By 1986, the world had only gotten so far as “Super Mario Bros.” on the Nintendo/Famicom, so Masami Hata’s “The Great Rescue of Princess Peach!” as a movie stretches as far as it can on very little source material. With the original NES game, they only gave you so much about the lore, and motivations of the villains, so the anime movie itself relies on a bizarre, anemic plot that, I can assume, is not at all canonical.
Tag Archives: Anime
Tickets On Sale Now For “MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO” 35th Anniversary Screenings
Tickets are on sale now for the celebratory 35th anniversary screenings of renowned director Hayao Miyazaki’s cherished feature My Neighbor Totoro, kicking off Studio Ghibli Fest 2023. GKIDS, celebrating its 15th anniversary as producer and distributor of multiple Academy Award®-nominated animated features, and Fathom Events, are proud to continue their collaboration for Studio Ghibli Fest 2023, and deliver a slate highlighting all ten of Hayao Miyazaki’s iconic animated films with Studio Ghibli, as well as the first-ever North American screenings of SPIRITED AWAY: Live On Stage.
The film will be shown in both original Japanese and English dubbed versions. In addition to the full feature, audiences will get to view exclusive selections from the documentary series 10 Years with Hayao Miyazaki.
Tickets for My Neighbor Totoro and the rest of Ghibli Fest 2023 can be purchased online by visiting GhibliFest.com, FathomEvents.com, or at participating theater box offices (Theaters and participants are subject to change).
Saturday Morning Cartoons: Space Battleship Yamato (1974) [SDCC 2022]
Back in the 1980s, growing up in Quebec meant getting Saturday and Sunday morning cartoons from around the world, dubbed into French, this usually done in France, and imported to our television screens. One of the more elusive ones of that period was Space Battleship Yamato. It didn’t necessarily play regularly or as much as the others, but it was around and for a Star Wars kid, it was AWESOME!
Osamu Tezuka’s Metropolis (Metoroporisu) (2001) – Steelbook Edition [Blu-Ray/DVD]
I saw Osamu Tezuka’s “Metropolis” back in 2002, and I vividly remember not being a fan at all. Maybe it was because I was more ignorant toward anime, then, but either way disliked it and openly avoided it for years. It was until recently I had to sit down to re-watch it. I don’t know what I was expecting then, but today I can safely describe it as merely an okay anime film.
Neon Genesis Evangelion: The Complete Series [Blu-Ray]
Hideaki Anno’s “Neon Genesis Evangelion” is one of the most iconic and influential anime series ever created. While it hasn’t endured a long shelf life like, say, “One Piece,” its elements can be found in much of pop culture. Particularly, it can be found in Western pop culture from children’s animated series to right up to cinema. While I’ve never been big on this kind of anime before, sitting through “Neon Genesis Evangelion” was a unique and entertaining experience.
Earwig and the Witch (2020) [Blu-Ray/DVD]
I’m one of the traditionalists that think Studio Ghibli should have stuck to hand drawn animation, but sometimes there’s just no fighting change. With “Earwig and the Witch” there’s so much new, that you’re almost tricked in to forgetting that the movie almost has no real narrative. At all. This is one of Studio Ghibli’s more aimless movies that doesn’t have a whole lot to it. Substantially, the movie packs in some great animation, and it’s quite startling how some of the motion for some scenes looks so realistic. I’m not going to say that the movie is an accomplishment in regards to Ghibli because Pixar has pulled off so much better.
Hell, Dreamworks has accomplished so much more with this medium.
The Wind Rises (2013) [Blu-Ray/DVD]
It’s apropos and yet somewhat inexplicable that Hayao Miyazaki would end his career on one what is easily his most divisive film. Miyazaki has spent so much of his career delivering masterpieces of animation that discuss the horrible fall out of war, destruction of the environment, and war machines. So it’s absolutely confounding that Miyazaki takes a more objective approach to Jirô Horikoshi and his creation of what would become certified weapons of war.