General Discussion

So I am debating on doing a massive marathon on the Hayao Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli movies (past and present). Most of these movies I've seen at least once though there are plenty of the older ones I haven't seen at all. I'm really starting to get into writing reviews and feel I'm finding my own voice after struggling for so long. I will tackle some of the newer Studio Ghibli movies such as Tales of Earthsea which weren't as popular and not directed by Hayao himself. I'm really excited as I've really liked most of the catalog so far of what I have seen. The question that's nagging me some is this: do I watch the films subtitled or in the English dub? Some dubs, such as Princess Mononoke, were really amazingly done by the English voice-actors. I will probably start this sometime this week and continue for the next couple of weeks or until I'm finished. Any questions or comments from the Screened community are welcome. Thanks!

@rem25: Awesome! Good luck, duder!

@PatVB: Thanks!

So after much debating, I'm going to run through all of Hayao Miyazaki's films in chronological order and then I will tackle Studio Ghibli's films in chronological order. Here is the break down:

Miyazaki films:

1979 - The Castle of Cagliostro

1984 - Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

1986 - Laputa: Castle in the Sky

1988 - My Neighbor Totoro

1989 - Kiki's Delivery Service

1992 - Porco Rosso

1999 - Princess Mononoke

2002 - Spirited Away

2006 - Howl's Moving Castle

2009 - Ponyo

Studio Ghibli films:

1988 - Grave of the Fireflies

1994 - Pom Poko

1999 - My Neighbors the Yamadas

2002 - The Cat Returns

2006 - Whisper of the Heart

2010 - Tales of Earthsea

2012 - The Secret World of Arrietty

Unfortunately, I will not be able to access all of Studio Ghibli's back catalog as I do not have the movies nor does Netflix. Most are there so I will do what I can. Also, I will most likely watch the English dub for most if not all of the movies. Call it unauthentic if you will but I want to enjoy the films but also be able to easily review them and not have to go back as much for plot if I miss reading something over. I'm going to start tonight with Miyazaki's first film, Lupin the 3rd: The Castle of Cagliostro.

Avoid the English dubs if you can. These films are easily reviewable and are never so complicated that you should miss any part of the film, and some of the English dubs have been AWFUL. It's not just about authenticity, it's about the spirit of the movie, which is at times completely different in Japanese and English with Ghibli productions. Please, I beg you, go with Japanese. If nothing else, watch Whisper of the Heart and Spirited Away in Japanese; those films are too focused on Japan itself to work properly in English.

@Little_Socrates: I will probably watch the ones I've seen before in Japanese since I'll already be familiar with the story. Others I will have to see what's available. While I saw Spirited Away in English when it came to the theaters, I did watch it later in Japanese though the English dub didn't bother me. I just finished The Castle of Cagliostro and Netflix Instant only had it dubbed. It wasn't anything special but I don't think I lost any meaning in the movie. Some of the dubs are not bad (Princess Mononoke comes to mind) though I get where you are coming from. I will do my best.

@rem25: I think the English dubs are a good call. It'll make it much easier to watch the movies, especially if you're doing something else at the same time. If you're watching the subtitles, you can never take your eyes off the screen.

@rem25: Just FYI, Netflix Instant is pretty consistently going to only offer English language options, but it's also not going to carry most of Miyazaki's films (as I've looked.)

Man, I really wish Disney would get off their asses already and put out Miyazaki in good, high-quality Blu-Ray discs. Preferably just do them all at once in a box set. Easily my most-anticipated Blu-Rays that haven't arrived yet.

Reminds me to do that Porco Rosso bestie...good luck with the Marathon!

The American version of Arrietty will be dubbed by two stars from Disney teen sitcoms. David Henrie from Wizards of Waverly Place and Bridget Mendler of Good Luck, Charlie. I'm not going to say yea or nay on their performances since I haven't seen any of it yet, but I tend to prefer hearing the original Japanese with English subtitles for all my anime. Hell, that's true in fact for all foreign films I see not just animation. Having said that, Kiki's Delivery Service featured Kristen Dunst and Phil Hartman, Howl's Moving Castle had Lauren Bacall, Christian Bale and Billy Crystal, and Princess Mononoke starred Claire Danes, Billy Crudup and Gillian Anderson, so unlike a lot of anime series released in North America, some real talent has been brought in to dub these movies in the past.

The studio Ghibli dubs are fantastic overall. When I watch anime, I only watch dubs anyway and the studio ghibli dubs are a class above other anime.

@Rorie: The Disney release of Ponyo was a real visual treat but the audio was only lossless for the English dub. The Japanese release is actually far better.

@Little_Socrates: Yeah, I've got Lupin and Tales From Earthsea in the instant queue. I own Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle. My sister has Kiki's Delivery Service & Ponyo so the rest I'm borrowing from Netflix discs.

@Rorie: Yes, I agree. I definitely wouldn't mind having all the Miyazaki's on Blu-Ray too. Hopefully they will not change the English dub for Princess Mononoke as I know they are re-doing a lot of the older Miyazaki's (Kiki's Delivery Service, Totoro, etc.) and bringing in American actors for the voices. Maybe they will be just fine though I guess we'll have to wait and see.

@Rorie: I would but that box set in heartbeat!

Have fun with the movies, I want to watch The Cat Returns again now!

I edited a previous post to include the year each film was released. I'm also adding Studio Ghibli's newest film, The Secret World of Arrietty, to the list. Since it is coming out in February, I will make every effort to see and review it in theaters.

@rem25: Arrietty is great. The UK dub was good too. Saoirse Ronan was great as Arrietty. I thought she was doing the US dub when I saw her listed on here, had no idea she was Irish. Mark Strong is great too.

It seems like the young boy is pretty rubbish in both the US and UK dubs though.

@Christina: Thanks! So far it's going well. I'm just waiting to get Nausicaä from Netflix so I can continue.

@OrigamiAngel: Good to know. I wasn't sure what to think of the movie from the trailer but hopefully it's as good as I've been hearing.

@Jesus: Yeah, I've seen about half of Miyazaki's films, mostly the new ones and only one Studio Ghibli film (Grave of the Fireflies) before embarking on this.

So The Castle of Cagliostro is done and I've already posted a review up here.

Well I finished and uploaded a review of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind today. Time to send that back and wait for Laputa: Castle in the Sky to arrive. Maybe I'll have a review of this done before the weekend.