I go to the cinema pretty regularly, and since I do so to be entertained I mostly ignore the blockbusters. It’s difficult not to be sceptical towards Hollywood fare, it’s mired in the pursuit of the latest fad, and the industry has largely sequestered its auteurs away from the biggest budgets, where they can do less harm with their eccentricities. Thing is, I like a good blockbuster, it’s just that in practise most of them turn out a bit rubbish.
Why is this relevant subject matter on an anime blog? Because of the release in cinema’s of Howl’s Moving Castle a few years ago; a flawed piece of filmmaking which doubles as a superb cinematic experience. As one of those chaps who got into anime via Miyazaki I feel a fair bit of nostalgia for my first viewing of Howl. Since its release I’ve rewatched it on the small screen, and despite liking it, just knew it wasn’t the same, wasn’t big enough.
Howl is not entirely satisfying, even on the big screen. The story concludes rather messily, and I found myself wondering whether something had been lost in the adaptation to the screen. Still, I think it’s one of the great widescreen experiences of the decade. All those massive Lord of the Rings battles can take a hike if I can keep that moment when Howl flies out of his front door into the flaming battlefield, or the instant when the camera flies into the guts of an airship above the garden sanctum. The film is stuffed full of the visually sublime.
Even in the cinema I knew for most of the duration that Miyazaki had done better. But when it hit the peaks and kicked into top gear, it had me 100%. Unlike Earthsea, perhaps no worse in plotting (another questionable adaptation), but not so sexy. Earthsea’s world didn’t offer quite the same capacity for ludicrous flights of pure expression, and as a feature film it didn’t offer enough introspection regarding that world to compensate for the lack of bells and whistles.
Do I get that same widescreen kick on my tv or computer? No. At best what I get is like a pop single on a crap car radio, it is a kick, it isn’t widescreen. Soul Eater is my latest poppy thrill, and I really care about the quality of the video I get there, the pure slickness helps to lubricate (sorry) the adrenaline rush. As mentioned in the comments here, if Naruto was being made by BONES, it would be a different beast altogether. Budget matters, and it isn’t just animation that’s affected, it’s art, it’s image. We’re in an image based medium, not every series demands an uber budget, but some do. And even when they don’t need them, they usually benefit significantly (like Kurenai).
CGI rarely does it for me anymore. Last time I was genuinely blown away was by Danny Boyle’s thriller in space Sunshine. Which, oddly, isn’t that fresh or ambitious visually, just bold and graceful with its effects budget. I guess that’s how I get the kick, less through the latest innovation than through being overwhelmed - seeing primary colours like I’ve never seen them before.
Animation is great for this, frankly CG can’t currently compete - the colours aren’t so pretty. I find the sheen, the sense of a disjunction between live action and the special effects, distracting. Where some people came to anime for story reasons (like serial structuring), I came for more superficial reasons. Namely the belief that the fantastic could be more effectively realised in animation (which is mostly for kids shows round here).
I’ve seen big screen Spirited Away twice, it’s the origin of my interest in anime. It is better than Howl, and just as lovely. Howl may not be a great film, but it is the work of a man whose visual flair has never really been in question. While he was still active it was absolutely for the best that he was given the chance to express himself in the biggest arenas - if all he produced that final time around was a widescreen kick, and not a classic story, then hell, it’s still magnificent on those terms.
What matters in widescreen is the visionary, and how thoroughly that visual judgement is backed by the studio. Visual flair doesn’t just distract from plot weaknesses, it offers an entirely different type of entertainment. For something like Howl, the way to fulfil that potential isn’t just a big budget, it is the cinema. Cinematic releases are a way to watch which can improve the work - making it bigger, clearer, louder. Anime is an ideal medium for widescreen entertainment, cinematic releases may well be the best way to impress the world.
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