The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness

2013 "A year inside the world of Studio Ghibli."
7.7| 1h58m| en
Details

Follows the behind-the-scenes work of Studio Ghibli, focusing on the notable figures Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, and Toshio Suzuki.

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Reviews

Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.
ThrillMessage There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.
TaryBiggBall It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.
Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
Meloo Peloo I really like Studio Ghibli movies. I never thought how they were made before this documentary and now I appreciate them even more due to the effort goes into them. Ghibli Studio looks really amazing with the spiral stairs and the cool rooftop but as far as I understand, Miyazaki is not the best boss in the world. Throughout the documentary, I never witnessed him giving a praise or liking some work. He seems rather pessimistic to me. I would never have guessed this from the movies he made.I really admired how tediously he works. It is said that he works from 11 to 9 6 days a week. This motivated me to work more and be more disciplined. Truly inspirational movie for anyone who is interested in any type of art. I think it shows the good and bad sides of working in the art industry.
rolfesam If you love films as a passion go watch this.If you love films as an art go watch this.If you love animation go watch this.If you want to see a glimpse of the magic of film go watch this.This documentary is something special. If you don't know already this documentary follows one of the greatest animators of all time, Hayao Miyazaki, as he works on what is likely his last film, the Oscar-nominated 'The Wind Rises". This small peak behind the scenes is something of an oddity among documentaries. Where as so many documentaries are focused on presenting the facts of a topic to light in a way that is both non- biased and easy to understand 'The Kingdom of Dreams and Magic' prefers to forgo this and instead attempt to provide emotion to its viewers as well as leave a lot of subjects and stories untouched or unfinished in a way that makes me think that the documentary film makers behind the camera never had any intention in attempting to make the famed studio Ghibli any less magical. I have to believe that this was done purposefully to protect the magic of the studio to which the title of this documentary alludes. If you are reading this and wondering why I'm being so vague about describing the actual goings on of the documentary it is because I feel the emotion of what I saw in this film can never be translated properly to the written word. If you ever watched a movie of Hayao Miyazaki then watch this flick, it will only make you respect the man, the studio, and the films even more.
Kicino A very impressive and honest portrayal of the great Japanese animation creator/director Hayao Miyazaki. Documentary director Mami Sunada shadowed the animation director as he created his latest work – When the Wind Rises. Sunada seemed to have full access to the studio and home of the director, taping company meetings, interviewing and recording some of the 400 employees at work at the Ghibli Studio in west Tokyo. Interspersed in the latest development of the script and creation process were the complicated relationship, partnership and friendship between Miyazaki and Isao Takahada, who bought Miyazaki into the field of animation years ago. He was directing the animation The Tale of Princess Kaguya which was scheduled to show in Japan the same year as When the Wind Rises. Never to be missed was the portrayal of micro- managing producer Toshio Suzuki who had been working between the two giants for more than half of a century. It is moving watching archive footages of these three young men working closely for and dedicated more than half of their lives to this field. Long terms friends and work partners, they have gradually grown into three graceful yet a little stubborn artists. You cannot help but admire their respect for their passion. Also valuable was how candid Miyazaki was in front of the camera, revealing his philosophy, emotions, contradiction, hesitation and imagination. At 72, he is still lively and fun as a child and dreams of all kind of crazy ideas. Excellent editing here to insert clips of the animation which made his dreams come true. We also see his deepest respect for life and ordinary things around him. In many ways, he reminds me of the grandfather in Heidi: A Girl from the Alps, directed by Takahata in 1974, particularly when Miyazaki has his apron on almost all the time.I watched this after visiting the exhibition on Studio Ghibli Layout Designs: Understanding the secrets of Takahata and Miyazaki Animation at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum. It was much less interesting than the visit to the Ghibli Studio in Tokyo but the exhibit offered a closer look at some of the tediously detailed hand-drawn artwork which I later saw in this film. Similar to Miyazaki's animation work, the studio was warm and filled with natural light. The work style is informal, fun and loving though Miyazaki can be hard to work with at times. It looks like a fun place to work. Now, having learned more about how Miyazaki created his various animation works, I would sure watch his work again in new lights.
Mozjoukine Detailed observational doco filmed in Hayao Miyazaki's Studio Gibli building. The studio cat gets as much screen time as Takahata working down the road on The TALE of PRINCESS KAGYUA.The bulk of the footage covers Miyazaki finalizing AS the WIND RISES working in his computer free headquarters, recording voice tracks and music and showing the finished film to his staff.The only person in a suit is the legal rep.Not an unblemished study, as this is likely to be the last film of both these major figures in animation, the record of their work has an extra, slightly melancholy feeling.