Some more things to think about, to follow on from Weeks 8-9!!

1. In this paper we have considered Herge's The Blue Lotus as an example of orientalism, that is, the way the 'East' is constructed in western discourse. Miyazaki lived for a spell in Italy and almost half of his feature-length films - Castle of Cagliostro (1979), Laptua: Castle in the Sky (1986), Kiki's Delivery Service (1989), Porco Rosso (1992) and Howl's Moving Castle (2004) - are set in Europe. Yet Miyazaki's Europe is a kind of imaginative reconstruction with fantasy elements that defamiliarises actual European settings and culture while remaining somehow remain indelibly Japanese. See the article I gave out by Dani Cavallaro (2006), pages 167-70.

Did you note any effects of such - what could be termed - 'Occidentalism' in Howl's Moving Castle? How might Europe function imaginatively for a Japanese audience? How do you think it works for a western audience? (Whew! That's my longest question yet :)

2. According to Cavallaro how successful was Howl commercially and critically?

3. What 3 major differences does Cavallaro identify between the book (a European fantasy novel by Wynne Jones) of the same name and the anime?

4. What does Cavallaro tell us about the technical aspects of Howl's production in terms of the animation technique and special effects?

Nice to see some smiles after this screening

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What did you like (or not like, if that's the case) about Howl?

Well to start with before taking Popular Genre I have never watched any Anime. And guess what i really like it, it is so great i want to go to the video store and get a whole load more to watch. One of the things i like about it, is that my kids could sit down and watch it with me and get something out of it, and then there is a whole other level for adults.
Anyways in relation to question one, wow what a question or is it a novella, lol. Covallaro refers to Miyazaki's Europe as one that the Japanese have contructed "akogare no Paris (the Paris of our dreams)" (p. 168).It is great to see orient has an answer for orientalism. But Miyazaki has elements of a French town in the 19th century with elements of fantasy, according to Cavallaro "a world in which science exists as well as magic, since they are illusion" (p. 168). As Cavallro pointed out there is a real Jules Verne look to the movie, this can be seen especially with the flying machines etc. However the story has a real air of authenticity because the clothes and buildings are so factual. One quote that i loved was "it is by no means an undiluted idyll: not only is the land scouraged by war, its skies are also besmirched by the smoke-belching chimneys of burgeoning protoindustrial conglomerates" (p.168).

Cool, Rachel, glad you enjoyed it. Best chances of finding something at a local DVD store are other Miyazaki works, especially Spirited Away and My Neighbour Totoro. Former is often regarded as for 8yrs up by 'western standards' while the latter for anyone, any age. (They're both so beautiful it almost hurts, and commonly available here in godzone).

Otherwise you're probably looking at serialised stuff like Yugioh! and Pokemon which are fun but just don't have the depth. HM is unique - the master - though some other Ghibli directors like Takahata are cool - can lend you Grave of the Fireflies if you like but I don't know anyone who can make it through without breaking down (two innocent kids trying to get through the horrors of wartime Japan). ;_;

Thanks Paul, On saturday we went and got Princess Mononoke (they didn't have Howls) cause i couldn't shut up about it, and my husband wanted to see what the fuss was about.So glad the kids weren't around, definitly not kids anime.
Can I borrow Grave of the Fireflies? that would be so awesome. You have us hooked. The video store said the anime is in high demand, but the majority of their stuff is kids stuff like Pokemon.

In relation to question 2, Howl's Moving Castle was extremely successful both critically and commercially. This in and of itself is an amazing feat as many movies succeed commercially yet do not get critical acclaim and vice versa. So to achieve both speaks volumes of the skill of Miyazaki to forsee what it is that audiences want and then to think how can i make this better than previous movies.
According to Cavallaro, Howl received numerous awards from both critics and audiences alike. However the most impressive I believe is "In the wake of Howl's success, miyazaki received an honorary Golden Lion ... and hence became the first Japanese director - and indeed the first animation director - honored with this coveted prize" (p. 157).
In addition Howl's did extremely well at the box offive breaking many records. Cavallaro states that "Howl was the only non-English language movie released in 2004 to make more than $100 million in that year" (p. 158).

question four asks about the techinical methods that Miyazaki has used for Howl's moving castle. On a personal level I was amazed at the share realism of the movie, the smallest movements even if it is in the background were copied to perfection such as the the minute movements as the castle moves across the mountains. According to Cavallaro "Howl brings into play and ingeniously maximizes virtually all of the major animation techniques" (p. 165). What I think is impressive is that they haven't thrown out the 'baby with the bathwater' so to speak. Miyazaki uses the latest and greatest tools available, yet he also uses the traditional methods of drawing by hand "the film represents another primary example of Studio Ghibli's spellbinding integration of traditional animation and CGI: all of it's backgrounds were initially hand-drawn and hand-painted, while it's characters were hand-drawn and only subsequently scanned digitally" (p. 165). While many animation movie's are now completely reliant on CGI, studio Ghibli has a real different look and vibrancy.

Hi Rachel,

Sorry to leave you talk with yourself, Iresearch making me busy and sick. However, I agree with you in relation to question 2 as the huge number of the financial profit that the Howl’s Moving Castle have gained inside and outside Japan, which Cavallaro have declared in his article, is an clear evidence of its commercial successful. For examples, he says that on its opening weekend in Japan earned about $14.6 million and by February 10, 2005 earned $18 million in Korea. Similarly the movie also was critically very successful as it received many awards, first one Osella Award for Technical Excellence, which was even prior to its domestic release (November 20, 2004).

Well in relation to question one I think Miyazaki may made use some of Western culture in his works such as using Alsace “the French region endowed with a quintessentially fairy-tale favor” as an inspiring source to his drawing in Howl’s Moving Castle, as a result of the strong universal Western influence in politics, culture, economics and science. As same as other Easten Artists and movie makers Miyazake ues Westen cultural themes and images because the West have the power. Currently, most of the Arabic movies and TV’s shows use Western setting and often the artists speak English or French language in part of their speech instead of emphasizing our native cultural traditions. Therefore, I think term Occidentalisn reveres term Orientalism. The first one represents the East positive viewpoint towards West who has the power, so they try to imitate or copy some of its elements, however the second one represents the Western negative viewpoint towards the East as an undeveloped part of the world and his people are illiterates and lack of the intelligently.

In my opinion inserting some of the Western culture and traditional elements in the Eastern arts may perceive as development by most of the East population but not me. I mean I like Western Culture and arts and especially after studying Language in Literature, but I want our literature and arts to stay pure. And how it works for a Western audience? well I think Rachel can answer this one.

Hello Rachel and Saja
Sorry, I am quiet not active this semester.:( Saja, Co-op paper makes me sick too. I am spending most of my time to write portfolio.
and it seems like there's nothing that I could answer related on the text this week since you guys already answered almost. I hope I could find some.

Anyway, Howl’s moving castle is one of my favourite animes!! (‘-‘)/
But little bit sad since I couldn’t focus on this deeply. When Howl was released, in Korea, many girls (and of course me too), were really exited due to the fact that Howl’s voice actor was “Kimura Takuya” who is a really really famous singer and actor in Japan. The voice that you could hear in Japanese in the anime is his voice. In relation to question two, I agree with you guys. It was really successful in Korea as well, and I surprised that this anime have seen by Western culture people massively and they also like it. According to Cavallaro, “Howl had the most extensive theatrical release ever accorded to a Japanese film.” (p.157) I found that Howl opened on 237 screens in Korea in December (I still remember that winter), 2004, was seen by 770.000 spectators in the space of just four days which is incredible (p. 158) Moreover, "Howl was the only non-English language movie released in 2004 to make more than $100 million in that year" (p. 158).

This is a little chat,
What I felt with Hayao Miyazaki’s anime before, the heroines tend to be plucky young women who combine guileless decency with tough-mindedness. But Sophie, in Howl’s Moving Castle, her character often change herself into wise older women who sometimes serve as foils, sometimes as mother figures. She also starts out as a shy girl, but then a curse transforms her into 90-year-old. I always just skimmed this point but I guess I have to think about the reason now-_-....

According to my studying, Hayao Miyazaki is one of the most admired directors and animators in the world. Professional filmmakers and his fans believe that Hayao Miyazaki is a creative genius. His films are much loved in Japan and are gaining fame around the world. He makes films that say. "I wish that there were such people and things in the world." rather than "this is the way things are" I admire him as professional and as personal too.

In relation question four, as Rachel said previously, Miyazaki uses the latest and greatest tools available, yet he also uses the traditional methods of drawing by hand. I guess that’s what the studio Ghibri’s works makes attractive. However, “Howl brings into play and ingeniously maximizes virtually all of the major animation technology already deployed to stupendous effect in previous Ghibri productions. (p.165) Also, Howl was produced digitally, which means that instead of cels, the animators used high-resolution frames recorded to high-capacity digital tape and then transferred onto file.(p.165) I have a limited edition DVD of howl, and there is,a special play list that I could watch how the howl was made. They show us the 3D rendering; morphing, particles systems, texture mapping and computer generated atmospheric effects that had used. It seems like another world to me, and made me to remind that they are one of the best.