Ghibli on the Big Screen

Ghibli movies made the rounds through our theater again this year!  I sought out as many as could that I had never seen on the big screen. Or in Ponyo's case, that I hadn't seen it since it's release. Now that I know Ponyo so well, I can spot little details that I had never seen before. 

For example when they're on the boat, Ponyo runs across the water to see the baby. She knocks the backpack into the water. And when the boat shrinks back down, there's a split second where you can see that the thermos shrank (along with the hat and binoculars). 

I always loved the opening of Ponyo. It's so beautiful and mysterious. I didn't quite get what was happening, until I got the art book, and read the information in it. Fujimoto is making jellyfish! And for a while I was convinced that he was somehow taking the glow from the squid. But not so - he's using his light to communicate with the squid. Which is nicer than stealing its glow. 

(He's so strange - I love it)

Bit by bit, Ponyo and Sosuke leave everything behind, until only the bucket is left (though Fujimoto returns the boat at the end, which I assume still holds the other things that shrank with it). 

The same thing happened in Princess Mononoke. One by one, all of Ashitaka's things are lost, right down to the shirt on his back. They face the finale with only their strengths, and bonds. 

There's a couple things about Princess Mononoke which took me a while to notice (though they're not recent discoveries). At the very end, you see the survivors of Iron Town floating on the raft. There's a moment where you can see that the people with leprosy have been cured. One lady is looking at her hand in amazement, the bandages fallen away. And there's a point where San slams her fist into Ashitaka's chest. She's holding her dagger. I thought she had the blade inside her fist enough that it wouldn't actually stab him. But not so. That dagger stabbed Ashitaka. But the curse has progressed so far that it doesn't seem to damage him at all.

 

I caught Nausicaa too. It was awesome to see the ohmu looking full-sized. I noticed for the first time that some of the kids are feeding Kai and Kui in the background. 

Dad wanted to come see Whisper of the Heart with me. I think he just wanted to go to the movies in general, but he had fun. I just spotted a small detail, where Shizuku's looking at the bunk bed above hers. You can see the slats creaking. Man, what detail. 

I didn't notice anything specific in The Tale of Princess Kaguya. But I was glad to finally see that one on the big screen.

Now I just need to see Arrietty on the big screen. And I haven't seen The Wind Rises since it came out, so I'd like to see that too. And probably The Boy and the Heron as well.

Miyazaki's birds

The Boy and the Heron is probably Miyazaki's strangest movie. Which is saying a lot. I think it was common for people to walk out of the theater, wondering what the heck had just happened. I was one of those people. 

But as I learned more about the film, I grew to appreciate it more. 

Through all the strangeness, at it's core is a boy who's hurting from the loss of his mother, and is growing up during a terrible war.

The movie's not as random as it seems. Many of the events in the film are based off of things that happened in Mikazaki's life. And the characters represent family, and people he's worked with. (I want to know so much more about how the heron represents Suzuki-san).

The heron, even in his normal bird form, is a bit unsettling to look at. It's largely because of his initial behavior, but the eyes aren't normal bird eyes either. Though he can be pretty. Especially when his beak is newly repaired, and he's thrilled to be back in his bird form. 

I saw gray herons in Japan, and had some beautiful views of them. Stalking the ponds in front of the Gold Pavilion Temple. And standing in the river at night, street lights reflecting off of the water. One eye glows (which is very Miyazaki-esque).

We have blue herons where I live. I once saw one swallow a big rat, though it wasn't as big as the fish the heron eats.

I also want to know what the other birds represent. It feels like Miyazaki really wanted to draw birds. Huge packs of them. The pelicans can be quite pretty (considering what an oddly shaped bird they are). I've handled pelicans before, at the rescue center. I've held them while they were fed, and it's like holding a dinosaur. It was awesome. But one of the staff there got nailed by a pelican. That hook on their beak left a red gash down his face. So, don't mess with pelicans. 

The parakeets aren't particularly pretty. They're also the most dangerous birds in the movie. 

I saw the movie first in Japanese. When I saw the English version, I was thrilled to recognize some of my favorite characters. Kipo is Himi. Wade is one of the Parakeets. Scarlemagne is another parakeet, but that guy is good at disguising his voice, so I need to listen again and see if I can figure out who he plays. 

And that first scene with the fire is stunning, and haunting. 

There's a scene where Mahito has to cut open a giant fish, and all the guts spill out. I thought that was nasty the first time I saw the movie. Then I went to the class in New Jersey, and gutted a fish for the first time. And I did such a horrible job, I felt just like Mahito must have. Experts make it look easy to gut a fish. I think they're must be cheating somehow. Because I could not get the insides out of that poor fish. I had organs bursting in my hands, until there was blood up to my wrists and my hands were too slippery to grip. Some parts just wouldn't come out, and I ended up having to saw them loose. No one else was having the trouble I was having, so I don't know what the heck I was doing wrong. But the next time I saw The Boy and the Heron, I was laughing at the fish scene because I could relate.

Epic: The Musical Odyssey

Nicole's really good at finding things for me to get hooked on. 

The latest is Epic: The Musical. 

When she asked if I knew about Epic, I thought she was talking about the movie with the coolest namesake (Queen Tara).  Then she told me about Jorge Herrans, a guy who has been making a musical based off of The Odyssey. 

She played me animatics of "Warrior of the Mind" (where Athena is introduced) and "Suffering," (with the sirens). I read a ton of Greek myths as a kid. Other myths too, but Greek mythology is easy to come by. I'd read a lot of the Odyssey for school, and liked it. So I was already willing to dig deeper into Epic. (I just borrowed my uncle's copy of the Odyssey to read it again. I'm not sure if I ever read the whole thing.)

I told Nicole that either she's really good at selling stuff, or really good at selling me stuff. Because she's given me several things that I've gotten hooked on. On the other hand, I keep trying to tell people about Epic, and no one has been interested. 

Just over a week ago, Jorge released the final songs. I almost always find out about things long after they've been popular. But this time, I actually feel like I got to take part in it! I started tuning in just before the Vengeance Saga, to see the end of Epic come about.

Here's a link to the full playlist, but I recommend you check out his videos. He talks a lot about how he wrote the songs, he has some of the singers appear to act out scenes, and sometimes there's just general horsing around. I love that he can't keep a straight face when he's trying to make a joke.

There are also a ton of amazing fan-made animatics for the songs. I went crazy during a vacation and made a huge playlist of them. I'm sure there are more great ones I've missed.

Now that the music is done, Jorge can start turning it into a real play! I hope I can go see it.

His latest albums have been selling at the top of the charts. Even though he's not working with a big company, and has done most of the work himself (it reminds me of Undertale). And despite the fact that I've never met him, I'm so proud of him. I randomly feel proud of people that I have no actual relationship to. I may be just a little jealous too, since he's only in his mid twenties XD

Most of the cast actually went to Ithaca to celebrate the completion of the soundtrack!

It's awesome to hear his process for writing songs. He works in so many elements. For example, characters will pick up instruments and themes that are usually reserved for other characters, for example if they're trying to appeal to someone. And he'll drop melodies into songs to hint that one character is involved in something else. I love it. 

He also uses a lot of slant rhymes, which are interesting to find.

He sings the part of Odysseus. His mom, dad, girlfriend, and friend all have parts. This guy attracts music somehow.

He's posted some videos where he reviews video games. I always love seeing analyses of character motivations and such. 

There's lots of great singers involved. But one stands out as my favorite. Calypso is not a great person. But her singer is stunning. Her voice. Wow. I stumbled across a lot of comments with similar viewpoints. They don't like Calypso, but they love the singer. Even Jorge posted a video saying that it's important to critique the singer. It cut to a clip of her singing, and Jay's gushing, "you're so goood!" 

I love Polites' song. It's so catchy. "Dangerous" is too. I gravitate toward the fun, catchy ones. But so many of them are really good.

So, God Games. Does anyone else think that Zeus isn't mad that Athena won, but is mad at the arguments she used to win over Hera?

(Also, I want to do a God Games animation where it goes "Apollo, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Aries, Hera, or, Poseidon." He'd actually be easy to win over. Athena would just say that he can't kill Odysseus while he's with Calypso (while Athena's muttering apologies to Odysseus under her breath).

Coco Live

When I went to the Ghibli concert, there was a poster outside of the concert hall that caught my eye. They would be playing Coco, and the soundtrack would be performed live by the symphony. I'd been tempted to attend a live soundtrack for a while. I'd seen them for Star Wars, and other big-name movies. I never expected to stumble across a playing of Coco. So I knew I would be returning to the hall again.

It was so fun. And not just because of the live music, but because of the massive, excited audience. Their cheers got me so pumped up that I wasn't even tempted to cry. 

Not only did they play all of the background music and guitar accompaniment, but they even played some of the little musical sound-effects from various musicians in the movie. 

I noticed songs that I'd never really paid much attention to, because they're not on the soundtrack. I wonder why they leave off so many little bits of music. Are they just too short, or simple? 

The conductor had a computer screen above the score. The screen marked the downbeat of each bar, so he could keep exact time with the film.

I wonder how they get film audio that only has the spoken and sung words. Is there some way to separate the layers of audio? Or is it something that's saved as a copy when the movie is made? I have no idea how that kind of stuff works!

It was great. It would be fun to see other movies with a live soundtrack.

Happy New Year!

We're about to step into a new year. I hope it's great for you guys!

Let's end with a lioness.

Aftermath of the Flood

 Me over the last several days:

 

All of the papers are finally dry. But several of the books are still damp. It's a slow process... 

My nicest book I got it thoroughly trashed. And I can't find a replacement online. 

Another book was even signed by the author.

Book Comps

In query letters, one of the things you include is a comparison to similar, recent books. I found an article about why book comps are important. For one, it lets you get a feel for what kind of books are selling now. And of course, it gives your agent some kind of ground on which to picture your book. 

I needed to fix my book comps on my query letter. The only books I knew that were at all similar to mine were much older than the recommended ten years. So it was on to the book store. There, I spent about five hours reading the backs of all of the Young Adult fantasy. I bought one for good measure.

Nothing seemed similar to my book. Though I listed out that might have some similar elements. I've been reading them, and luckily I've found two that I can compare to parts of my story.

What were the main themes I noticed in today's YA fantasy? War, revenge,  and dark or forbidden powers. Lots of assassins and thieves. 

And for some reason, a lot of characters named "Wren."

Yeah, none of that really vibes with my stories. I don't even have anyone named Wren.