Stephanie Stuart

For a Miyazaki film, I was a bit disappointed. While the animation and art was spectacular, the storytelling was devoid of substance. While watching the film, you get the sense that this could be a very powerful story of a boy growing up in war-stricken Japan and the effects of the choices people make. It has space to tackle complex internal, existential problems as well as external ones taking place around the main character. In fact, it almost seems like there are just too many issues to tackle in one movie. Instead of deeply analyzing one or two substantive problems, the film touches the surface of all of them in a chaotic frenzy. The film is even more disappointing when you recognize that Miyazaki has developed movies in the past that use many of the same concepts but delved into the topics more meaningfully. While watching the film I was reminded of Grave of Fireflies, which also features a young boy surviving war-torn Japan. His reactions to his surroundings seem much more authentic and the interpersonal relationships he has give depth to his strife. I also thought about Howl's Moving Castle, which masterfully portrays the use of the portals and demonstrates with ease the politics of the time. Other movies that the film reminded me of were Kiki's Delivery Service and Spirited Away. Both have a warmer approach to tackling the difficulties of becoming a young adult, responsibility, and escapism. Overall, the movie simply had underwhelming writing. Luckily, the graphics are so outstanding that they almost make up for the lack of depth.

In all honesty, the movie is okay. It’s beautiful in many ways, but left me feeling empty. While the animation is impressive, some scenes felt more like a video game than a movie. Not to mention the writing was terrible. There is no plot, nothing is explained, and the dialogue is cliche. You can guess every line of the movie before it’s spoken. The film capitalized on old tropes and lacked any real substance. Would I pay to see it in theater? Probably not. Would I ever watch it again? Definitely not. There are better things to do with three hours.