Spirited Away Reviews

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fnoo Yeah, I actually would put Howl amongst the better Miyazaki movies. It's not the most popular one for whatever reason, but to me it felt like a refreshing return to form after Spirited Away. That is to say, it takes some of Miyazaki's typical themes and brings them in new directions entirely -- as opposed to Spirited Away, which sort of dwells in a puddle of Miyazaki's past achievements.

amyuhrich I loved Howl, but I feel like nobody really brings that one up. I found it highly entertaining. But then, I hear the book is much better. That might have something to do with it.

fnoo Probably. It's also a weird one in that Miyazaki wasn't the original intended director. Someone else, completely unrelated to Ghibli, pulled out of the project, and it landed in Miyazaki's lap. At this point Miyazaki was theoretically retired. I think he has announced his retirement after every movie from Mononoke on, but he still returned to work specifically for this project that wasn't even his. So, curious cycle here.

rebecca_logan @fnoo i completely agree that howl is one of the better miyazaki films. but i had no idea that he wasnt the intended director.

amyuhrich @fnoo He's attempted to retire that many times? Sounds like a case of not being creative by choice, per sé, but by necessity.

fnoo Seems that way. I think he has retired four times in the last 15 years or so.