The Kingdom Of Dreams And Madness: DVD Review
The Movie:
Granted near-unfettered access to the notoriously insular Studio Ghibli, director Mami Sunada follows the three men who are the lifeblood of Ghibli the eminent director Hayao Miyazaki, the producer Toshio Suzuki, and the elusive and influential other director Isao Takahata over the course of a year as the studio rushes to complete two films, Miyazaki’s The Wind Rises and Takahata’s The Tale of The Princess Kaguya. The result is a rare fly on the wall glimpse of the inner workings of one of the world s most celebrated animation studios creators of successful films including Princess Mononoke and the Oscar winning Spirited Away, the highest-grossing Japanese film of all time and an insight into the dreams, passion and singular dedication of these remarkable creators.
I’ve been a fan of Studio Ghibli and their work for a long time, even before I knew that Ghibli was behind the films I loved. The first film that introduced me to Studio Ghibli was Princess Mononoke. That film had such an impact on me as far as storytelling and the beauty of the animation that I found myself thinking about it days after I initially watched it. This documentary shows the world of Studio Ghibli and what it takes to put out such a gorgeous and thought provoking film. You really get to know Miyazaki the most in this film and see just how exhausting it can be for him and all the other animators around him. They use computers for various tasks of production BUT Miyazaki still animates everything by hand (along with an entire team as well) and that just makes it so much more amazing. He talks in depth about Japan along with memories that shaped his life and that makes you really get to know him. Just simply the way he speaks about his work and certain aspects of storytelling makes me want to just sit with him and listen for hours. As crazy as it sounds this is an intriguing film about intriguing films and if you are in anyway interested in the way these stories are created then you owe it to yourself to watch this fantastic documentary about 3 amazing men and 1 phenomenal anime studio.
Special Features:
Digest (Short Film) – Basically a re-edited version of the documentary which is good if you want just the jist of it.
The Kingdom According to Ushiko – This feature is pretty much the household cat’s story but it shows some really great stuff as well about the studio.
Comments
[…] been a good while since I’ve seen a Studio Ghibli film and after seeing The Kingdom Of Dreams And Madness I was newly excited about everything that came from that company. As soon as I saw this film […]