Ben
Meyers’ rating: 4.7|5.0
Stars ìììì
From Up on Poppy Hill—another
classic from Studio Ghibli, a real treat in animation and storyline—shows the
talents of Director Gorô Miyazaki, Director Hayao Miyazaki’s son. It’s a sweet
story about teen-aged Umi Matsuzaki (voice of Sarah Bolger), a young girl who
manages a Japanese boarding house, takes care of younger siblings, does all the
cooking and household chores, cares for her grandmother, and goes to school
full time. Every morning, before school, she raises three flags in the manner
her sea-faring father, Yūichirō Sawamura taught
her. The colorful flags send the message, “I Pray for Safe Voyages.” Umi meets
a boy named Shun Kazama (voice of Anton Yelchin) at school. He writes the
school newspaper and she soon is involved not only with writing the newspaper
but also in trying to save a study house that provides a place for many of the
school clubs. Umi and Shun begin to care for each other romantically, but Shun
finds that it is possible they are relatives. The film takes an unusual twist
as the two seek the truth of their heritage that has been lost during World War
II and the Korean War. The award winning Japanese movie pleasantly resolves
itself into a happy ending, making it a very good choice for adult and child
entertainment.
Film Poster Courtesy of Wikipedia
Additional Thanks
Thank
you to Executive Producers Kathleen Kennedy, Nobuo Kawakami , and Frank
Marshall for making the film possible. Additional characters/cast include: Miku
Matsuzaki (voice of Alex Wolff), Yuko (voice of Bridget Hoffman), Saori
Makamuri (voice of Elisa Gabrielli), Gen (voice of Jeff Dunham), World History
Teacher (voice of Ronan Farrow), and Chairman Tokumaru (voice of Beau Bridges).
Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?
Yes. This sweet story goes sky high in quality.
Video Critique Available Here:
Ben Meyers
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