Kiki on the Big Screen

Not long ago, I mentioned that they were playing some Ghibli movies on the big screen.  This time I went to see Kiki's Delivery Service. 

 

This is another one I'd never seen on the big screen. And once again, I noticed a few new details. Though they were pretty small ones. Like when Kiki helps bake the pot pie, she uses clips to keep her sleeves out of the way.

 What I really noticed was that they changed the English version. The American Ghibli movies often add all this random extra dialogue. For example, Jiji complaining in the background. But it looks like they've gone back and cut out all that random stuff, so it's far more authentic.

And they moved the music back too. I always loved the English songs for Kiki. But it's cool that they switched them back to the original. And there's a soundtrack song they took out, which they put back in. 

 It's so weird when I hear the differences. I grew up with the original version, and I know it so well that even the tiny differences jump out at me. But I also love that they fixed it up.

Naming Systems

Another thing that's interesting to use in stories is a naming system (for example, some cultures don't use last names. And some put the family name first). Here's an interesting one I just read about in the book Sacred Horse: The Memoirs of a Turkmen Cowboy

Turkmen names have as much meaning as possible: One name may only be be for a second son. A first son would never have that particular name. The second name is derived from the name of the father, for example. And it may double to convey their religion. The last name can also have religious significance. 

They compared it to Russian names, which give a father's name, but not all of the other layers.

And unrelated, some peacock photos:

Juvenile male. He hasn't grown in a full tail yet, but he's still trying to show it off. 

Tail puffed up for preening

Close-up of the shoulder. The feathers are remarkably iridescent.

Tarzan

I've been watching through the animated Disney movies, to try to draw some animals from them. And doing so makes me notice stuff I'd never noticed before. 

Especially combined with a familiarity with out zoo animals. 

 

The most recent Disney movie I've noticed anew is Tarzan. I never really realized how amazing the animation is. Tarzan's movements, especially the way he uses his hands. He obviously knuckle-walks like a gorilla, but he'll also use his knuckles instead of fingers when he's handling things.

And then there are things that I can't help calling out. For example, there are no ring-tailed lemurs in Africa. Nor are there bananas. Mandrills don't hang out in trees much. Except maybe the babies. Why are the gorillas making chimpanzee noises? And I think these are supposed to be mountain gorillas. So why are they living right next to the ocean?

But it's cool that they included a lot of animals that you don't usually see in cartoons. Like Maribou storks and spoonbills. Get some of those interesting African animals in there!

But the part that really caught me was Two Worlds - the opening. I've always loved that scene. But for some reason it really got me this time. Maybe because I know gorillas so much better now. But it's such a powerful segment. The plight of Tarzan's parents is so tragic. They survived a shipwreck and worked together to build a safe have for their son. But they didn't make it any farther.

 

Okay, I tried looking this up, and I had not luck. These three movies: Tarzan. Treasure Planet, and Peter Pan 2. Something about the character animation feels very similar to me. One of the key animators must have worked in all three of those movies. But I don't know how to find out without looking up every animator!

Characters that are Hard to Stomach

Sometimes movies seem to think they have to dumb down some aspects to appeal to kids. One thing they often do is throw in characters that are overly obnoxious, or dumb. 

I kinda have mixed feelings about this. Because of course some real people are genuinely annoying. Though they often intensify it in movies/cartoons.

But it sucks when I'm trying to watch a movie with someone (especially parents), and most of it is really good except for a couple characters that are irritating or distracting. That makes them lose interest pretty quick.

Tasting a Bit of Another Language

I'm not a linguist. I can scrape by with some Spanish and Japanese, and that's about it. But it's fascinating to see how differently languages can work. For writers, it's a great way to develop different forms of communication.

I just read something about the Russian language The book is called Sacred Horses: The Memoirs of a Turkmen Cowboy). Specifically it talks about words that relate to going places. Walking, or swimming or flying for example. Russian uses a different word for "walking" if you're going to walk one way to a place. And a different word if you're going to walk in a round trip. Or if it's a walk you regularly make. Or even a trip you usually return from. 

 

And now, because I can, I'm gonna throw a bunch of lions at you.This is mom and son. And the son is like a super model. Look at this one. He could be in a shampoo commercial. 

 

 

 

 

 

How books Survive

An interesting video about books.