R.I.P. Isao Takahata (1935-2018)

Isao Takahata

On April 5, 2018, director Isao Takahata died from lung cancer at the age of 82 in Tokyo, Japan. With a career spanning over 55 years, he was one of the most prominent artists in Japanese animation, specifically alongside Hayao Miyazaki with Studio Ghibli. His film career featured such harrowing films as Grave of the Fireflies, Only Yesterday, and the Oscar-nominated  The Tale of Princess Kaguya. He had a long and storied career, and definitely influenced artists around the world to follow their dreams and make animation something more than empty blockbuster entertainment. His work will live on with its beauty and wisdom.

Theory Thursday: My Issues With the Best Animated Film Oscar Category

Welcome to a weekly column called Theory Thursdays, which will be released every Thursday and discuss my "controversial opinion" related to something relative to the week of release. Sometimes it will be birthdays while others is current events or a new film release. Whatever the case may be, this is a personal defense for why I disagree with the general opinion and hope to convince you of the same. While I don't expect you to be on my side, I do hope for a rational argument. After all, film is a subjective medium and this is merely just a theory that can be proven either way. 

"The Tale of Princess Kaguya" Trailer Debuts with a Simpler Form of Beauty

It has been awhile since there has been any real discussion on the Best Animated Film category. Along with The Boxtrolls opening up this Friday, it seems like an excellent time to get an update. While How to Train Your Dragon 2 and The Lego Movie lead the pack, there's a lack of strong competitors out there to make this an exceptional year. However, while Studio Ghibli head Hayao Miyazaki has retired, his company still continues to flourish, at least for a little while long. With director Isao Takahata's The Tale of Princess Kaguya, there is a change of pace for animation: hand draw animation with water colors. With a successful debut at Toronto International Film Festival and the first trailer recently released, it is time to start considering the international cinema that may be applicable in this category.

A Look at the Troubling Best Animated Feature Race of 2013

Scene from Frozen

With Oscar season firmly under way and 12 Years a Slave on the verge of a wide release, it is time to re-evaluate the one category in which thing seem highly unclear: Best Animated Feature. Where last year's selection had some of the best, diverse offerings, this year seems to be an open book with little to no indication of any film deserving nomination besides Pixar's Monsters University. While I predicted that the film will win, I at least hoped that in the process of the months following, and preceding, that it would have a film with enough esteem to overthrow it. So, what is going on with the Best Animated Feature category?

Is "From Up on Poppy Hill" the First Best Animated Feature Contender?

This week, director Goro Miyazaki's From Up on Poppy Hill receives limited release. For many, Studio Ghibli is the premiere animation studio from Asia, having given us such gems as Princess Mononoke and the Oscar-winning Spirited Away. The only difference is that those were made by Goro's father Hayao. While the studio continues to regale with quality work each year, they haven't had any success with the Academy Awards since 2005's Howl's Moving Castle. Is it possible that as one of the first notable animated features of 2013 that this will be the year that they return to the Best Animated Feature category?