As far as I am able to tell, Disney has refused to distribute only two of Studio Ghibli's films. One is Isao Takahata's masterpiece "Grave of the Fireflies", which is understandable considering that a film is about two children dying in a war, which might be too much for Disney's image. The other film is also Takahata's direction, "Only Yesterday" (Omohide poro poro, 1991). However, unlike with "Grave of the Fireflies" I fail to see any reason why Disney would be against this one.
The story is about a woman named Taeko, who works in a city and during her holidays travels to the country to visit her childhood hometown. On her way from the crowded streets back to the quiet country side, Taeko starts to go through her memories of when she was a child. The film itself doesn't have much of a plot to reveal because it is the little things in the film that matter. Taeko doesn't get dragged in a huge adventure with the faith of the world on her shoulders and she doesn't have some amazing achievement or dark secret in her past. The things she has gone through in her past and the things she goes through present are all simple everyday things that I am sure most people can appreciate and relate to.
It is once again viewers' emotions that Takahata strikes. Where "Grave of the Fireflies" made viewers cry for the unfairness of life, "Only Yesterday" will make you smile. It is a simple little film pointing out how the littlest things in life are the ones worth living: the first time you tasted an exotic fruit, went to a popular place, had your first crush to that cute boy/girl in your school, and other things. It also shows how sometimes it is good to go back and revisit those events of your life.
Technically the film offers once again the best of animations from Studio Ghibli and the brilliant voice acting (this only goes for Japanese audio, I have no idea what the English one sounds like). Also worth mentioning is Masaru Hoshi's beautiful piano music.
Once again Isao Takahata has managed to make a film that hits the emotions of the viewers, this time causing nostalgia, and random happiness. I remember seeing this film first time and how it caused me to smile the following hours (which didn't stop until I started watching Galaxy Express 999, which I also saw for the first time that day). A simple, lovely film from Studio Ghibli, far more for adults than children. Which might be the reason why Disney is not distributing this.
The story is about a woman named Taeko, who works in a city and during her holidays travels to the country to visit her childhood hometown. On her way from the crowded streets back to the quiet country side, Taeko starts to go through her memories of when she was a child. The film itself doesn't have much of a plot to reveal because it is the little things in the film that matter. Taeko doesn't get dragged in a huge adventure with the faith of the world on her shoulders and she doesn't have some amazing achievement or dark secret in her past. The things she has gone through in her past and the things she goes through present are all simple everyday things that I am sure most people can appreciate and relate to.
It is once again viewers' emotions that Takahata strikes. Where "Grave of the Fireflies" made viewers cry for the unfairness of life, "Only Yesterday" will make you smile. It is a simple little film pointing out how the littlest things in life are the ones worth living: the first time you tasted an exotic fruit, went to a popular place, had your first crush to that cute boy/girl in your school, and other things. It also shows how sometimes it is good to go back and revisit those events of your life.
Technically the film offers once again the best of animations from Studio Ghibli and the brilliant voice acting (this only goes for Japanese audio, I have no idea what the English one sounds like). Also worth mentioning is Masaru Hoshi's beautiful piano music.
Once again Isao Takahata has managed to make a film that hits the emotions of the viewers, this time causing nostalgia, and random happiness. I remember seeing this film first time and how it caused me to smile the following hours (which didn't stop until I started watching Galaxy Express 999, which I also saw for the first time that day). A simple, lovely film from Studio Ghibli, far more for adults than children. Which might be the reason why Disney is not distributing this.