Vistors to Kobe Japan will now be greeted by the sight of a 60-foot statue of Gigantor (Testsujin 28-go, to those in the know). This follows the unveiling of a 59-foot Gundam in Tokyo.

Not to be left out, Korea is building a gigantic Taekwon V statue (aka Voltar the Invincible), that will reportedly be more than twice the height of the Statue of Liberty.

Is there any chance we can construct a 60-foot Frankenstein Jr. in Manhattan?

(via Gizmodo, by way of The Beat)

Joshua Smith, who has introduced me to lots of great anime over the years, wrote to let me know about some recent discoveries he made on YouTube: Kitty’s Studio (1959) and Kitty’s Graffiti (1957), two shorts animated by Yasuji Mori. I’ve embedded them below.

Joshua writes:

These were produced during a time in which Toei was just gearing up it’s attempt to become the “Disney” of Japan, a feat that probably would not have succeeded without the talent of Yasuji Mori. He was probably the greatest Japanese character animator of his generation, stressing the concepts of appeal, solid construction, and moveability in his character design and animation. As the most influential mentor at Toei, he passed his skills on to subsequent generations of Toei animators such as Yasuo Otsuka, Gisaburo Sugii, and Hayao Miyazaki.

Kitty’s Studio

He continues:

Most prewar and postwar Japanese animation up to this point was rather crude, so it’s striking to see Japanese animation at a level of quality that equals or surpasses much American short animation from the same time period. These shorts clearly contain a great deal of Western influence, but have a distinct approach that makes them feel exotic. Without further context, it seems like this style of animation appeared from a vacuum. On the weekend that sees the American release of Miyazaki’s latest film, it’s interesting to ponder what the state of Japanese animation might be like today without Mori’s influence.

Josh is spot-on when he writes about the distinct approach.The filmmaking choices in these cartoons are very odd and un-Western. In the cartoon below, the face of the main character is not shown from a three-quarter or front view until well over two minutes in the cartoon, even though he’s onscreen for much of that time. I can’t think of a single example of when that’s happened in a Hollywood theatrical short.

Kitty’s Graffiti

Hayao Miyazaki’s latest feature opens today in the United States. I reviewed it here last month. Now its your turn to tell us what you think. Only readers who’ve seen the film can post in our comments section below.

Move over, Speed Racer! Here comes the trailer for Tailenders:

The plotline here: A serious accident requires a driver to have his heart replaced with the engine of his own racing car. And I thought Turbo Teen was wild!

Despite my love and devotion to The Merry Marvel Marching Society, I have to admit these new Marvel Comic anime trailers are pretty kick-ass cool:

(Thanks, Red Pill Junkie)

I had an opportunity to join selected journalists at a Hayao Miyazaki-John Lasseter press conference held yesterday (7/28) before their appearence at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences last night. I also shot some video (sorry for the shakey hand held camera work, and the low audio) and thought it was worth sharing with our readers. In this first part below Miyazaki talks about using (or not using) CG and his chances of making a film in 3-D. Lasseter discusses the process of dubbing a Miyazaki’s films. Interesting to note they’ve already dubbed Tales From Earthsea.

In the second part, Lasseter discusses 3-D animated films; Miyazaki talks about what’s happening with his son:

In the third part, John Lasseter discusses his admiration of Miyazaki’s films, his reaction to the first one he saw, Castle of Cagliostro, Miyazaki’s influence in Pixar films, and why he wants to bring Miyazaki’s films to the US:

Hayao Miyazaki didn’t come to the United States in 2003 to accept his Oscar for Spirited Away because of his opposition to the Iraq War, he recently told the LA Times:

“The reason I wasn’t here for the Academy Award was because I didn’t want to visit a country that was bombing Iraq. At the time, my producer shut me up and did not allow me to say that, but I don’t see him around today. By the way, my producer also shared in that feeling.”

Critic Daniel Thomas MacInnes offers some context to Miyazaki’s actions on The Ghibli Blog:

It should be common knowledge to any serious Miyazaki scholar that he abhorred not only the Iraq War, but war itself. The idea of violence is depicted in his work as violent tragedy, slapstick mockery, or both…I don’t think very many Westerners know that the war in Howl’s Moving Castle was itself a reflection on the Iraq War. It was a comment on that war, viewed through the lens of Miyazaki’s long career.

I just saw the most surreal film released under the Walt Disney banner since… I dunno, The Three Caballeros?

Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo is strictly a kids film (4-9 years old) and I think they’ll dig it. But adult viewers may end up scratching their heads and think they are stoned - or seriously wish they were. I struggled with its simplistic narrative during the first half hour, then I gave in to its child’s-eye point of view, let go of my adult expectations, and just sat back and enjoyed the insanity. There’s a lot of insanity …but a lot to enjoy as well.

At its core, Ponyo is an sweet, old fashioned fairy tale - albeit one about inter-species love between two five-year-olds (one a former goldfish-with-a-human-head who runs away from home), laced with pro-environmental messages. The animation and imagination on display is wonderful, but the characters do not have much depth, and their motivations are poorly explained. Ponyo’s “father” is an “evil Wizard” (her words) wearing a striped suit and ascot, looking like a refugee from Haight-Ashbury, 1968. Ponyo’s “mother” is a beautiful giant goddess of calm and wisdom - right out of those early Toei animated features of the 1960s, the ones based on ancient Asian myths and legends.

The artwork itself is strange - its not as sophisticated as recent Miyazaki epics. The backgrounds have a simple pastel crayon-like quality, which is cool; the character design of Ponyo shifts throughout the film from standard Miyazaki design (think Mei from Totoro) to something out of a later John Hubley/Tissa David/Michael Sporn independent films. Not that there’s anything wrong with it - in fact, I found that quite refreshing.

Going in, I hoped this feature might have the potential of being Miyazaki’s most widely accessible (to western audiences) film, but it isn’t. It seems to be even more steeped in Japanese folklore and cultural sensibility than Spirited Away, once again challenging established Hollywood “rules” of narrative storytelling.

With all this in mind, I do recommend the Ponyo experience, especially to small kids and parents of young children. The good news is that Miyazaki is still making “classic” Japanese anime features that push the medium and can blow your mind… just this time don’t forget your meds.