Whisper of the Heart
|
List Price: Our Price: $23.99 You Save: $6.00 (20%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $20.94 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of Whisper of the Heart
Movie Review: Not one of their stronger releases
Summary: 3 Stars
It's always strange reviewing certain movies because you keep feeling like you're going to get lynched if you badmouth it. While most just simply say "don't buy this, buy teh creed!!!111", others go into heavy detail about why it wasn't one of their favorites. Whisper of the Heart of course has a charm about it and there's obviously nothing offensive about it such as bad acting, dialogue and such but there wasn't that kind of wonder and magic I got from Totoro, Spirited Away or even Nausicaa.
Shizuki is a high school student who impresses many with her poetry, does her chores and reads a lot of books but she's quite unhappy. She meets Seiji, a violin maker which at first she gets off on the wrong foot with but then starts to like him. Eventually she gets inspired to write a story based on the Baron, a strange cat statue found in a shop.
Many people say Spirited Away is the best Studio Ghibli film while it does have its detractors with usually a common complaint: its length. The film clocked in at a sliver over 2 hours. The Cat Returns, Whisper's "sequel", was at a small 1 hour and 10 or so. Whisper is at around an hour 50 and it does feel like it at times. So much stuff happened but it ultimately doesn't propel the story forward it's just a lot of stuff. The Baron in his chatty form shows up past the hour mark and his appearance is cameo at best.
Will kids love it though? I don't know, it has none of the magic that previous Ghibli films had. It's at least worth a rental but it's hard to recommend if you're thinking it's going to be another Totoro or Spirited Away.
Movie Review: Master piece!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm a writer and my goal in this career i have chosen is to tell stories about people and emotions and the things we go through in life.
having watched all the ghibli films released in america, i can say that this is probably my favorite next to spirited away.
words can't describe the sheer nakedness of the story and how the company has captured the innocent nature of "young adults".
i have noticed that all ghibli films touch on the human aspect of development and the coming of age story.
the characters act like real people and the movements and gestures make it seem more full than most anime.
i won't describe the plot since many below me have already done that. i just wanted to tell my experience with this film.
i purchased it the day it came out. along with howls moving castle.
i went home and watched it first. it totally captivated me and embraced me with it's honest feelings and truthfullness.
i highly recommend seeing this movie.
here's hope that ghibli and disney will release the other "lost" gems from their collection. "only yesterday" and "ocean waves"
cheers!
Movie Review: Charming Story - Outstanding Animation - Good Family Movie
Summary: 5 Stars
Set in the suburbs of Tokyo, "Whisper of the Heart" is a story of finding ones place in the real world and of finding one's first true love. The teenage main character, Shizuku, wants to be a writer and is seeking her place in the world. While she is a voracious reader, she reads only fantasy which tends to skew her world view. After meeting a hansome boy, Seiji, who both infuriates and intrigues her, Shizuku sets a personal goal. Because Seiji knows he wants to study violin making in Italy and is going there for a short apprenticeship to see if he has the skills, Shizuku sets a goal of writing a story by the time he returns in order to know conclusively if she should be a writer. During the course of Whisper of the Heart, she learns that life and love is not as easy as in a storybook but that with hard work, one may find true love and happiness in real life as well as in stories. A subplot is Shizuku's relationship with Seiji's Grandfather who serves as the voice of wisdom and experience. He teaches her that many beautiful things are hidden and may only be exposed with hard work. He also teaches that life does not always give a happy ending.
Other than the scene showing Shizuku's writing, the story has none of the strange characters, magic, or fantastic settings of other Studio Ghibli U.S. releases. (In my opinion, some of their best real-life style stories such as "Omoide Poro Poro" do not translate well into American culture or the American market.) The animation is fantastic, which I attribute to the detail Studio Ghibli includes. This is the film which gave rise to "The Cat's Return" and several of the characters are found in both (the Baron, Muuta).
Regardless of the subject matter, I was easily caught up in the story and found it quite compelling. My wife and I often set the language to Japanese with subtitles (my Japanese is abysmal) and as we found with "Kiki's Delivery Service," the translation of the Japanese dialog is better than what was written for the English version. Those with some knowledge of Japanese culture will notice some other facets of that culture which underlie the story. These include studying for the High School admission tests and the "Goodbyes" of long-time classmates following junior high school. I found this to be a good family movie and highly recommend it, particularly to anyone with teenage daughters.
Movie Review: Searching for your goals...
Summary: 5 Stars
Whisper of the Heart is a wonderful story about a schoolgirl, Shizuku, who is worried about her future. What will she be? What can she do? When she meets Seiji, a mysterious boy who seems to be able to do anything, her fears for her future increases. So she starts out to follow her dreams, to see how far she can get. Will she prove able to meet her goals and fulfill her dreams or will she fail, lost and with no direction in life?
In addition to the main plot there is also a touch of romance and fantasy. The two disc set includes some special features but don't buy it for the extras. The movie is the one and only reason to buy the set. Brought to us by the folks of Studio Ghibli (Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro) which is a studio I feel great respect for. They really make good anime, with high standards and touching stories that don't talk down to the viewers, be they adults or kids.
Movie Review: Not sure what target audience this is for.
Summary: 3 Stars
After watching Studio Ghibli/Mizayaki's other movies for elementary school and adult audiences, I'm not sure what this one's target audience is. I'd say Japanese middle school girls. It's got romance, romance, and did I say romance? There is the usual high quality Japanese animation, and the contemporary Japanese setting. The usual American audience is going to find this movie very boring, no action, no magic, just romance, romance, and did I say middle school romance?