Forum - View topicREVIEW: The Secret World of Arrietty
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bwcbwc
Posts: 59 |
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I don't understand why Zac is knocking the movie for not having an effective villain. This is "Romeo and Juliet" without the violence, not an adventure flick. Two young lovers separated by circumstances of their birth.
Admittedly, "Romeo and Juliet without the violence" comes out pretty bland in terms of action. But it's not like the plot doesn't hang together successfully. I watched it more in terms of the developing relationship between Arrietty and Shawn and less in terms of the outside conflict, And the movie works fine like that. |
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Radrappy
Posts: 75 |
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I'm not sure how you got anything romantic from their relationship. If anything it's very unclear even what kind of relationship they have. As far as I can tell they never made it past the acquaintance stage which makes their "emotional" separation at the end feel very forced and shallow. PS romeo and juliet without the violence sounds pretty terrible. It removes the stakes, the conflict, and the drama completely. |
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
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Man, procreation would be a bitch for those two. |
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bravetailor
Posts: 817 |
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The hentai version will be released soon from Kitty Media. 
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504NOSON2
 Subscriber Posts: 647 Location: Body:Santa Barbara, CA ~ Heart:New Orleans, LA |
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Eventually (probably... maybe) someday in the distant future, in a parallel universe, with different laws of physics, you'll finally -- at last -- come to understand that dtm42's opinion does not invariably equal the one-and-only right and valid opinion, and everyone else -- even those who clearly have greater expertise and/or provide solid, substantiated reasoning -- with contrary views to that is not incorrect, by default. Having said that, let us first address the official, "textbook" definition of what a "masterpiece" is. An abstract (the first clause of the very first sentence) from Wikipedia's entry on "masterpiece":
What was quoted is all that's required, however; because Arriety most certainly has been given critical praise. Three "A"s and one "B" -- the "overall" grade is what's decided is the sum total measurement -- are the equivalent of a My Anime "Excellent" rating, if I do say do. On to the next definition:
Arrietty boasts screenplay by Studio Ghibli founder, Hayao Miyazaki (Howl's Moving Castle, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Princess Mononoke) and a direction/storyboard by long-time Ghibli retainer, Hiromasa Yonebayashi. The film's animation and artistic schemes -- by Ghibli, of course -- are critically acclaimed, and are possibly the most glorified aspects of the movie. The movie's score is also recognized for its excellence. The ''extraordinary skill" was certainly present in this film's production. Now, let's look at the story this is based on. It's source material is none other than Mary Norton's "The Borrowers", which is a Carnegie Medal winning novel, and has been adapted about half a dozen times. While many may have defined it as excellent, I think my "masterpiece" voting is quite arguable, while yours (of which you're virtually in utter solitude in having) isn't, even remotely. Oh, and just consider that "jab" a counterattack for that "vegetarian" remark.
The problem here is that you, quite obviously, exaggerate this supposedly abrupt, sharp decline in quality that is Arrietty, when compared to Ghibli's flawless legacy. You don't find the notion of over two decades of consistent, award-winning, accolade-receiving "masterpieces" to have somehow just come to a complete halt... Ellipses to add dramatization effect somewhat embellished? Or, to take a different approach, are you honestly going to assert that every single Ghibli film, since 1985, was markedly superior to the one in question? Seems unlikely, to me.
Because of anime's overall track record of comparatively superior artistic merits, you should hold it to higher standards. But *not* unfairly high; like expecting every film to be of exact, identical quality, across the board, as Mononoke, or The Place Promised in Our Early Days.
Hmm, perhaps our good friend dtm42 isn't alone on the Isle of Looney Dissent.
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MidwestPride
Posts: 3 |
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lol I thought the exact opposite. I thought Ronan's British accent was rather off and "super-twee" (I'm not sure what that exactly means, but I don't think it's good). The sad part is I bet people are going to say the Disney version is trash just because it's Disney and the fact that they hired minor Disney stars as the leads won't help the cause. I'm glad to vouch for the US dub. Last edited by MidwestPride on Tue Feb 21, 2012 4:22 am; edited 2 times in total |
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Radrappy
Posts: 75 |
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All I'll say is that yes, I strongly believe the last 4 studio ghibli films have been of noticeably lower quality than the rest of their library. Not sure that I deserve to be exiled to loony island for observing that.
The point of my statement was that I do NOT have higher/lower standards for anime films. And no, I dont expect every film to reach the level of quality that Mononoke has hit. But I still expect a certain level of narrative quality from studio ghibli that Arrietty didn't deliver on. I'm not trying to be an iconoclast here. If you enjoyed Arrietty, good for you. It just came off as a very empty and unsatisfying experience for me and as one who grew up watching ghibli films this couldn't be more disappointing. |
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504NOSON2
Subscriber Posts: 647 Location: Body:Santa Barbara, CA ~ Heart:New Orleans, LA |
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We'll just have to agree to disagree, but I apologize if I offended you with that "Looney Isle" comment.
I was just (trying) being funny. 
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KENZICHI
 Posts: 1103 |
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Thank you! I haven't watched the movie yet, but just by his voice I had a feeling he would be sick. Glad I was right and that means the VA did a good job with that too  I like his voice too. It may sound too old to some people, but I still love it.
I didn't know those disney stars voicedd them either until I saw the trailer featuring them. I bet they choose them because they already had chemistry on set and that they have several loyal followers (with their pairing). NO WAY that them getting the lead roles together was a coincidence. |
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TurnerJ
Posts: 481 Location: Highland Park, NJ |
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Sadly, a lot of fans are not going to feel the same way as you do because they already have it set in their heads that giving Shawn an older sounding voice means that the dub is automatically unbearable. Case in point: deciding to make Pazu sound like a teenager in Castle in the Sky infuriated many purists and even more so because he was voiced by Dawson, who at the time was a heartthrob star. Needless to say, a lot of people wrote him off beforehand and even refuse to give the dub a chance, claiming that he alone destroys the film and does a terrible job, all of which are absolutely unfair and untrue arguments. He may not have been my first choice to play Pazu, but you know what? I still thought Dawson did a very good job. Not as good as the rest of the cast, but still very solid. Of course the main reason I watch that dub countless times is for Hamill and Leachman; they both really make it awesome. How can I say no to that? And in reply to the previous person who says that people will find the Disney dub bad simply because of using their stars, you're absolutely right. A lot of people will not give the Arrietty dub a chance simply because it's by Disney and declare another dub that has been already made to be better no matter what. Which is no fair way to evaluate anything. That's why I've found that arguing with such people is a waste of time; just because they think something's unbearable doesn't mean it is. |
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MidwestPride
Posts: 3 |
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I agree with everything that you've said about the US Studio Ghibli dubs. People seem to fail to make the distinction between VO anime that isn't Studio Ghibli and VO anime that is Studio Ghibli; for the most part actors that Disney have chosen to do VO for Ghibli have done the characters justice. There are a couple of voices that aren't up to par, but for some to say that Disney butchers them is a self fulling prophecy for future Disney+Ghibli installments. They're not going to like it no matter what. Then those same people have the nerve to say that the UK dub is automatically better just because the actors voicing them are better. That's some shit-acular reasoning there. Funny thing is I think the US dub was actually done before the UK dub, but I could be totally wrong. I remember the UK cast being announced in May/June of 2011 and soon after that it was released; the US cast had a Twitter announcement in December of 2010 with an "official" announcement the following January. The two English dubs have caused a slight riff amongst the internet community that are aware of both. I find it absurd when people say that the US cast "replaced" the UK cast. Quite the opposite in fact. If the story of Arrietty wasn't tied to the UK then there would be no Anglo-Irish cast. |
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Mohawk52
 Posts: 8202 Location: England, UK |
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Also Zac states that Sho's first contact with Arrietty is in his room as she and her father attempt to nick a sheet of tissue paper. spoiler[Actually he see's her for the first time a scene earlier, after he arrives at the house from being picked up at the train station, when she is escaping from the attention of the house cat in the front garden.] I also agree it was a thin veneer of a story which ended all too soon. Being a bit of an engineer I'm kind of facinated as to how Spiller got that teapot up stream without some form of strong torqqed propulsion, like a turbo-prop I/O.
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enurtsol
 Posts: 14761 |
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They were a pair for only a few episodes. She was just a guest character in his show. 
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birdman_osaka
Posts: 1 |
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Helen McCarthy's mini-essay about Arietty and Ghibli was enlightening to me.
http://helenmccarthy.wordpress.com/2011/08/20/borrower-arrietty-ghibli/ I think if viewed in that light, the film becomes quite beautiful. This analysis / reading is particularly relevant for the source novel. It doesn't detract from the Ghibli legacy, and it provides an endearing motivation for Miyazaki / Yone whats-his-face to have adapted it in the first place, and also puts under the spotlight what parts of the story / themes that they chose to animate. I personally hold this film only just short of Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away, which are now my two favourite Ghibli films. |
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Mohawk52
Posts: 8202 Location: England, UK |
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No........no I can't go there. >.< Last edited by Mohawk52 on Mon Feb 20, 2012 6:09 am; edited 1 time in total |
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