So the question is, with time passing, movies being made after American novels, and collaborations between the master Miyazaki and his son disappointing,* does Ghibli still have their stuff? In essence, are they still capable of producing the world wide standard setting animated movies they once did?
Before I start off on my impressions of the film I will say in all honesty that I fear for Studio Ghibli: perhaps because I love their work so deeply, I fear that they will be like Disney. The magic of the movies created by the man himself will never die, it's ageless, much like everything Miyazaki touched. But when he's gone, what happens?At the very least I can hope that he will live a good deal longer than Disney who died of lung cancer at 65. True, Miyazaki does smoke. In fact when a Japanese anti-smoking health group ran a poll to see what celebrities people most wanted to see quit smoking, Ghibli's creator was number five. However, at seventy-two he is already seven years older than Disney when "his left lung was riddled with tumors the size of walnuts,"and I may not know what I'm talking about, but Japan's considerably healthier diet and lifestyle has got to help.
