Adult Christmas Costume Buying
Posted by linzhengcong1 in November 29, 2010
It is possible to rent or acquire Santa suits from numerous unique on the net outfit stores, or from your neighborhood specialty keep. A number of varieties with the Santa adult Christmas costume are in fact offered, for example Santa overalls; on the other hand, the traditional pink Santa swimsuit that has a massive stomach remains to be the most popular. Collectively with all the Santa suit, do not forget the Santa beard, hat, bell and bag. When you’re all dressed up, you can begin giving out the presents to your close friends and family members.
For adult ladies who want to outfit up during the Holiday season, attempt out a Mrs. Santa Clause wardrobe. You can assist Santa give out his gifts in this pleasurable outfit! Elf Holiday Outfit Every Santa Clause requirements his elf! You may select from quite a few elf Xmas fancy dress costumes about the market place, most of which are green. Some examples incorporate the traditional elf costume outfit or the child elf. Some pet suppliers and costume outfit retailers even sell elf costumes in your dogs so they will tag together with you whenever you gown up as Santa Clause. These days, you can find even horny elf fancy dress outfits that you choose to can purchase. You will certainly be in Santa’s naughty list in the event you have on individuals’ attractive Holiday outfits! Reindeer Xmas Costume outfit Reindeer fancy dress costumes are usually a massive hit!
Hayao Miyazaki – the Japanese Walt Disney(3)
Posted by linzhengcong1 in July 7, 2010
Traditional Forms of Art
Throughout his career, Miyazaki has strived to remain true to his roots in traditional forms of art. Although he has employed computer-generated imagery in many of his films, most notably in Princess Mononoke, he ensures that the right balance is maintained between computer- and hand-drawn art. In interviews, Miyazaki has commented “”it’s very important for me to retain the right ratio between working by hand and computer. I have learnt that balance now, how to use both and still be able to call my films 2D.” He went on to say that “hand drawing on paper is the fundamental of animation”.
The most recent Studio Ghibli film, Ponyo, has received widespread praise. Whether or not Hayao Miyazaki will ever again return from retirement to pen one of his classic and colourful fantasies is unknowable. What is certain is that he has had and will continue to have a very real influence on perceptions of aesthetic and cultural values, of storytelling and filmmaking in the East and in the West.
Works Cited
Andrews, Nigel (2005-09-20). “Japan’s visionary of innocence and apocalypse”. Financial Times. Retrieved 2007-06-06.
McCarthy, Helen (1999-09-01). Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation. United States: Stone Bridge Press
“New Ponyo details at tenth radio Ghibli”. Ghibliworld. Retrieved 2008-06-24.
Press conference with John Lasseter and Hayao Miyazaki at the Four Seasons Hotel 2009-09-28
Read more at Suite101: Hayao Miyazaki – the Japanese Walt Disney http://anime.suite101.com/article.cfm/hayao-miyazaki—the-japanese-walt-disney#ixzz0syeTGYEq
Hayao Miyazaki – the Japanese Walt Disney(2)
Posted by linzhengcong1 in July 6, 2010
Metaphor and Euphemism
Miyazaki’s early life is often reflected in his films: My Neighbour Totoro depicts a character seeking solace in imagination due to his mother’s illness, and this was heavily influenced by Miyazaki’s own mother’s tragic spinal tuberculosis. Miyazaki has said that he was inspired by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, best known for childlike philosophical treatise Le Petit Prince. Miyazaki has often been credited with using childlike and charming stories to touch deeper issues, much like the French writer.
Although Miyazaki was only four years old when the USA dropped the nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, he explores the tragedies through films such as Naussicaä, although, as always with Japanese cinema, through euphemism and metaphor. Like Godzilla and the “monster movie” tradition it epitomises, Miyazaki uses the fantastical to open a dialogue with the unspeakable past.
Success in the West
Despite widespread success in Japan, Miyazaki was not well known in the West until Miramax released Princess Mononoke in 1997. The film stayed at the number one box office spot in Japan until Titanic came out a few months later. It would be four years before what some believe to be Miyazaki’s magnum opus, Spirited Away, was released in 2001 to international acclaim, becoming the first anime film to win an academy award and taking the Japanese box office back from Titanic.
Spirited Away follows the story of Chihiro, a girl forced to live and work in a bizarre, metaphysical, spirit world bathhouse, her parents having been turned into pigs by the witch that owns it. The film made a record-breaking ¥30.4 billion at the Japanese box office, with 23 million viewings.
In 2004, Miyazaki came out of retirement to pick up the project of director Mamoru Hosoda, Howl’s Moving Castle, based on the novel by Dianna Wynne-Jones. The film was a success, earning ¥1.4 billion in its first two days. Walt Disney produced the film’s English translation.
Hayao Miyazaki – the Japanese Walt Disney(1)
Posted by linzhengcong1 in June 28, 2010
Director and animator of films such as Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle, Hayao Miyazaki is one of the most influential people in cinema.
Sometimes described as the Japanese Walt Disney, Hayao Miyazaki is one of the most celebrated filmmakers of the twentieth century. In 2006, Time Magazine voted Miyazaki among the most influential Asians of the past 60 years, and in 2005 as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Early Life and Influences
Miyazaki was born as the second of four brothers in the town of Akebono-cho, one of Tokyo’s 23 wards. His fascination with animation began when he saw Hakujaden, the first Japanese full-length colour anime in his third year at Toyotama High School. He began to animate, but at first found it difficult drawing people, since he had, until then, drawn only airplanes and battleships.
During World War II, his family ran a company called Miyazaki Airplane, which made rudders for Japanese fighter aircraft. The young Miyazaki drew the planes as they passed through and overhead, and this fascination with aviation and machinery can be found everywhere in his films, from Italian World War II action in Porco Rosso to post-apocalyptic environmentalist dialogue Naussicaä of the Valley of the Wind.
The Qrigin of The Cat Returns
Posted by linzhengcong1 in June 23, 2010
In 1995, Studio Ghibli released a film titled Whisper of the Heart, based on a manga by Aoi Hiiragi, about a girl writing a fantasy novel. Although the girl’s life had no magical elements, short fantasy scenes depicted what the girl was writing about. The Baron was so popular that an indirect sequel was made, featuring the Baron and another girl, this one a highschool student, named Haru. Muta also returned.
The Cat Returns began life as the “Cat Project” in 1999. Studio Ghibli received a request from a Japanese theme park to create a 20-minute short starring cats. Hayao Miyazaki wanted three key things to feature in the short — these were the Baron, Muta (Moon), and a mysterious antique shop. Hiiragi was commissioned to create the manga equivalent of the short, which is called Baron: The Cat Returns (バロン 猫の男爵 Baron: Neko no Danshaku, lit. Baron: the Cat Baron)and is published in English by Viz Media. The theme park later canceled the project.
Miyazaki then took the existing work done by the “Cat Project” and used it as a testing ground for future Ghibli directors — the short was now to be 45 minutes long. In the end, responsibility fell to Hiroyuki Morita, who had started out as an animator in 1999 for the film My Neighbors the Yamadas. Over a nine-month period he translated Hiiragi’s Baron story into 525 pages of storyboards for what was to be The Cat Returns. Miyazaki and Toshio Suzukidecided to go ahead with a feature-length film based entirely on Morita’s storyboard; this was mainly because Haru, the main character had such a real feel to her.[3] It became the second theatrical Studio Ghibli feature to be directed by someone other than Miyazaki or Takahata.
The Cat Returns
Posted by linzhengcong1 in June 22, 2010
The Cat Returns (猫の恩返し Neko no Ongaeshi, lit. The Cat’s Repayment) is a Japanese animated film directed by Hiroyuki Morita, produced by Studio Ghibli and theatrically released in Japan in 2002 and United States in 2003.
It received an Excellence Prize at the 2002 Japan Media Arts Festival.
Plot
The story follows a girl called Haru, a quiet, shy and unassuming high school student who has a long-suppressed ability to talk to cats. One day she saves a darkly colored, odd-eyed cat from being hit by a truck on a busy road. The cat turns out to be Lune, Prince of the Cat Kingdom. In return, the cats shower her with gifts of catnip and mice — and then she is offered the Prince’s hand in marriage. Her mixed reply is taken as a yes.
Immersed in desperation over this unwanted development, Haru hears a kind female voice which tells her to seek out the Cat Bureau. Haru meets Muta, a large white cat the voice told her to seek for directions, who leads her there to meet the Baron, who happens to be a cat figurine given life by the hard work of his artist, and Toto, a stone raven who comes to life much like the Baron. Soon after meeting them, Haru and Muta are taken to the Cat Kingdom by force, leaving Toto and the Baron in the human world to follow the group from the air. The Baron and his feathered friend finally find the entrance to the Cat Kingdom on Earth — five lakes forming a cat’s paw.
Haru is conducted to a feast at the castle of the Cat Kingdom and she begins to slowly turn into a cat — with tan paws, ears, and whiskers, though still mainly human — so that she will make a suitable bride for the Prince. At the feast, the Baron (in disguise) dances with Haru as part of the entertainment, and reveals to her that the more she loses herself in the kingdom, the more cat-like she will become, and that she has to discover her true self. When the Baron is discovered and is forced to fight off the guards, he and Haru are helped by Yuki, a white female cat who works as a servant in the palace and who had tried to warn Haru to leave the Cat Kingdom before she was taken to the castle. Yuki shows them an escape leading to a tunnel.
Haru, the Baron, and Muta’s escape leads them through a maze to a tower, which contains a portal back into Haru’s world. The King goes through a series of efforts to keep them in the Cat Kingdom long enough for Haru to remain trapped in the form of a cat so that he can still have her as his daughter-in-law, going so far as to actually collapse the tower.
Lune and his guards return to the Cat Kingdom to reveal that the King was not acting on his behalf and he has no desire to marry Haru; he has instead planned on proposing to Yuki. Also, Muta is revealed to be a notorious criminal in the Kingdom (having devoured a whole lake of fish in one session), and Yuki as being the strange voice who had advised Haru to go to the Cat Bureau. In her childhood, Haru had saved Yuki from starvation by giving her the fish cookies she was eating, and Yuki has now repaid her kindness.
Eventually, Haru, Muta and the Baron escape the Cat Realm, with the aid of Prince Lune and Toto, and Haru discovers her true self and tells the Baron how she has come to feel about him. He tells her he admires her sincerity, but it is left unclear whether he returns her affections. Haru returns to the human world with more confidence in herself; upon learning that her former flame has broken up with his girlfriend, she simply replies, “It doesn’t matter anymore”.
Nether Regions 06.15.10: The Adventure of Horus: Prince of the Sun (2)
Posted by linzhengcong1 in June 18, 2010
Toei Doga Studio led Japan in the release of animated television shows and movies. The group that was chosen for the project was comprised of Yasuji Mori, Yasuo Otsuka, Yoichi Kotabe, and Hayao Miyazaki. They were led by Isao Takahata, standing at the helm of his first feature. These gentlemen were all quite critical of the material Walt Disney was pumping out, how they failed to nurture their animators, and so forth. The goal was to expand upon what had already been established, and prove to the world what this realm was capable of accomplishing. They wanted to make a grand statement, one that would shake the foundation of animation in general, and it was no easy task.
The relationship between the artists and the producers was not a positive one. The film ran over schedule and eventually took 3 years to complete. Takahata and company had many heated battles with the studio, and sadly, they would lose most of them. Toei preferred another simple-minded, accessible effort with international appeal. This was not a concern for the animators. The story is based on a folktale of the Anui, an aboriginal people that resided in Northern Japan, but the setting was changed to resemble a Scandinavian/Eastern European area during the Iron Age in hopes that wider audiences would be interested. The running time was also cut by 30 minutes, and 2 key scenes were never even animated due to their cost and complex nature.
Horus was written by Kazuo Fukazawa, but was initially a yarn he wrote for a puppet theater drama. We first meet Horus (Voice of Hisako Otaka) wielding his trusty axe on a rope at a pack of vicious wolves. He is temporarily saved by a rock giant named Maug (voice of Tadashi Yokouchi), who seems to suffer from a “thorn” in his shoulder. That thorn turns out to be the Sword of the Sun, and young Horus pulls it out with all his might. Unfortunately the legendary sword is in bad shape, and needs reforged, something Horus does not know how to do. Maug says that when he can reforge it, he will proclaim him “Prince of the Sun”. Horus is then summoned home to the side of his dying father (voice of Hisashi Yokomori), who informs him of the history of their people. Horus is asked to save that village against an evil demon by combining their powers.
Once his father dies, Horus sets out for the village with his friend Koro, a bear cub (voice of Yukari Asai). The infamous demon is named Grunwald (voice of Mikijiro Hira), and he is the one who controls the wolves. He has Horus carried by a vulture like bird to the edge of an icy cliff. When Horus refuses to serve Grunwald, he is thrown from the cliff. He falls into the water and drifts downstream to a nearby fishing village. He quickly becomes a hero after he rescues them from an enormous pike monster which threatened both the lives of the people and the amount of food they possessed. It turns out the fish was just one of the many tools of Grunwald, and Horus realizes he must confront and destroy the demon. Before that can happen however, he must deal with the rusty sword, a bizarre girl named Hilda (voice of Etsuko Ichihara), multiple attacks, and winning the trust of the people once and for all.
The Adventure of Horus: Prince of the Sun, while certainly one of the most influential animated films, is not necessarily a masterpiece. Sometimes the line between highly influential and classic can be a blurry one. Horus is just an entertaining piece of family fare that should have been better. I think if Takahata and company had more power, it would have turned out differently. Miyazaki has stated they “were burning with ambition then”, so who knows what could have emerged if there weren’t so many restraints and requirements. The animators integrated social commentary, deep themes, and complex messages around what is an archetypal good versus evil story at its core. Make no mistake though; this is well worth adding to any library.
Nether Regions 06.15.10: The Adventure of Horus: Prince of the Sun (1)
Posted by linzhengcong1 in June 17, 2010
Before Studio Ghibli became a reality, Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata worked on this fantasy offering tor Toei Doga Studio. Is this early groundbreaking film worth seeking out?
Nether Regions started as a segment of the Big Screen Bulletin that meant to showcase films that have been discontinued on DVD, are out of print in the United States, are only available in certain regions outside the United States, or are generally hard to find. Now it is a column all its own! You might ask “Why should I care about a film I have no access to?” My goal is to keep these films relevant because some of them genuinely deserve to be recognized. Every time I review a new film I will have a list of those I covered below so you can see if they have been announced for DVD release, or are still out of print.
First of all, the title is a matter of concern for anyone wishing to look for this on any site or on DVD. The opening credits for “Taiyo no oji: Horosu no daiboken” will read The Adventure of Horus: Prince of the Sun, but the US title is Little Norse Prince, which is close to what appears in Hayao Miyazaki’s book Starting Point: 1979 – 1996, something I get royalties for mentioning now, and on the UK DVD. In the book it is Little Norse Prince Valiant and on Wikipedia it shows Hols: Prince of the Sun. So, because I like the genuine title of The Adventure of Horus: Prince of the Sun better, I will continue to use that title (or abbreviations of it), but most sites should have this moviecome up as long as you type in one of the titles.
Walt Disney will always cast a large shadow on the animation industry. Their fairy tale adaptations, fun loving songs, easily digestible themes can be great, but after all these years they are still at the top of the mountain and very little has changed. The strides in American animation have been few and far between. Back in the 1960′s, one group of young animators wanted to re-imagine animation and transform the genre into a form of profound and serious filmmaking. Horus is not just a film that predates the creation of Studio Ghibli. It is much more than that. It has been called the first modern anime.
Whisper of the Heart part 2
Posted by linzhengcong1 in June 13, 2010
Later, Shizuku goes to visit the antique shop again and finds it closed. The boy shows up and lets her in to see The Baron. Downstairs, she sees his workshop, where he is making a violin. She asks him to play, and he complies on the condition that she will sing along. Midway through the song, Nishi-san and two friends arrive and play an accompaniment, and Shizuku learns that the boy is in fact Seiji Amasawa, the same person who had checked out all the library books. On the way home, he tells her his dream is to become a master luthier. He is fighting with his parents for the chance to go to Cremona, Italy to study with a master. He compliments her on her lyrics and tells her she is talented.
The next morning at school, Seiji tells Shizuku his parents will allow him to go to Cremona for two months to study with a master to see if he shows potential. The two confess that they have feelings for each other, and Seiji admits that he checked out all those library books hoping it would get her attention. That evening, Shizuku tells Yuko she worries she is not good enough for Seiji, since he seems to know what he wants to do in life. She decides to test her talent, too; she will write a book to see if her skills are good enough. She asks Nishi-san’s permission to write about The Baron in her story. He agrees, provided he is allowed to be the first to read it.
Shizuku begins to devote all her time to working on her book, and her grades start to slip. Her parents are concerned but decide to trust her. When it is finished, Nishi san reads it and tells her it is very good but not yet perfect. Shizuku decides that attending high school is the best way to learn more about writing.
Early the next morning, Shizuku looks out her window and sees Seiji below. He tells her to get on the back of his bike, and they ride to a steep hill, which he says he wants to ride up carrying her. But she hops off to help push, saying she wants to help him, not be a burden to him. They make it to the top and look out at the incredible view, waiting for the sunrise. He tells her he has decided to finish high school, then go back to Cremona to study. Shizuku thanks him for pushing her to do her best and learn more about herself. Seiji asks her if, once he becomes a luthier, she would consent to marry him. She happily tells him she hoped it would be that way and agrees. Seiji then hugs Shizuku and loudly proclaims that he loves her.
Whisper of the Heart
Posted by linzhengcong1 in June 13, 2010
Whisper of the Heart is a 1995 Japanese anime film directed by Yoshifumi Kondō. Its original Japanese title is Mimi wo Sumaseba (耳をすませば), which means “if you listen closely”. The film is based on the manga of the same name by Aoi Hiiragi. The screenplay was written by Hayao Miyazaki. This is the only film to be directed by Yoshifumi Kondō, who died in 1998 of a ruptured aneurysm at the age of 47. Studio Ghibli had hoped that Kondō would become the successor to Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata.
One summer evening in 1994, Shizuku Tsukishima, a junior high school girl living in Tama New Town, a Tokyo suburb, looks through the checkout cards in her library books and notices a pattern: Each book had previously been checked out by someone named “Seiji Amasawa”. The next day at school, Shizuku shows her friend Yuko a draft of the song she has been writing for graduation. On the way home, Shizuku realizes she left her book at the school. She rushes back, only to find a boy her age reading it. He hands it back to her and comments on her lyrics, calling them “corny” — which leaves her feeling irritable for the rest of the evening.
The next morning on the train, Shizuku sees a large cat apparently traveling by itself. When it gets off, she follows it to an antique shop, where she sees a statue of a cat in formal clothing. The owner of the shop, Nishi-san, tells her the statue’s name is Baron Humbert von Jikkingen. He also shows her a recently restored grandfather clock, that tells a tale of the King of the Dwarves and a Fairy Queen. Shizuku is in awe, considering the shop a place where stories begin. Shizuku notices that it is noon and rushes off to take lunch to her father, but forgets the lunchbox in the shop. Just outside the library, the boy she had met the previous day returns the lunchbox. He comments on how much food is in the box and rides away, singing her song, leaving Shizuku in another foul mood.
