With Hayao Miyazaki’s latest feature aiming for a release before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, there’s still plenty of time to enjoy old classics that haven’t gotten their due. The current anime landscape may lack the quality and finesse that once permeated the medium, but luckily we have decades worth of Japanese animation that still hold up splendidly. Though most would prefer to take their children and younger siblings to the latest Pixar, Disney, or (god-forbid) Illumination films, they are missing out on some of the best viewing experiences one can ever have. So the next time you have to decide between the next Minions film and that interesting looking Japanese film your afraid to check out, I recommend you support an art form instead of a cash-grab designed by people who hate children.
So here are four films you can use to avoid sitting through endless fart jokes:
Howl’s Moving Castle
Animation maestro, Hayao Miyazaki considered it his favorite and its not difficult to see why. Adapted from Diana Wynn Jones’ children’s classic Howl’s Moving Castle is a lovely film that tackles some heavy themes and a poignant romance that puts Disney films to shame. Against the backdrop of a ongoing war, the film is set in a fictional European kingdom where both magic and early 20th century technology exist side-by-side. Here, the story follows Sophie, a young hatter who is turned into an old woman by a witch’s curse and her encounter and eventual romance with a wizard named Howl. Unlike most films that tackle an age transformation, Sophie’s time spent as an older woman is portrayed positively as an experience that helps free her from the bonds she had restricted herself with. That coupled with its powerful ant-war message makes it a great learning experience for both younger and older viewers as they learn to appreciate compassion, aging, and feminism.
The Castle of Cagliostro
Doing away with the adult themes and humor of the original manga by turning master thief Lupin into a lovable rogue with a heart of gold, this film is a joyous experience from beginning to end with humor, beautiful animation, and a charming cast of buffoons that never fails to entertain me every time I see it. A great adventure film, Miyazaki’s first is undoubtedly one of his finest. Taking the Lupin III protagonists on their first film outing, Miyazaki crafts a timeless classic that has influenced generations of animators and directors since (most notably Pixar’s John Lasseter). Some have even claimed that Spielberg was so impressed by this film, it later inspired certain scenes and set-pieces in his Indiana Jones series and its not hard to draw certain comparisons between them.
The Cat Returns
A spiritual successor of sorts to the critically acclaimed Whisper of the Heart, this feature takes some of the most-prized elements of that film and expands upon them in a fantastic fantasy that has all the hallmarks of a classic, but for some reason is not often mentioned when talking about the Ghibli cannon. The English voice-casting is superb with Anne Hathaway leading a cast of seasoned veterans who deliver hilarious lines that would simply not work in the hands of lesser actors. The characters are some of the funniest and most entertaining in animation history and its honestly a shame we never got to see them in a second outing. Both bonkers and heartfelt, this is an insanely fun film to watch with your friends when you’re bored and I can’t recall a single person who’ve I shown this too that’s disliked it. If your looking for a fun romp to pass the time with, I highly recommend you check this film out.
Porco Rosso
While Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, and Kiki’s Delivery Service get all the plaudits these days, its honestly a shame how criminally underrated this animated masterpiece is. Led by the legendary Michael Keaton, the film revolves around an Italian World War I ex-fighter ace who has become a bounty hunter chasing air pirates and is afflicted by an usual curse that has turned him into an anthropomorphic pig. Miyzaki’s hallmarks are all on display with a scenic European setting, lovely and intense flying scenes, a strong female lead, and homages to early aviation history this film highlights the best elements of its directors oeuvre in the most over-looked film in the Ghibli cannon.
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