For this inaugural TT10, I'm going with my Top Ten Animated Feature Films. When I say animated, I am Not talking computer generated, actual animation here. This is a list of My personal favorites. We can argue about the particular merits of other works, but this list is just stuff I love personally.
10) Jin Roh
Jin Roh is the story set in an alternate modern day Japan. It is a world in which Germany won World War II and Japan is now a totalitarian state. As dissatisfaction with the government grows, riots break out and citizens clash with the local police and armed forces alike. One young girl is carrying packages for a resistance group when she is confronted by one of the heavily armed, armored, and red eyed shock troops sent in to break up the crowds with deadly force. This trooper, Fuse, confronts the girl, attempting to take her in peacefully. However she pulls a string within the package she carries and the explosives inside detonate. Fuse's Armor saves his life, but he is haunted by the answer the girl gave when he asked her "Why?" She gave none. After a time, Fuse goes to the girls grave to pay his respects and try to make sense of the event. Here he meets the girl's sister, and the movie from there deals with the complex relationship the two develop. Loaded with intense action sequences and even more intense emotional scenes, Jin Roh is a heartbreaking movie.
9) The Place Promised in our Early Days
Another film set in an alternate modern day Japan, in which the Islands of Japan have been occupied in a similar manner as Germany was after WWII, with the US controlling Honshu and Kyushu, and "The Union" controlling Hokkaido. Three school friends in Aomori spend their last year of Junior High marveling at the Hokkaido Tower, a seemingly impossible spire that rises straight up past the clouds on the other side of the Tsugaru Straight in Union territory. The two boys, Takuya and Hiroki, and their female friend Sayuri find a crashed drone plane and rebuild it together with help from their boss at a local manufacturing facility. The three friends make a pact to one day fly over to Hokkaido Tower and see how high it really goes and what is at the top. However, Sayuri goes missing the entire summer. For the next three years, she suffers a severe condition similar to narcolepsy and sleeps almost constantly. In the intervening years, the brilliant Takuya has become a physicist and studies the Hokkaido Tower. One of Takuya's coworkers believes Sayuri's condition is linked to the tower. Hiroki has moved to Tokyo and suffers depression as a result of grief related to Sayuri's condition. After receiving a letter Sayuri wrote shortly before she fell ill, Hiroki becomes convinced that the only way to get her back is to fly her over the Tower, the place the three of them promised to visit together. The movie from there deals with Hiroki and Takuya working to fulfill their promise to Sayuri. This is a Tear-jerker of a movie with a side of Sci Fi.
8) The Sword in the Stone
Yup, there is a Disney Movie on this list, but it may not be the one most people expect. While The Lion King, Aladdin, Jungle Book and a few others are all great films and runners up for this list, The Sword in the Stone was always my favorite of Disney's animated films. The classic tale of young Arthur and how he met his most trusted advisor, the Wizard Merlin. Through a series of Magical Lessons, Merlin teaches the young downtrodden boy the wonder's of the world around him and the life lessons that would define him as a legendary King. The film closes with the Iconic scene of Arthur pulling the Sword from the stone and being crowned king. Chock full of Magic, Music, Mirth, and of course the Mad Madam Mim, This Disney Classic never fails to entertain.
7) Spirited Away
When young Chihiro's family moves to a new town, she worries about having to make new friends in a strange place. But after a Magical gateway in an abandoned amusement park transports them to a land of wandering spirits, Chihiro quickly attempts to escape with her parents. Unfortunately, they have been turned into pigs as punishment for stealing the food of the spirits. Chihiro believes all is lost, but help comes in the form of Haku, a young man who sneaks Chihiro into the Bathhouse of the Spirits and tells her she must get a Job from Yubaba, the witch that rules over the land. Along the way, Chihiro befriends many of the occupants of the bathhouse and an outcast known as No-Face. The magical atmosphere and moving story make for an enchanting film experience from the master of the artform, Miyazaki Hayao.
6) Tenchi Muyo in Love
The first film in the Tenchi Muyo trilogy, this film is part heart-wrenching love story and part action packed sci fi epic. When a galactic menace and blood enemy of the Jurai Royal family, Kain, escapes from the void he was imprisoned in long ago, his first goal is revenge. He seeks out Jurian descendants and zeroes in on one who's powers have not manifested themselves. Back on Earth, Tenchi and the Girls are watching his father's old home movies, including one featuring Tenchi's Late mother Achika when she was in High School. When Achika suddenly disappears from the film itself, Tenchi is wracked with pain, then thrown bodily against an energy net. Washu appears, and explains that some event in the past has removed Achika from the timeline, and would have done the same to Tenchi as well if not for the energy net holding him there. In order to determine what the event was, and how it can be prevented, Washu sends Tenchi, Ryoko, Aeka, Sasami, Mihoshi, and Kiyone back to 1970 to infiltrate Achika's school and monitor her. Tenchi is thrilled at the opportunity to see his mother again, as she died when he was very young, but Washu warns that such a thing could cause a paradox. As Aeka and Ryoko join Achika's class and work to become friends with her and Tenchi's Father Nobiyuki, Bubble-headed Mihoshi and her long-suffering partner Kiyone become teachers, and Sasami helps Tenchi keep an eye on Achika from a distance. The film culminates with an epic battle against Kain at Tokyo Tower.
5) Akira
Akira is a tale of two friends torn apart by a secret government program. Kaneda and Tetsuo are members of the Capsules Biker gang in the alternate future city of Neo Tokyo. During a brutal turf war with a rival gang known as the Clowns, Tetsuo nearly runs over a child with an elderly face before his bike mysteriously explodes. Tetsuo and the child are captured by military personnel and Kaneda is taken in for questioning along with the rest of the Capsules. Kaneda meets a young girl named Kei who is in an anti-government resistance group and after their release, they determine to rescue Tetsuo. However, it is revealed that Tetsuo is an Esper and has mental capabilities similar to those of the titular Akira, a small boy who's power destroyed Tokyo some years ago. When three other espers attempt to kill Tetsuo before his power can be unlocked, they only succeed in awakening his true potential. From there, Tetsuo becomes unfathomably powerful and mad with rage, and Kaneda's rescue mission becomes a desperate attempt to stop his friend from causing destruction on a massive scale. When it was released, Akira was shockingly violent and outstandingly well animated. It stands the test of time and is just as compelling now as it ever was.
4) Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door
It's Cowboy Bebop. The Movie. If that isn't enough to get you interested, then you really need to check out the original show. Basically the Bounty Hunting Quartet of Spike, Jet, Faye, and Ed do what they do best. The Action, The Music, the Plot. It's all undeniably cool.
3) Grave of the Fireflies
Another studio Ghibli animated masterpiece, this film is very different from most of the others on this list. Set in the waning days of WWII against the backdrop of the Kobe Firebombings, Grave of the Fireflies tells a gut-wrenchingly sad story of war, poverty, and desperation. Seita, a teenage boy, and his young sister Setsuko are left orphaned after their mother is burned to death in a firebombing run by American Forces. They are taken in by a distant relative for a time, but as supplies grow scarcer as the bombings continue, the relative slowly comes to resent them. The two are eventually forced to leave and set up a makeshift home in an abandoned bomb shelter. At first they enjoy living on their own and light the rooms with Fireflies. Setsuko is heartbroken the next morning when the fireflies have all died, and digs a grave for them, asking Seita why they died so quickly. From there the two continue to struggle to survive. Roger Ebert has stated that this is the greatest anti-war film.
2) Princess Mononoke
An epic fantasy tale of courage, betrayal, and redemption jam packed with gorgeous visuals, moving music, and compelling characters, Princess Mononoke is Truly Miyazaki Hayao's masterwork. Ashitaka, a young warrior prince living in a small remote village challenges an attacking monster to protect his sister and the rest of the citizens. The Demon is a huge mass of black tendrils rampaging across the countryside, leaving a trail of decay wherever it goes. Ashitaka realizes it is a tormented Forest Spirit that once guarded the forest, and attempts to reason with it, begging the tortured beast to spare the village. The spirit attacks Ashitaka, wounding his hand in the process. Unable to dissuade him, Ashitaka is forced to kill the Demon and begs it's forgiveness. The beast Scoffs, and tells Ashitaka he is doomed to suffer the same fate he has. When it is determined that the demonic wound on his arm cannot be healed, the village is forced to banish Ashitaka. He sets out to find the cause of the Demon's corruption and meets a shifty Monk named Jigo who Directs him to Iron Town, where Lady Eboshi's people are engaged in increased industry and the spirits of the surrounding forests are growing restless. On the journey there, Ashitaka finds two dying men who were working as guards for one of Eboshi's caravans when they were attacked by three Wolf Spirits. As he works to help the men, he encounters the wolves and is surprised to see a human girl with them, cleaning the wounds of one of the Wolves. He addresses the spirits respectfully, but the girl tells Ashitaka to leave the forest and rides away on one of the wolves. Later the girl, San, attacks Iron Town in an attempt to kill Lady Eboshi to protect the forest, only to be thwarted by Ashitaka, who's Demonic Wound has granted him exceptional physical strength. Ashitaka and San leave Iron Town and meet with Okkoto, the leader of the Boars. From there a complex story unfolds as the humans of Iron Town clash with the Boar Spirits of the Forest and an enigmatic creature known as the Great Forest Spirit becomes the focus of the conflict. This film is a morality play in which there is no truly good and no truly evil character.
1) Ghost in the Shell
If there is any movie on this list that I can honestly say changed my life, it is Ghost in the Shell. When I saw it in 1996, I had never seen anything remotely like it. This Near Future cyberpunk thriller is loaded with haunting scenes, intense action, and philosophical musings on the nature of being human. When a notorious Ghost Hacker known as the Puppet Master comes to the attention of Major Kusanagi Motoko, a secret police officer in New Port City Japan who is almost entirely cybernetic, the trail he leaves leads to an obsessive need to understand who he is. I will talk more about this film in upcoming posts, no doubt.
So there it is, feel free to tell me how wrong I am, but that's my take on it. Let me know if you have any ideas for future Top Ten's, I'll consider just about any topic.
How did I know GITS would be number 1?!
ReplyDeleteCause you have really good taste?
ReplyDeleteHehe!