Animated Movie That Was a Pleasant Surprise

My Neighbour Totoro (1988)

I was incredibly late to the party with this one to say the least! I have been gradually watching through the Studio Ghibli collection over the years and in January this year, I watched this incredible film for the first time. I know to always expect great things when I watch a Studio Ghibli feature, but this was honestly a pleasant surprise and exceeded all expectation - I was truly blown away by the magic of "My Neighbour Totoro." It is hardly surprising that Totoro became such an important symbol of Studio Ghibli in much the same way as Mickey Mouse.

In terms of story, not very much actually happens in the film, but it's the small, slice-of-life moments depicted throughout that are its true strength. The first twenty-five minutes are perfect, in my opinion, from the opening tune which gave me a strong nostalgic feeling that I couldn't quite explain to the introduction of Totoro and some more fantastical elements. As mentioned, the opening song "Hey, Lets Go!" is perfectly suited to the coming-of-age themes of the movie, providing an uplifting introduction to the world of Totoro.

The plot follows two young Japanese sisters that have just moved to their new home with their father, in order to be closer to their mother, who is very ill in hospital. The film starts with their arrival in the area on the back of a moving truck, before they arrive at their new house and begin to explore, whist the father deals with the grown up stuff. Fantasy is soon injected into the plot as we are introduced to the "soot sprites" - harmless spirits that live in old dusty houses, as explained by "Granny" one of their new neighbours. Soon afterwards, four-year-old Mei encounters Totoro, a large animal spirit, alongside two smaller, similar spirits. There comes a point in the film where it feels like events may take a darker turn ala "Bridge to Terabithia" but thankfully the movie chooses to keep the spirit of this fantastical world alive in all the right ways.

What I enjoy most about this film is when I put it on Netflix, my three-year-old son is captivated for the first twenty or so minutes. He knows exactly when the soot sprites are about to make an appearance so, as the scene approaches, he moves behind the arm of the couch - I think because the music swells for a brief period when they first burst out.

I cannot recommend this film enough if you have young kids or if you appreciate the art of animation yourself - it has quickly injected itself into my "Top 5 List” of favourite animated films. My fiancée will attest to the fact that I have had "My Neighbour Totoro” on our TV about thirty times this year already and, as if I wasn't obsessed enough, I have even went to a screening at Vue Cinema.

Favourite Pokémon

Bulbasaur

What more do I need to say? Ash's Bulbasaur was an absolute beast when he was introduced in the original anime, quickly becoming my favourite. Pikachu gets so much of the attention and glory as the series mascot, but Bulbasaur is one of the best Pokémon in the entire series.

Stand-out moments for the anime character was his resistance when all of his fellow Bulbasaur were ritualistically evolving into Ivysaur around him (Bulbasaur's Mysterious Garden S1 E51) and a commendable battle in the Pokemon League, beating a Beedrill and Scyther (The Fourth Round Rumble S1 E77)

Bulbasaur has one of the best designs of the Pokemon starters. It uses a combination of complimentary colours within its design, as well as a lots of curves, lending well to the animation principle of appeal which dictates that every line, curve and colour should contribute to how pleasant a character looks.

As a side note, Bulbasaur is also a solid pick for starter in Red & Blue as it has an advantage against many of the early gyms leaders and doesn't really get a type disadvantage until Blaine on Cinnabar Island.

Favourite Animal Character in Animation

Mushu (Mulan, 1998)

Mushu is the selfish and motormouthed Chinese dragon companion of the main character, Fa Mulan. He is, by far, the stand-out performance in 1998's Mulan, owed largely to a great performance from Eddie Murphy.

Murphy would later go on to provide the voice of Donkey in Shrek, a very memorable role that he may well ss have been considered for because of his performance as Mushu.

Murphy is much better known in animation for the role of Donkey than he is Mushu. However, if you analys! both performances, they aren't all that far removed from each other - Funnily enough Donkey would marry a dragon in the Shrek series. Initially conceived as two dragons then later a two-headed dragon, Mushu was finally developed as a single-headed, physically-diminutive dragon, that is impulsive to his detriment.

Mushu - a demoted Fa Family ancestor - joins Mulan as her guardian when he inadvertently destroys the stone dragon that was originally chosen to guide and protect her on her journey into the Chinese army. He is introduced as an incense burner in the Fa Family Temple and it is soon revealed he serves as a servant to the ancestors- a consequence of his ineptitude leading to the death of a Fa ancestor. As previously mentioned, his own lack of care around the stone dragon also leads to its destruction and Mushu takes the position but only to fulfil his own selfish desire.

Mulan is one of the first movies that I remember being taken to see in the cinema (in the Barrbridge Showcase) I also remember being taken to the nearby Mcdonalds afterwards and upon asking the staff, getting the Shan Yu toy - undoubtedly the best in the collection. Toys in Mcdonalds today aren't even comparable to the 90s and 00s.

I recently noticed during trips to Disneyland Paris that Mushu is quite a popular figure amongst the merchandise, which is different from Disney World in Orlando - I can only assume he was particularly well received in France when the film was released.

Favourite Underrated Animated Movie

The Road to El Dorado (2000)

This Dreamworks movie from 2000 doesn't get anywhere near the credit it deserves - the animation is as beautiful as any of the renowned Disney Renaissance features of the 90s and the music is equally as entertaining.

I had initially considered "The Emperors New Groove" but I soon realised that it still has a sizable fanbase, being a Disney movie, and isn't as overlooked as El Dorado has been. From writers Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio, the movie follows two con-men that find a map to the lost City of Gold, El Dorado. Eventually they arrive at the city, following the map and stowing away on a ship belonging to colonist Hernan Cortes. Upon their arrival they are mistaken for gods and find themselves scheming to leave with much of El Dorado's fortunes with them.

Even the songs in this film are highly enjoyable, unsurprising considering the involvement of Elton John and Tim Rice, the latter having worked on a slew of animated movies (Aladdin, The Lion King.) Stand out numbers from the movie include "The Trail we Blaze" "it's Tough to be a God" and "Friends Never Say Goodbye"

Unfortunately, this film had a poor reception both financially and critically, bombing in the box office and not getting the best write up from the critics either. This led to plans for several sequels being shelved and ultimately cancelled. I acknowledge it's not a masterpiece, but it is one of the most fun animated movies there is, and for a non-Disney release around that period, it's a great achievement.

I am really happy to see that in recent years the film has become a bit of a cult classic, thanks largely to online communities and memes.

Also shout out to my friend Fraser Roberts, who loves this film as much as I do, friends never say goodbye!

Favourite Character in Animation

Genie - Aladdin (1992)

Can’t lie, I love everything about this character - his design, the way he's animated, his dialogue and, perhaps most importantly, he's voiced by one of my all-time favourite actors. But in all honesty, who doesn't love the Genie?

He appears about 20 minutes into the film and changes the tone completely, taking over from lago as the comic relief. Genie's introductory scene, alongside his showpiece song "Friend Like Me," is also one of my favourite animated segments from all movies.

The Genie was actually quite a revolutionary character at the time of Aladdin's release - very few animated characters of that period were known for pop culture references and repeatedly breaking the fourth wall, particularly within Disney. True, some of those references have served to age the film (a Peter Lorre or William F. Buckley Jr reference may now require a Google search) making it less timeless than it otherwise could have been. 

 

However, there's no doubting how important he was (a huge part of this came directly from Robin Williams frequent ad-libbing) and I believe he opened the door (good or bad) for movies like Shrek which are choc full of pop culture and contemporary references.

Favourite Animated Movie

 Hercules (1997)

This film is ridiculously underrated, it isn't up to the calibre of a Lion King or Beauty and the Beast, but it's without doubt an excellent release from Disney. 

          

This is a film I've loved from a very young age, though I don't believe it has always been my favourite - that honour went to Aladdin. As I went through my teens, I really came to identify with the themes of the film. Hercules' journey to find the place that he belongs in the world, the continuous theme of "going the distance" and following a dream, felt particularly poignant as I tread untested waters with a career in animation.

Hercules was released at a time when the Disney Renaissance period of successful animated movies was winding down, and box office numbers were lulling. The movies themselves (Hercules, Mulan, Tarzan) were still beautiful works in their own right, but just weren't drawing the numbers of Disney's past masterpieces. Eventually the assumption would be that hand drawn animation is the problem and sadly the companv would switch almost exclusively to computer animation.

Add to this a hilarious sidekick in Philoctetes and an equally brilliant villain called Hades and you have the ingredients for a classic movie. 

                           
 

In regards to Disney merchandise, this is probably one of the films I have the most collectables for - outside of perhaps Aladdin. I’ll share a few of my favourites below including my Hercules tattoo.

Is it Disney's best? No. But it will always have a special place in my heart.

Favourite Animated TV Show

The Simpsons (1989 - Present)

As mentioned in the last post, I will be doing a sort of animation challenge - answering questions around my favourite shows and movies. The questions will appear in the title & the post will break down my answer. A more condensed version will appear on my Facebook page, Campbell Animation.

There really couldn't have been any other selection for my favourite animated TV show. The Simpsons has been an obsession since I was about nine years old, starting on the VHS tapes (specifically "Too Hot For TV" (pictured) and later moving onto the season DVDs.) The quotes from this show are so deeply ingrained into my head that there's hardly a day goes past without me applying them to real-life situations.

To expand further on this question, my favourite episode of The Simpsons is probably "The Springfield Files" most likely for nostalgic reasons, I have fond memories of watching this tape on the weekends, not a care in the world. My immersion in Simpsons content exploded with the emergence of Facebook meme groups.

Add to that, my friend and fellow animator Jon is also a massive fan of the show, so we're constantly throwing references back forward day-to-day. I've included below a few of my favourite frames from the shows golden years, frames which never fail to give me a chuckle when watching them as part of the show.