Wow. I just finished up this film as we speak. What a breath of fresh air. All the comparisons to Studio Ghibli and Hiyao Miyazaki are spot-on. I don't know anything about the people who created The Princess and the Pilot, but bravo!
On the surface this is the story of a pilot assigned with escorting a princess across a vast and hostile ocean. You will not find thousands of different set pieces, there are no shocking or traumatic plot schemes. But what this film does it does oh-so-beautifully. The set serves the major plot perfectly (oh and the sets are gorgeous.
It's about the responsibilities and trappings of adulthood and nobility, of perhaps youthful and perhaps sincere yearning. It's also a very entertaining adventure ride. Watching this movie is like taking a rafting trip down a river in spring.
It's also a subdued romance. That is the backbone of this beautiful tale. It's one of survival, destiny and free will, of responsibility, pragmatism and dare I say love.
The animation is smooth and appealing and very reminiscent of Studio Ghibli. The gunships and environments are amazingly well-done. Admittedly I am a sucker for any films shot mostly in nature, so I may be biased in that regard because literally 75% of the movie is wonderful cloud, ocean and sky shots. You'll see waterfalls, animals, tropical islands, all kinds of cool stuff and all incredibly detailed in just the right ways.
The attention to detail is magnificent. The script is intelligent, absorbing and thought provoking. You will feel for and take a liking to both of the main characters. At first I was upset there was no English dub because I actually am not the biggest fan of subtitles, but I love this movie so much the subtitles don't bother me a bit! And the script is just so good that after a few minutes I didn't even notice it anymore.
You might watch this and find it uneventful, or feel like there was not a high enough peak for your tastes, you very well might be disappointed with the ending. But to me this movie is perfection. Every moment is in a way a celebration of adulthood - of self-control and awareness and that child-like dreaming that we never lose. To me the ending is perfect as well. The only point I would knock off are for the first 20 minutes of getting the plot setup, I wish the first 20 minutes was done slightly differently but its just a minor nitpick from an armchair quarterback.
Stellar piece of work.
On the surface this is the story of a pilot assigned with escorting a princess across a vast and hostile ocean. You will not find thousands of different set pieces, there are no shocking or traumatic plot schemes. But what this film does it does oh-so-beautifully. The set serves the major plot perfectly (oh and the sets are gorgeous.
It's about the responsibilities and trappings of adulthood and nobility, of perhaps youthful and perhaps sincere yearning. It's also a very entertaining adventure ride. Watching this movie is like taking a rafting trip down a river in spring.
It's also a subdued romance. That is the backbone of this beautiful tale. It's one of survival, destiny and free will, of responsibility, pragmatism and dare I say love.
The animation is smooth and appealing and very reminiscent of Studio Ghibli. The gunships and environments are amazingly well-done. Admittedly I am a sucker for any films shot mostly in nature, so I may be biased in that regard because literally 75% of the movie is wonderful cloud, ocean and sky shots. You'll see waterfalls, animals, tropical islands, all kinds of cool stuff and all incredibly detailed in just the right ways.
The attention to detail is magnificent. The script is intelligent, absorbing and thought provoking. You will feel for and take a liking to both of the main characters. At first I was upset there was no English dub because I actually am not the biggest fan of subtitles, but I love this movie so much the subtitles don't bother me a bit! And the script is just so good that after a few minutes I didn't even notice it anymore.
You might watch this and find it uneventful, or feel like there was not a high enough peak for your tastes, you very well might be disappointed with the ending. But to me this movie is perfection. Every moment is in a way a celebration of adulthood - of self-control and awareness and that child-like dreaming that we never lose. To me the ending is perfect as well. The only point I would knock off are for the first 20 minutes of getting the plot setup, I wish the first 20 minutes was done slightly differently but its just a minor nitpick from an armchair quarterback.
Stellar piece of work.