Posted on 04/11/2018 8:53:55 AM PDT by Simon Green
(A film adaptation of Kiki's Delivery Service by Studio Ghibli became one of the animation studio's most loved films)
Eiko Kadono's playful tales about a young witch and her furry companion have entertained generations of Japanese readers, and have now earned her one of the highest honours in children's literature.
Last month the 83-year-old was awarded the 2018 Hans Christian Andersen Award, sometimes called the Little Nobel Prize for Literature.
The jury described the "ineffable charm" of Ms Kadono's picture books and novels, deeply rooted in Japan.
She was inspired to write her most famous series - Kiki's Delivery Service or Majo no Takkyubin in Japanese - after her young daughter drew a picture of a witch with musical notes flying around it.
"I made Kiki around the same age as my daughter was at that time, just between childhood and adulthood," Ms Kadono said, according to the Asahi Shimbun.
"It's all about this kid getting to fly with her own magic."
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
Great fish out of water tale. Nice to see a new version with the advances in animation technology.
Daughters, wife, and I love this one. It’s a wonderful simple tale of growing up.
My girls were extremely ticked when I came home with a stuffed cat of Jiji in a cage from Japan and told them it was for MY desk and not them...course they were both over 18 by then :)
One of my wife’s favorite movies.
>> Studio Ghibli<<
I love everything Studio Ghibli puts out. I always watch them in the original Japanese with English subtitles, which is the ONLY way to watch Japanese movies (a lot of emotions gets left out in translation).
I have every movie they have put out and a few related movies.
I found Ponyo to be a little odd and disturbing.
I think it was the Liam Neeson, who was horribly miscast in the English version.
And I ain’t going near the Firefly movie with the dead kids.
No need to seek out sadness.
>>And I ain’t going near the Firefly movie with the dead kids<<
“Graveyard of the Fireflies” — one of the best movies ever made.
But should be seen exactly once and never if you are already sad — you will just want to kill yourself afterwards.
I will never watch it again but I am enriched for having seen it.
RE: “Grave of the Fireflies” - I think everyone who’s seen it (including me) has the same reaction - “Amazing film... but I will NEVER watch that again!”
By the way, speaking of Studio Ghibli, don’t ignore the non-Miyazaki films. “Only Yesterday” by Isao Takahata (who just passed away) is a truly wonderful film, as is “Whisper Of The Heart” and their last (?) film, “When Marnie Was There.”
>>. “Only Yesterday” by Isao Takahata (who just passed away) is a truly wonderful film, as is “Whisper Of The Heart” and their last (?) film, “When Marnie Was There.”<<
I have seen “Whisper.” I need to go back and find some of the others.
I think the thing about Ghibli is that all of the films have heart. They speak deeply to our humanity and our capacity for love and compassion in ways that are hard to describe for people who have not seen the films.
There is a consistent anti-war, anti-violence theme but it is always from a POV of love, not finger-wagging. Violence in defense of the weak and/or defenseless is not only used but frequently emphasized and applauded.
Now I have to go back and binge watch my Ghibli library — see you all in a week or so.
Utterly a gut punch but like you said, Graveyard of the Fireflies is excellent but something you only watch once.
She’s 83 years old and doesn’t even have a WRINKLE on her face. They have something figured out there...maybe not having Third World immigrants is the key?
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