Rain; Movie
Mar. 25th, 2012 10:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sakon76Finally did some stuff in the garden! Got the first round of corn in the ground, thinned the tomato plants and chard in their six-packs. Weeded, got compost turned, etcetera.
Then, the expected rain having started, we went to see the newest Studio Ghibli film to make its way to American shores. The Secret World of Arrietty hewed fairly close to Mary Norton's The Borrowers, on which it was based. In fact, I think it's the truest-to-source thus far of Ghibli's adaptations of British children's literature. I loved the moment when Shou/Shawn was reading a book and I could read the Japanese title and it was The Secret Garden. ^_^ The film did a fantastic job of showing just how huge the human world would seem to a borrower. And if it bogged down a little bit in the exchange of philosophical views of its protagonists, it's mostly forgivable. Unfortunately, while Arrietty's design is distinctive, Shou/Shawn is pretty much "Standard Ghibli Boy." He looks just like the male protagonists of half a dozen other Ghibli films. :(
The American dub changed the names of two of the three humans to English names... but why only two? And why not to the ones from the book? I'm wondering if the British dub was better about that. While not the best dub ever, it was overall acceptable. Though you could tell where they were flailing about, trying to match the mouth movements while still keeping context. Also, apparently just for American audiences, we get a voiceover at the end tying up the story more neatly than the rest of the world needs....
Overall? Recommended! I went cruising the Pit of Voles and AO3 to see if there was any fanfic for the movie, and was shocked to find none. I'm pondering pounding some out, short and fast, but we'll see if I actually do.
Then, the expected rain having started, we went to see the newest Studio Ghibli film to make its way to American shores. The Secret World of Arrietty hewed fairly close to Mary Norton's The Borrowers, on which it was based. In fact, I think it's the truest-to-source thus far of Ghibli's adaptations of British children's literature. I loved the moment when Shou/Shawn was reading a book and I could read the Japanese title and it was The Secret Garden. ^_^ The film did a fantastic job of showing just how huge the human world would seem to a borrower. And if it bogged down a little bit in the exchange of philosophical views of its protagonists, it's mostly forgivable. Unfortunately, while Arrietty's design is distinctive, Shou/Shawn is pretty much "Standard Ghibli Boy." He looks just like the male protagonists of half a dozen other Ghibli films. :(
The American dub changed the names of two of the three humans to English names... but why only two? And why not to the ones from the book? I'm wondering if the British dub was better about that. While not the best dub ever, it was overall acceptable. Though you could tell where they were flailing about, trying to match the mouth movements while still keeping context. Also, apparently just for American audiences, we get a voiceover at the end tying up the story more neatly than the rest of the world needs....
Overall? Recommended! I went cruising the Pit of Voles and AO3 to see if there was any fanfic for the movie, and was shocked to find none. I'm pondering pounding some out, short and fast, but we'll see if I actually do.
