Animal Sidekicks

The most successful animated films all have protagonists with some kind of animal sidekick. The most notable studios, Disney and Studio Ghibli, have films that almost always have animal sidekicks, especially if the main character is a heroine. Disney's Tangled has a chameleon companion, and Miyazaki's Kiki's Delivery Service has a black cat as the trusty friend. Pretty much almost all of Miyazaki's works has an animal sidekick. What is the importance of including an animal sidekick? Is it because Miyazaki's films send the message of being one with nature that he finds it necessary for the protagonists to be always physically close to nature's creatures? Or is it simple because audiences react well to the cuteness and appeal of animal sidekicks?

Kiki's vs Howl's

A for long while, Howl's Moving Castle was my favorite Miyazaki film. It was the first Miyazaki film I watched, and the story and romance was appealing to me. However, the moment I watched Kiki's Delivery Service, I knew that my favorite had changed. Kiki's is not only unique, but it centers a lot more on the main protagonist's freedom and worries than Howl's. I guess because Kiki's focuses all on Kiki and Howl's focuses on both Howl and Sophie, that Howl's feels more divided in attention. For me, Kiki's has a lot more detail in the characters and story that just makes me tingle with longing for a world similar to hers. However, one major aspect that Howl's is better in is the music. Regrettably, Kiki's doesn't really have any music that you can consider memorable, which is kind of strange, because virtually every Miyazaki film has a wonderful theme song. Howl's theme song is by far my favorite and I can't wait for the day when I will learn how to play it on the cello. All in all, Kiki > Sophie.

Kiki's Delivery Service (revisited)

Because I enjoyed Kiki's Delivery Service so much, I decided to expand on my previous post on my other blog site: http://mrwickedproductions.wordpress.com/

Porco Rosso

I have to admit, Porco Rosso was one of Miyazaki's films that I've never heard of before. This is quite surprising actually, considering how entertaining it is and that it's one of my favorites. I really enjoy how Miyazaki contains groups that are considered to be "bad guys," like the pirates, in both Porco Rosso and Castle in the Sky, and show them having honor and "nice guy" personalities. It's a really interesting contradiction that makes the film fun to watch. It really reminds me of my favorite manga, One Piece, by Eiichiro Oda, which is also about pirates, but the main crew are good nature pirates. I wouldn't be surprised if Oda was a fan of Miyazaki while he was growing up.
Porco Rosso and Kiki's Delivery Service are both similar in the way how both the main characters of the film are generally accepted by the other characters despite their obvious differences. Onlookers aren't that shocked to see Kiki flying on her broomstick and everyone seems fine with Marco's pig-like appearance. It is pretty interesting how we, the viewers, accept these fanstastic phenomenons just by seeing how the other characters react to them.
Miyazaki's endings are hugely different from mainstream Hollywood films in that your not sure what really happens. Did Marco and Gina get together in the end? Or are they still living their lives as how they were before? This uncertainty that Miyazaki gives us, in my opinion, allows us to become more engaged in the film and feel more connected with the characters. We are given the opportunity to speculate how the story ends, hence, be a part of the film.

9.0

Kiki's Delivery Service

Yet again, another young, little girl with short hair. It seems as though Miyazaki has a fetish; but wait, this time, the girl has both parents, not only alive, but well too. This caught my attention as soon as Kiki's mother mentions the father. I thought that the radio was important to Kiki because maybe the father left it for her when he died, so I was really shocked to see she has a dad.
Miyazaki's characters are always independent, so it was only natural to see Kiki fly off to another town on her own. Even if it's only for a year, I find it hard to image a 13 year old girl moving to a completely new area and taking care of herself. The fact that Kiki is separated from her parents makes her similar to Miyazaki's other heroines, who have to fend for themselves. However, I must say that the inclusion of parents makes the film a much more reassuring and happy experience.
And I must say, this is one of my favorite Miyazaki films (which includes Howl's) mainly because it's one of the most feel good stories. There is no real conflict like in Nausicaa, which leaves for an easy viewing. Even though Jiji ends up not talking at the end, it's still reassuring, because cats aren't supposed to talk in the first place. Also, Kiki becomes generally accepted in her new town and gains a close relationship with Tombo. Jiji not being able to talk with Kiki also shows the maturity level that Kiki gains over the course of the film. + maturity = + assurance
And this film was released only 5 days after I was born!!

9.2