

It tells the story of Shizuku, a 14-year-old girl who aspires to be a writer, and Seiji, a boy who aims to make the finest violins in the world. It'll be too slow for some, but anyone open to a serious animated drama will be well served.īased on a manga by Aoi Hiiragi, Whisper of the Heart blends coming-of-age drama with a tale of fluttering first love. There are plenty of lingering looks and wistful staring into middle distance as the young cast navigate their feelings and futures, making for a mood that's constantly caught between melancholy and contemplation, but at only 72 minutes, it doesn't outstay its welcome. The film follows the increasingly strained relationships between Rikako, who resents being shipped off from bustling Tokyo to the much smaller city of Kōchi following her parents' divorce, and her new classmates, well-meaning but academically struggling Taku and class leader Yutaka. Despite this, it's also quietly charming, perfectly capturing the beauty to be found in everyday life. It's also a contender for the studio's most realistic and grounded work, forgoing Ghibli's penchant for the fantastic in favor of a poignant story of teen friendships, fractured families, and the pains of adolescence. Studio Ghibli's worst creative failure.ġ993's Ocean Waves was essentially a training exercise for Studio Ghibli's younger creators, a made-for-TV film helmed by outsider director Tomomi Mochizuki.
Amazing fantasy landscape movie#
Beyond the lackluster visuals, the movie is a narrative disappointment too, with an extended middle act that never matures into a finale, leaving backstories, relationships, and questions unresolved by the time the credits roll. Plus, CGI animated films by Disney and Pixar regularly dominate the box office, so what could go wrong with adopting the style? A lot, it turns out-Goro Miyazaki's attempt to deliver Ghibli's first 3DCG feature is a bland, lifeless affair that, despite the leap into the third dimension, looks flatter and duller than anything else the studio has released. After all, Diana Wynne Jones' Howl's Moving Castle became one of Studio Ghibli's most beloved films, so surely adapting another of the author's books was a smart idea-and with this one following an orphaned girl adopted by a witch and forced into servitude, it probably seemed a perfect blend of Howl's, Kiki's Delivery Service, and Spirited Away.
Amazing fantasy landscape series#
From contemporary fantasy series to classics, it's only a matter of time before studios are looking to acquire the rights to these stories.You can almost imagine the cold, calculated decisionmaking that went into Earwig and the Witch.
Amazing fantasy landscape tv#
While TV seems to be the primary landing spot for fantasy right now, some novels are still better fits for film and miniseries. Netflix has had The Witcher and Shadow and Bone, and Amazon Prime is trying its hand with The Wheel of Time and Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, all of which are adapted from fantasy novels. Following the cultural phenomenon of Game of Thrones, various streaming services have been rushing to develop their own major fantasy series, bringing TV into the mix as well.Įvery streaming service has tried to mimic HBO's success in blockbuster fantasy, including HBO itself with House of the Dragon. This saw magical worlds enter mainstream popularity, becoming some of the most successful franchises to date. Fantasy has always had its place in films, with a major craze coming after the success of the book adaptations of Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter early in the 21st century. In the age of blockbuster television and CGI-heavy films, it's a shock that these fantasy novels haven't been adapted onto the screen yet.
