Bad Guys
Saw The Wind Rises. There are many obvious reasons for liking Ghibli films, but I can now confidently say there is a slightly more obscure reason that might only appeal to me. And this is very appealing: Miyazaki films have no bad guys. Lots of actors acting badly, but no bad guys. Lots of characters who might even be the root cause of conflict. Yet, they have these believable and relatable motivations fighting off our moral gut reactions.
So far, I remain the only person I know who does not like The Iron Giant.
Jae-Ho
And I remain a person who has never seen it. And I probably never will, although it has little to do with your dislike of its no sensible motive antagonist, and more to do with it just not seeming like that great a movie.
I’d go so far as to say it seems kind of crappy.
The only Miyazaki movie I remember having a clear “bad guy” is the witch in Howl’s Moving Castle who, I think, you never meet. But he didn’t write it, so your theory stands. In particular, Kiki’s Delivery Service was so devoid of conflict at the end I wondered if it even told a story…and yet, it did.
Yeah, the witch. Doesn’t she join Sophie’s crew eventually and in fact, helps Sophie and Howl come to terms with their own inner conflicts at the end? In fact, the witch caused a lot of the mess in first place because she felt, somewhat understandably if not justifiably, that she was the wronged party? Or am I making all this up? Was there more than one witch?
You’ve never seen Iron Giant because it looks crappy? You are a wise man.
It’s hard now, because I think the first thing you ever mentioned about Iron Giant was that you hated the irrational evil government agent, but I remember catching the trailer and wondering what the fuss was about.
That Brad Bird directed it, and would go on to direct the Incredibles, doesn’t really have any bearing on it for me. It just looks…maudlin.
Just watched the trailer for The Iron Giant. Parts of it look very appealing. Too bad.
You ever seen the video for Pete Townsend’s A Friend Is A Friend? I couldn’t find it for a long time because I thought the song was called Befriending.