miyazaki does lucas

Hayao Miyazaki's latest, Howl's Moving Castle, opens tomorrow in the USA (limited release). I saw it today at the Pacific Film Archive, and had mixed reactions.

It has many of the trademark Miyazaki elements we keep going back for: magic, romance, Edwardian Europe, flying, mega mecha, and cute characters. But that's also the problem. Even more so than with The Cat Returns, I taste retread.

The plot and character development are incoherent. I'm tempted to compare Miyazaki with Lucas here — but more on that later. Characters go from evil to good, young to old, strong to weak — all at the flip of a coin. Conflicts are not resolved; they're dissolved by one of the characters flashing puppy-dog eyes. I got the feeling that everyone involved in the making of the movie had read the book multiple times, and assumed the audience would have too. I have not.

It seems Miyazaki's career is in reverse. Beginning with epic, romantic, yet nuanced pieces like Nausicaä and Castle in the Sky, he moved on to mature works like Totoro and Porco Rosso. He had his worldwide breakthroughs with Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away, and then lapsed into juvenile, derivative action-fantasy with Cat Returns and Howl's.

Compare this to the careers of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, his juniors in age, but seniors in filmmaking. Yes, I am implying that Episodes I & II are better movies than Cat Returns and Howl's. They are quite different in taste and execution, but they have the same target audience in the States. Star Wars has better special effects, and better character development (never thought I'd say that). Sure, Lucas lacks Miyazaki's touch, but it seems Miyazaki is less sure of himself these days as well. It's no coincidence that the opening shot of Howl's is the same as the first shot of the climactic battle sequence in Phantom Menace. Imagine: Miyazaki looking to Lucas for inspiration!

If Miyazaki were just starting out, I'd say he shows promise. If he could overcome the gristmill that all major animation studios become, his subtle vision might shine through. But, more than any other studio since Disney, Ghibli is his studio, and he has produced visionary works before. Oh, to have been there when Nausicaä was first released.