ANIMATION NATION

Since 2004, Walt Disney Studios has released ten major animated films, eight of which were computer-animated and two that were hand-drawn. That statistic alone tells you that computer-animated films like Toy Story and WALL-E have become very profitable for Walt Disney, which is why today, most animated movies are no longer hand-drawn. Now, with the recent rise of popularity in 3D technology, one can only expect to see even more of these computer-animated films to be made in 3D and even less hand-drawn films to be made at all.

While I do prefer hand-drawn animation over computer-animation, I do enjoy computer-animated films every once in a while. There is nothing wrong with them and this blog post isn't an argument that computer-animation is flat-out worse than hand-drawn animation. I would just like to simply shed some light on a couple filmmakers and animated films that definitely deserve some more recognition. It may be true that hand-drawn animated films are barely being made in the states anymore but that doesn't mean they aren't being made elsewhere. In fact, there is still one place in particular where it's in absolutely no danger of becoming a thing of the past.

"You guessed it!"

Hayao Miyazaki is the most prominent Japanese filmmaker of animated films, in a nation where that traditional art form of hand-drawn animation is held in the highest regard. Many people have drawn comparisons between him and the legendary American animator, Walter E. Disney. While these two men are very different people, the impressions they've made in the animation industry are both profoundly deep. At age 69, Miyazaki has been working in the animation industry for over 45 years. In 2005, he was named one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People. He has over ten feature-length films under his name, including classics like My Neighbor Totoro and Sprited Away which, by the way, is Japan's highest grossing film of all time.

Reportedly, Miyazaki has signed on for at least two more feature-length films over the next three years. However, he has been in and out of retirement over the past few years, so we would be very lucky to get anything more from him after those two he has planned. So after Miyazaki's inevitable retirement, which Japanese filmmaker will become the next trailblazer in the animated film industry? I'm betting on a man named Mamoru Hosoda.

Although well into his 40's, Mamoru Hosoda is still a relatively new filmmaker. Despite the low number of films he's directed, a lot of people have been very surprised by how capable of a storyteller Hosoda has proven to be. Recently, I got a chance to watch his 2006 film titled, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

This movie is inspired by and is a psuedo-sequel to the novel "Toki o Kakeru Shōjo" by Yasutaka Tsutsui. It's actually implied that one of the side characters in this film is the protagonist of the original novel. It should be noted that this movie was intended to stand as it's own complete story, you certainly won't be missing anything critical if you don't read the novel first.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time focuses on a high school girl named Makoto Konno, who inadvertently gains the power to travel back through time. Once she realizes she has this new-found power, she begins to use it on frivolous things, like getting a perfect grade on a test or reliving a single karaoke session for ten hours straight. She eventually begins to realize how the small changes she chooses to make can negatively affect others. This is a heartwarming movie that's appropriate for all ages and while it may not have the most detailed animation I've ever seen, it's still very charming and beautiful. In 2007, this film won the Animation of the Year award from the Japan Academy Prize Association. If you haven't seen any Japanese animated films before, this is a great one to start with.

After three years of production, Hosoda's latest film called, Summer Wars, was released theatrically in Japan last August. Unfortunately, I haven't seen it yet so I can't summarize what it's about but like The Girl Who Leapt Though Time, it's a blend of drama and comedy.

Summer Wars

This film has received very high praise among both movie-goers and critics and it seems that Hosoda has hit yet another one out of the park. This success only further establishes Hosoda as a historically important animated film director and as a person who is capable of following in Miyazaki's footsteps. Summer Wars was released on DVD and Blu-Ray today in Japan, but us poor folks in the United States and UK will have to wait until September to get our hands on a copy. This is definitely a film worth looking forward to seeing this fall.

For those people who still appreciate the beauty of hand-drawn animated films, you may have to start looking abroad to Japan to find new ones these days. It may take some time and research to find your own favorites but if you're just starting out, you can't go wrong with a Hayao Miyazaki or Mamoru Hosoda film.

One last thing, I recommend watching foreign films (animated or not) subtitled instead of dubbed. You may not be able to understand the language, but the performance of the original voice actors is better 99% of the time. You can hear the energy and emotion that comes through in the original performances, unlike a dubbed over recording, which usually comes off sounding flat or just plain bad. I would only choose a dub over subtitles if there were young kids who were wanting to watch a foreign movie... or, you know, if I was blind.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time: 9/10