Thursday 17 June 2010

Kids Moving Pictures


A few months ago I decided to get the movie Spirited Away for the kids.   I had heard a lot about it and I had always enjoyed Japanese animation, even if I did find it a bit off kooky.  So I figured what the heck, six movies for $6 lets give it a go.  I loved it and in spite of the fact that it flowed differently to the sorts of movies the boys normally enjoy they seemed to enjoy it very much.

Slowly over the next month or so we made out way through the other movies made by Studio Ghibli and so far all of them have been hits, especially with Hamish.  The latest one we got out proved to me just how much Hamish enjoys anything Ghibli.

I grabbed it off the shelf in a rush.  Normally I read the back to see if I think its appropriate and if its the sort of movie that the kids will like.  This time I was in a hurry, and the back had pictures of weird cats on it so I figured, what the heck.  Its studio Ghibli, it looks a bit weird.  It may be called Whisper of the Heart but they all have fairly odd names.  They'll love it.

We had had it a few days.  It was pretty obvious that Jack wasn't into it but Hamish was loving it.  Over the week if it was his turn to pick something to watch he would choose Whisper of the Heart.  


I finally sat down to watch it with him while he was sick on Wednesday.  It turns out that its about a young girl who is falling in love with a boy and the way she tries to process it.  During it she makes up a story about a cat statue that she sees in an antique store.  Now don't get me wrong, the movie had nothing to do with her story.  It was all about these two 15 year old falling in love. No weird cats, nothing freaky or action packed at all.

It surprised me and it also made me realise how much Hamish loves these Japanese cartoons.  It doesn't matter to him what the movie is about.  He seems to love something about them that is more than just the storyline.  Almost all of the lead characters are these strong brave and outspoken girls.  Almost all of them have some musical component.  And good always seems to win out.  Even the bad things usually turn out to be good by the end as well.

So if you are looking for something to watch, check them out.  So far our family favourites are;

+ Ponyo
+ Spirited Away
+ Howl's Moving Castle
+ The Cat Returns
+ Laputa - Castle in the Sun
+ Nausicaa of the Valley of Winds
+ My neighbour Totoro
+ Kikis Delivery Service

And as an adult, I have also loved Princess Mononoke

2 comments:

casso said...

Harriet LOVES Spirited Away (as do James and I). I love how they all have an environmental message in them, that the 'bad' characters aren't just bad, they're also good and the good characters aren't angels either. And it helps that the whole thing is lovely to look at.

So glad to hear of others enjoying his movies. xxx

Buffy Stun-Hers said...

Its just lovely to find some movies that I am happy for the kids to watch over and over. I agree so many of the messages are positive, in a lovely balanced way :)

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