The Best Ghibli Movies… Ghibli Never Made.

Everybody is waiting (hopefully!) with baited breath for Ghibli’s new Miyazki-directed release, “Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea.” Whilst we do, I thought I’d have a squizz at the archives and pull out two films that have all the look, feel and beauty of Ghibli releases, yet aren’t.

I’d quite happily say that both could easily find a place amongst any Ghibli fan’s collection, however, or for that matter even fans of well-produced, slice-of-life animation. So let’s have a look at a couple of offerings that maybe… just maybe… had Miyazaki-san thinking, “I wish I’d thought of that…”

Miyori’s Forest

(Miyori no Mori ミヨリの森)

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I think what makes Miyori no Mori all the more remarkable is the fact that this is a made-for-TV movie. Despite this, they haven’t skimped on running time (140 mins) or the artwork. As you can see, both the fantastically detailed backgrounds and the character design – especially that of the forest spirits – are stunning. This is probably where most of the budget ended up, as the actual animation and music are pretty ordinary, although the BGM for the final “battle” is pretty decent.

Story-wise, well… it’s a troubled-kid-comes-to-terms-with-her-situation, mixed with a healthy dose of mythology and an ecological message. Seeing as the whole story revolves around Miyori, it needed her to be a decent character, both in terms of characterization, development and acting – and luckily she more than delivers on all departments. http://www.blogsurfer.us/

She’s already a somewhat precocious and withdrawn 11-year old, which isn’t helped much by the fact that her parents are going through a messy divorce, which results in her being dumped with her grandparents in a little village, far from the Tokyo lights. Needless to say, she has… issues. However, watching her grow accustomed to her new surroundings, dealing with classmates at the one-classroom school and the realization that she is not only the granddaughter of the village witch (the good kind!), but has also inherited the mantle of “guardian of the forest,” is a joy to watch. Miyori really shines as one of the nicest all-round characters I’ve come across in an anime feature for a while.

The film could have worked solely on these elements alone, but there’s also an ecological message lumped in with this, as the forest is threatened with destruction from a proposed dam. All well and fine, except the bad guys are just that – bad guys, who pop up to do bad things and get their collective butts whipped. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, but you just know Ghibli would have given them some more depth – just think of “Mononoke-hime” and the fact that there was no true “good” or “bad” – just people doing what they must to get by.

There’s nothing here that would turn Ghibli fans away, and plenty that fans of say, “My Neighbor Totoro” would love. With its realistically developed characters, exquisite animation and solid storytelling, it’s worth tracking “Miyori no Mori” down.

My Beautiful Girl Mari

(Mari Iyagi 마리 이야기)

It might not be fair to compare “Mari” with Ghibli movies, especially seeing as it’s not even Japanese, but rather the product of the small, but impressive South Korean animation industry. For a while now, anime studios have been employing their Korean (and Vietnamese too, on occasion) counterparts to do the “grunt” work, but releases such as “My Beautiful Girl Mari” and the more recent CGI spectacular, “Sky Blue” seem to indicate that there is something special lurking within the animation studios in that little peninsular.

You also can’t really lump the film in with anime (but I’m going to anyway), as everything about it is quintessentially Korean – from the character design, its artwork, its pacing and even the interaction between the characters. What adds to that is the fact, that opposed to Japanese – where I’ve reached the stage where I can recognise some words and phrases – I know no Korean, which almost recreates that aura of “mystery” for the viewer, now totally dependent on the skill of the subbers.

It also unfolds at a wonderfully leisurely pace, gradually rewarding you with a very gentle story, interwoven with some imaginative fantasy scenes, solid slice-of-life story-telling and loads of little things happening in the background, that you might miss if you’re not careful. This is most apparent during the opening sequence, where a seagull glides over a snowy Seoul. As much as we’re drawn to that image, there are a herd of little aspects of life happening in the corners as the bird passes by. I’m not going to tell you what they are (heh heh heh), so you’ll have to watch it for yourselves.

The film as a whole is essentially a flashback to the youth of Nam-woo, currently working in an office in Seoul. It was a time of uncertainty and loneliness for him. His mother is widowed and a new potential suitor seems to hovering around, his best friend will soon be transferring to a Seoul school and more than anything he needs some form of comfort during this trying time.

It arrives in the form of Mari, who lives in a fantasy land contained within a marble. He is drawn into her world, which consists of fluffy cotton wool-like rain clouds, puffy flying creatures with tiny wings, a giant fluffy dog, and enormous flowers litter a landscape, that for some reason reminds me of the world of Tortov Roddle all over again (it might be the colours). Mari herself, is a pale-haired girl, clothed from ankle to neck in white feathers, and it’s her silent, but clearly deep and meaningful, interactions with Nam-Woo, that provides the comfort he needs.

There are some negatives in this film. Nam-Woo – for a central character – has about as much personality as a wet paper bag. Yes, he’s shown as being an adventurous kid, but you also know that if you had to talk to his character for any length of time, you’d be bored to tears. The fact that he gets upstaged by a silent girl and his cat (if nothing else, watch it for the latter two – the cat alone steals more scenes than it has lives) speaks volumes. That doesn’t mean it’s bad – it’s just that I think they could have done much more with him. Luckily, the supporting cast is interesting enough to make up for Nam-Woo’s deficiencies.

The character design also isn’t great, possibly due to the fact that the movie is 100% computer rendered. So whilst that makes for great backgrounds, the characters are pretty much devoid of any noticeable features. Still, I’m sure that’s something only hardcore animation fans would really grumble about.

“Mari” is worth watching, not just as a beautiful piece of gentle story-telling and animation (although its pacing might test your patience), but also as an insight into Korean culture and what could be another promising animation industry, if it does ever decide to stop doing the anime industry’s dirty work and go it alone.