The Bus

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http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1568921/

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Looks good. Already released last year in Japan. Not directed by Miyazaki, but by Studio Ghibli's youngest director of all time.

RichC2

US Dub cast sounds interesting, curious to see how it turns out. My friend has this on blu-ray, will have to borrow it.

wishbone

Previously, on Anime Talk: http://forum.dvdtalk.com/anime-talk/...-u-s-news.html

Greg MacGuffin

I saw this when I was in Tokyo last year and thought it was fantastic.

The Bus

Caught this last weekend in cinemas: the quality of the animation, voice work, etc. is high, as per usual Ghibli standards. Where it falls short is in matching Miyazaki's magic and imagination. Absolutely will not mind seeing it again, but it's not a case as some of his other movies where you leave the theater feeling like your reality has been altered.

Giles

I agree with The Bus, I'd call the movie quaint - but it seems like 'filler' Ghibli

the trailer gives waaay too much of the story

mhg83

Anyone see this yet? I just got back and loved it! I don't expect this to do well at the box office as it contains no talking animals, musical numbers, cgi animation, or 3-d and moves at a slower pace.

candyrocket786

My nieces loved it. I found the end somewhat depressing but enjoyed the film overall.

Ash Ketchum

I saw it on DVD last summer in its Japanese-language version. I wasn't crazy about the boy character. He never really reacts to anything. I wanted him to show a sense of wonder, like all the Ghibli heroines do. Think Nausicaa, Shita, Satsuki and Mei, Kiki, Fio in the Miyazaki films and Shizuku in WHISPER OF THE HEART. Even Ashitaka in MONONOKE reacted with awe. But not this kid. It got kind of frustrating after a while.

cungar

I saw it on Sunday in Hollywood. Pretty major dissapointment compared to the past Studio Ghibli releases. I'd easily rank it dead last without hesitation. Did not get the sense of wonder of being in another world that you do with Miyasaki's films (I know he didn't direct this). Every other film brings you to place you've never been at least once in the film. First of all the story was dull and predictable. There were not really any quirky side characters.

I see Ghibli films because they tell stories differently than what we're used to. This one pretty much followed the story of the Borrowers without the expected Ghibli sense of wonderment. I'd rank it 2/5 whereas no other Ghibli film I've seen has been less than a 4/5 in the past.

mewmartigan

Does this include their version of Tales of Earthsea? I haven't seen it yet but I have heard it wasn't one of their best...

Sean O'Hara

I think the bigger problem was that the villain was lame and unmotivated. I mean, she finds out little people are living in the cupboard and instead of thinking, "Wow, this is freakin' amazing -- the discover of the century," she acts like she's just discovered a mouse infestation. She created absolutely no suspense and her plan was foiled too easily.

It's a shame that even a mediocre Ghibli film gets a wide release while we'll be lucky if Shinkai's latest movie plays in a handful of theaters in major cities.

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cungar

Sorry, I never saw that. I've seen most but not all Ghibli films.

Sondheim

I don't think I could ever complain about a Studio Ghibli film getting a wide release in the US. Of course I haven't seen this one yet, but so far their only mediocre film has been Tales from Earthsea - the rest have ranged from good to incredible. And even in the worst cases, I find something beautiful and refreshing in their films that you simply don't find in most mainstream American animated fare.

Mind you, I would love to see a wider range of films becoming more widely available in the US. I really liked The Place Promised in Our Early Days (the only Shinkai film I've seen), and I think it would be great if his newest got nationwide distribution - I just don't think it should be at the expense of Ghibli films.

davidh777

I saw it on Sunday. Really enjoyable but I agree it doesn't have the usual sense of wonder and fantasy we get from Ghibli. Perhaps because it is more or less in the normal world, except some of the people are small. There wasn't even that much of the "we see the world differently at our size" except for the sword/pin etc.

Ghibli is a significant brand and is backed by Disney. I can't imagine any scenario in which an anime movie would get a better release than a Ghibli. And like Sondheim, I'm OK with that. I'd rather see poor Ghibli than a insulting piece of crap like The Wild 3 or whatever.

The Bus

This is the second, maybe third, Ghibli film to get a real wide release. Let's not get up in arms.

RichC2

I would consider it to be their Third -

US Theater Counts:
Princess Mononoke - 129 theaters
Spirited Away - 714 theaters
Howl's Moving Castle - 202 theaters
Tales from Earthsea - 5 theaters
Ponyo - 927 theaters
Arrietty - 1,512 theaters

Hokeyboy

I'd easily rate this 4 out of 5. If it's not top-tier Ghibli, that's hardly a criticism. Few movies are. I enjoyed the film's quaintness, its quiet beauty, the charming innovation of its characters, the slower pace that never felt stilted or boring. Where it goes down a few notches is in its characters; just not as sharply defined as I felt they should have been. Arrietty and her family were fine, but the humans didn't seem quite as memorable (or motivated).

But nonetheless, the movie worked beautifully. It's probably the first Ghibli movie since Princess Mononoke that I've really enjoyed. (I think SPIRITED AWAY is massively over-rated, and PORCO ROSSO is an absolute masterpiece that doesn't get enough love...) Although to be fair I haven't seen Ponyo yet...

Ash Ketchum

Even though I was critical of ARRIETTY, I should point out that it was based on a DVD screening last summer of the original Japanese version with English subtitles. I do intend to see the English dub in a theater this week. Ghibli films should always be seen on the big screen when possible. (Although I tend to prefer Japanese with subs., no matter what the quality of the dub.)

Hokeyboy

I have to see the original Japanese soon. Most of the English dub cast was fine (I got a HUGE kick out of Carol Burnett as Hara) but Amy Poehler was way too over-the-top for my tastes.

Was Arrietty's father SUPPOSED to be Harrison Ford? LOL...

TomOpus

Hopefully if the movie does fairly well, we might get a blu-ray release sooner than later. But then we're still waiting on most of Studio Ghibli movies

devilshalo

Not sure about this flick... reminds me of...

bluetoast

I'd assume we will, Ponyo came out relatively soon after the U.S. theatrical release.

Tom Creo

I have the same 'The Littles" feeling. Was that Saturday morning cartoon based on The Barrowers?

Adam Tyner

...and hopefully not alone!

From Up on Poppy Hill has been tentatively announced in France, Howl's Moving Castle and Tales from Earthsea are slated for release overseas on June 25th, and Castle in the Sky, Whisper of the Heart, and My Neighbors the Yamadas are already out all over the place.

Hopefully at least a couple of those will come out on Blu-ray over here around the same time as Arrietty.