Having seen a few other Miyazaki films, but not finding any of them as compelling as My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away or Kiki’s Delivery Service, I decided to just do brief reviews of the one’s I’ve seen. For tomorrow’s finale of Miyazaki Week, I’m planning on something a little different. So read the reviews and come back tomorrow.

Princess Mononokewas the first Miyazaki film I ever saw. And it almost became the last. I had seen the previews and the reviews about how this was a wonderful film by a fabled Japanese animator. But when I tried watching it, I couldn’t stand it. The story centers on a battle for control between the forces of the forest and the humans in the nearby town. I actively disliked the movie. But I broke down and showed it to my kids when they expressed interest in other Miyazaki films. No surprisingly, they also disliked it. I know some people like it, but I just couldn’t stand it.

Howl’s Moving Castle was based on the book by the recently deceased Diana Wynne Jones. The story centers on a young woman, Sophie, who, while being mistaken for the girlfriend of the magician Howl, is turned in to an old crone. The story then plays out in a Beauty and the Beast  like plot with Sophie and Howl slowly realizing that the love each other. It wasn’t bad, but it never grabbed me like the other movies

Ponyo was the latest Miyazaki film and is a Little Mermaid-ish tale about a goldfish named Ponyo who wants to become a girl after meeting a five year old boy named Sōsuke. Her father is deeply opposed and calls on her mother Granmammare (the Goddess of Mercy). Granmammare tells Ponyo that she can stay human only if Sōsuke passes a test. Ponyo is a fine film that is notable for its all hand-drawn production in an age of computer animated film making. It’s not a bad film, but when the bar is as high as Miyazaki has placed it, it just doesn’t compare to his classics.