 Hi everyone!
This week I want to explore the world of animation a little bit. Of course it's a huge world with numerous good examples, so it's quite hard for me to put everything in this week's column. Instead, I will start with a few films that are well known.
Well, I will not go into detail with the history of animation since that would be terribly boring. The different techniques used in the animations give them different styles and looks, and we all know that. For example; a computer animation is quite different than a cut-out or a marionette animation (made with puppets). Think about Tim Burton's Corpse Bride and compare it to the classic Tom and Jerry. You probably get the idea.
The technique used in these animations also defines the way people view these films. It might be viewed as childish or creepy or absurd.
 The one animation that I watched with delight was "My Neighbor Totoro" by Hayao Miazaki.
This animated film not only had a different taste in terms of style but introduced a new way of imagining the "world of wonders."
Of course, I imagine people would say, "It's Japanese production and you're not familiar with it," but I have an objection to that! I do not claim I know about every animated production from Japan, but I have been quite familiar with it since childhood. In the old days, TRT used to broadcast some of them, which I very much enjoyed watching.
Here is a summary of "My Neighbor Totoro": Two girls move to a new house in the countryside and befriend forest spirits. As you can see, our furry friend in the picture is Totoro, the forest spirit! I will not give any further spoilers for those who want to see the film.
So what is a forest spirit, you may ask? That was one of the things I wondered about while watching the film. Well, in ancient Japanese lore, these spirits live inside the trees and are called “Kodama.” Cutting down a tree inhabitant of a Kodama might have bad consequences. So to prevent this from happening, these trees are marked with special ropes.
Ghibli Studio has produced many feature animations, such as: “Castle in the Sky,” “Kiki's Delivery Service,” “Spirited Away,” “Howl's Moving Castle,” “Tales from Earthsea” and “Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea”. The thing in common between these films is that they are all in the fantasy fiction genre.
The stories in these films are quite interesting, as are the characters. The animation is very successful in simply taking you to a magical world for 85 minutes. So if you are interested in fantasy films, I strongly advise you to see "My Neighbor Totoro." You won't regret it!
Farewell….
By Alev Dešim (COMD/V)
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