of Ghibli's new work, adaptation of British children's literature
It has been two years since "Ponyo on the Cliff" came out. This summer, Studio Ghibli's latest masterpiece for animation fans large and small is adapted from A fantasy story of European children's literature--"Arietty the Little Borrower".
After the completion of "Ponyo Girl", Hayao Miyazaki immediately began to consider the subject matter of his next work. After repeated consideration, he chose "The Little Man under the Floor" by British female writer Mary Norton. Published in 1952, the novel features minifigures, only ten centimeters tall, who make a living by surreptitiously borrowing items from humans. In the tide of the popularity of magic works at that time, the villain who lived in the daily world of mankind and had no "superpower" blew a new wind, and the novel won the British authoritative children's literature award "Carnegie Award". Author Mary Norton lived through the Great Depression and World War, and lived a life of embarrassment and displacement. She gave her characters fresh vitality and encouraged young readers to be proactive. Following The Little Man under the Floor, Norton has written several villain stories to form the Little Man on Borrowing series, which in 2007 was voted the most important children's book of the past seven decades. one of the novels.
Japan began to translate and publish the series as early as the 1950s, and Hayao Miyazaki read "The Little Man under the Floor" as early as in his twenties. He fell in love with this novel at once, and longed to make it into an animation one day. It has been forty years since the wish came true. Ghibli moved the stage setting of the story from Europe to Japan, creating a lovely and allegorical animated film.
Adhering to the tradition of Ghibli, Arrietty the Borrower is simple and full of childlike interest, and at the same time, it tells a big and deep theme inadvertently. Through borrowed miniatures, our accustomed sense of "owning it for ourselves" is questioned. There are all kinds of creatures coexisting in nature. Humans, animals, and plants all borrow resources from nature. Perhaps their own things and other people's things cannot be separated at all. Perhaps the human beings living in nature and the villains who borrow things are essentially incompatible. the difference. What is particularly interesting is that there is no concept of "money" in the world of villains. They cannot get goods and services by paying money. Everything must be done by themselves. This kind of life seems hard but also full of other fun. .
Compared with many of Ghibli's previous masterpieces, this new work also has many novelties. The protagonists of this film are the miniature girl Arrietty and the frail and sickly human boy Sho. Arrietty's family is not well-off but has a full life. In contrast, the big house where Xiang lives is empty and unused. He is very lonely as he doesn't like to communicate with his family. Boys and girls of different races gradually develop feelings after a chance encounter, but their hearts are shaken. The protagonists in Hayao Miyazaki's works often fall in love at the moment of encounter, and such emotional bridges are quite rare. In addition, the new work focuses on the relationship between Arrietty and her father Pod. Looking back, the father in "My Neighbor Totoro" is more like a daughter's friend, while the father's presence in "Spirited Away" is very thin. Such a positive portrayal of the father-daughter relationship can be said to be unprecedented in the history of Ghibli. .
Hayao Miyazaki retired to the second-tier junior animator as
the director. Miyazaki Hayao, who is almost old, retired this time to write the script for the new work. The director is only 37-year-old Mirin Hiroshi.
Mirin Hongchang, nicknamed "Maru" within Ghibli, entered the studio in 1996 and chose Ghibli because he especially appreciated the youthful feeling of "Hearing the Sound of the Waves". Mirin has participated in the original painting work of "Spirited Away", "Howl's Moving Castle", "Ponyo on the Cliff", and served as the deputy director of the painting director in "Earth-Sea Battle". A series of scenes in "Ponyo Girl" in which Ponyo left Fujimoto's house and sat on the land with a big fish was written and painted by Mirin. Hayao Miyazaki spoke highly of this scene and said that since he has the ability to draw this scene He has reached the level of being a director.
"The Villain Arrietty Who Borrowed Things" is Milin Hongchang's directorial debut, and he is responsible for character design, storyboards and various coordination work. He Chuan Ai and Yamashita Akihiko, the two drawing supervisors under Milin's command, are both senior animators. He Chuan has participated in the production of almost all Ghibli works. Yamashita was the drawing supervisor of "Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ". "Spirited Away" began to join Ghibli's original painting work, which was highly praised by Hayao Miyazaki. In addition, the art directors Wu Chungyoji and Yoshida Sheng in the main creative team are also industry experts who have won the Tokyo Animation Award.
Milin Hongchang said that he intends to depict our world in the eyes of the villain, and make the world look fresh and fresh, so as to leave a touch of warmth in the hearts of the audience. At the first preview, Miyazaki was sitting in the back row of Mirin, and Mirin was worried that the master-level senior would be dissatisfied and angry after watching it. After the film, however, Miyazaki raised his hand to Mirin, who turned back, praising his success.
What can't be ignored is that the film's dubbing lineup is also very strong. The two protagonists are "endorsed" by the young and powerful stars Shida Miku and Kamiki Takanosuke respectively. It was the first time for Shida to participate in Ghibli's work. Mirin kept comparing the voices of many actors and finally selected her, and Kamiki Ryunosuke has very rich dubbing experience. He is already the fifth time for Ghibli animation. Dubbed. In addition, three generations of big-name actors, such as Otake Shinobi, Miura Yuka, Fujiwara Ryuya, and Shu Xilin, are also willing to join in, adding a lot to the film.
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