Comment by sigmoid10 a day ago
Miyazaki is not unique. Shinkai for example is part of a younger generation that does not fall behind and he has even been called the new Miyazaki (although he dismisses it). Talent per se does not die with a single person, especially not in a field with so many enthusiastic followers. And Ghibli in particular already has access to a lot of talent in other domains beyond writing and directing.
Gotta reference this amazing film essay (2015!) on Kon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oz49vQwSoTE
Definitely! What amazing films he could have made in all these years. I'm not really an anime fan, but Miyazaki and Satoshi belong to my all-time favourites.
Shinkai is an one trick pony whose one and only plot is teenage longing and whose one and only visual language is coating everything in a shiny glittery glow so he can hide the emptiness of his movies under it. His works are nothing but one aesthetic remade and remastered over and over, but sadly plenty of people do not engage with works of art beyond their aesthetics and here we are. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Oh, I'm going to say something which will rustle even more feathers than this!
Don Bluth was far superior to Miyazaki. Also, Miyazaki was a poor father and his kids movies sucked (i.e. tales of the earth sea) because he was basically forced into following in his dads footsteps.
Folks who are curious about the Le Guin angle on _Tales of Earthsea_ should read:
https://www.ursulakleguin.com/adaptation-tales-of-earthsea
It really is unfortunate that this went the way it did --- I'd dearly love for Earthsea to have a film version worthy of the fact that it was one of the first books to ask the question, "Can there be fantasy which is not a retelling of _The Lord of the Rings_?" and to answer with originality and a deep insight into what fantasy has to say about human nature.
I grew up with both Miyazaki and Bluth films.
I love Secret of NIMH, All Dogs Go To Heaven, etc. but let's not whitewash over history. He also did "A Troll in Central Park".
For every mediocre movie like Earthsea, there's also fantastic movies like Porco Rosso, Spirited Away, Naussica, etc - all of which I watched as a "kid".
They both had their highs and lows. Seems rather pointless to try and bench them against each other.
Even the "Bad" bluth films are excellent. Rock a doodle do is a solid 8.5+/10 and I straight up think critics who leave that film with a bad rating are deluded.
Porco Rosso literally reuses music, animations, etc from his other films. I enjoyed the film because a fascist pig cassanova was a fascinating premise - but it's very much derivative.
I bench them against one another because my partner is obsessed with Miyazaki and finds Bluth films to be mundane in comparison. Miyazaki has far more cultural capital today than bluth - which is absurd since more Americans grew up watching the land before time than they did watching anything Miyazaki made.
Definitely. Lots of Ghibli films (and anime in general) aren't really targeting an age demographic the way the west would.
Kiki's Delivery Service, Totoro, Castle in the Sky, Arrietty, etc. are all watchable at any age.
Even the more mature films like Princess Mononoke would be unlikely to garner more than a PG rating.
I do wonder why Hosoda isn't in the same conversation. His themes are sometimes a bit less... decisive than Miyazaki's, but the animation quality and passion for exploring intimate, interpersonal stories is there.
Edit: The downvote is a lot less helpful than an explanation.
No, you're right, he definitely belongs in the conversation. Wolf Children is on the same tier as the best Ghibli films. But to reach Miyazaki's level it's not enough to hit a home run, you have to do it at least four times in a row.
I like both Miyazaki and Shinkai, but they are really quite different both visually and thematically, and each unique in their own way.
Sure, it’s conceivable for Ghibli to be successful again with a new talented director, but it won’t be Miyazaki’s nor Takahata’s Ghibli anymore.