“And by the end, I was thoroughly sick of seeing Kiki’s bloomers.”

In Japan, maybe not now, but back in the 70s and 80s for sure as I was living there as a young girl, bloomers are worn over underwear so they are considered more like shorts. I wore them over my underwear if I was wearing skirts or dresses.

So there is a huge misunderstanding by a lot of people who end up thinking that there is a perverted twist to the film just because to an American or European bloomers are the actual underwear.

One of the things I love about the movie is it’s idealize vision of Europe. It looks like a edenic vision of pre-WWI. All the buildings have character and charm. The people are friendly, open, understanding and helpful. The city is clean, with plenty of gardens and parks.

And I’m guessing that many kids won’t even recognize the blimp disaster — it just seemed like an odd thing to include, especially in something about the wonders of flight. I guess for today’s generation it’s something like setting up a comic Nazi villain — the horror of the event has been lost in the mists of time.

But I kinda shared your dissatisfaction with the nuts and bolts of the basic story; too often a didn’t always lead to b, which goes back to my concerns about translation veracity in anime. But I still thought there were a lot of charming moments, and it was all very well animated and visually imaginatively presented, which always counts for a lot with me.

Mononoke never did it for me. The animation is first-rate and parts of it are genuinelly thrilling, but a large part of it left me completely bored and uninterested. I’ve never quite understood its appeal. To me, Spirited Away is miles better – it rarely has a dull moment.

Because that’s what witches do.

“…leaving her loving and supportive parents, if all she was going to do was find a replacement mother, in the form of the pregnant (symbolism!) bakery owner. The baker gives her a room, feeds her, gives her minimal chores, and takes care of her while she’s sick. Where’s the self-reliance?”

I think it’s established early on that Kiki actually pays for room and board, but in return for a break in the price she has to help out around the bakery. As for taking care of her while she’s sick, wouldn’t you?

“I wondered what kind of disturbed mind decides to homage the Hindenburg disaster in a film otherwise suitable for children…Certainly, animation isn’t only for kids, but this film, with its young girl heroine in its otherwise comfortable structure, will certainly attract them as viewers.”

I’d be shocked to meet a kid who would get, let alone be affected by, the homage. To be honest, the Hindenburg disaster (the “Oh The Humanity!” line in particular) has long been a part of popular culture in the ‘humour’ category. I think it was in Animaniacs 2 or 3 times… I feel like I’m explaining this to a space alien, sorry if this comes off as condescending.

“I’m left unsure at the end exactly why Kiki started losing her powers.”

She stops living a magical life and gets caught up in the drudgery of the day-to-day. It’s also tied to her self-confidence.

“And by the end, I was thoroughly sick of seeing Kiki’s bloomers.”

Enh.

- Chris

Kiki isn’t my favourite Miyazaki, but that’s only because Mononoke and Chihiro are so damn perfect. That said, it’s a film I can watch again and again, for the sheer joy it exudes with every frame. And the songs. And the bit with the bike.

There’s been a veritable deluge of Miyazaki over here, recently. Animé DVDs are, on the whole, too expensive for my wallet – they can slash the price of the latest flipping Disney sequel, but they can’t knock a tenner off Pom pigging Poko – but I was able to get Laputa and Cogliostro for a veritable song.

(odd fact: Lupin III was partly inspired by the work of Sergio Aragonés)

If any of you were looking for a Next Miyazaki, I’d go for Laputa. Don’t watch the Japanese dub, though. Anna Paquin and James Van Der Beek deliver some…odd, but servicable performances, but the English dub is a mile less shrill than the sugar rush street urchins they kidnapped to do the Japanese track. Also, Mark Hamill!

//\Oo/\\

Miyazaki’s definitely got his pet themes, as you mentioned, which just have to be ignored sometimes to appreciate the movie. It’s probably comparable to how folks complain about many of Warren Ellis’ protagonists.

Michael, I hope I agree with you about SA. I think I’m going to give it some time before trying it, to start fresh with it.

Spirited Away is a completely different movie – compelling, scary, surreal, touching, and has a less annoying heroine. It’s a movie I love revisiting and it just keeps improving as you re-watch it.