self-esteem, it flip-flops and never settles on any solid rules. Even in the second-half, when Sophie starts gaining confidence, her age fluctuates rapidly. It eventually settles on a midway point for…reasons, but even then it’s confusing. Why keep Sophie young, yet still make her hair grey?

There are also little details about the messaging that bug me to no end. The theme about war, which this movie portrays as non-discriminatory, feels like a side-plot with no reason for existing. It even ends with an incredibly-anticlimactic resolution, one that raises more questions than answers. I get that this was supposed to be a commentary on The Iraq War, something Miyazaki’s confirmed, but it’s so messy and immature about it.

That’s not to say it’s all bad. Like every Miyazaki film, the animation’s gorgeous, with Howl’s Castle being the centrepiece. The score, by Joe Hisaishi, is some of the composer’s best, with The Merry Go Round of Life being my favourite piece from the studio. I also like most of the characters, including Howl and Sophie. And I buy into their romance, which has an excellent pay-off.

This is my biggest frustration with the movie: there’s a lot of great here, but also a lot of bad. And they feel at odds, such that it makes for complicated viewings. My concerns also haven’t abated since I first saw it-if anything, they’ve gotten worse! But I’ve also come to appreciate this gonzo production, so I guess that’s something!

XVIII. Tales From Earthsea

So remember how I said there were two Studio Ghibli movies that were actively not good? This is the second. And it’s even worse than My Neighbors the Yamadas. At least that movie, for all its meandering and overkill, holds together. Tales From Earthsea is a literal train-wreck from the moment it says go. And it stays that way until the end.

I feel awful for Goro Miyazaki. He had a large legacy to live up to, and he could never do it. While this movie’s a huge mess, and let’s not undersell that, I still think he didn’t deserve to be saddled with making it. It’s kinda unfair to him.

The problems with this movie are obvious from the start: the animation’s generic, even if it looks detailed. The plotting’s even more bonkers than Howl’s Moving Castle, committing the cardinal sins of too much exposition and not enough flow. Cobb teeters between being too dull a villain to be interesting and too over-the-top to take seriously. The movie promises adventures it never shows. And Arren’s the most uninteresting Studio Ghibli protagonist ever, even though he’s supposed to represent depression.

But the biggest sin is that it’s boring. For a high-fantasy premise, not a lot of excitement happens for most of it. There could’ve been potential for so much more, but it’s not utilized; in fact, if it weren’t for the movie’s score, I’d probably not even know how to react to half of the scenes. That’s a big problem!

Does it have any saving graces? Aside from the music, that is? Well, Therru’s vocal solo halfway is pretty good. It may drag on, but it feels heartfelt enough. Still, that doesn’t compensate for such a dry, boring movie with such dry, boring characters. It hurts to say this, but Goro earned his Japanese Razzie. It hurts because, like I said, I think he deserved better.

(To be continued.)