2013 / Anime Screening “Howl’s Moving Castle” Feb. 3, 7:30 pm
The American Cinematheque Presents
The Castle Returns: Miyazaki, Takahata and The Masters Of Studio Ghibli 2013
January 25 – February 10, 2013 at the Egyptian & Aero Theatres
Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028
Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave at 14th St, Santa Monica, CA 90043
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Saturday, February 2 – 4:00 PM – Aero Theatre
MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO
TONARI NO TOTORO
1988, Studio Ghibli, 86 min. Dir. Hayao Miyazaki.
Recommended ages: 10+ to Adult.
Dubbed in English from Japanese.
Featuring the voices of Dakota Fanning, Elle Fanning.
The third Studio Ghibli feature from former Toei animator-turned-writer, producer, director and entrepreneur Hayao Miyazaki tells the story of two young sisters, Satsuki and Mei Kusakabe, who move into a new house with their father near a vast forest to be closer to their ailing, hospitalized mother.
Discovering wondrous forest spirits and dust bunnies, they also encounter Totoro, a giant lumbering bunny-esque creature.
“Here is a children’s film made for the world we should live in, rather than the one we occupy. A film with no villains. No fight scenes. No evil adults. No fighting between the two kids. No scary monsters. No darkness before the dawn. A world that is benign. A world where if you meet a strange towering creature in the forest, you curl up on its tummy and have a nap. MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO has become one of the most beloved of all family films without ever having been much promoted or advertised.” – Roger Ebert, The Chicago Sun-Times.
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Saturday, February 2 – 7:30 PM – Egyptian Theatre
Double Feature:
NAUSICAÄ OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND
KAZE NO TANI NO NAUSHIKA
1984, Studio Ghibli, 116 min. Dir. Hayao Miyazaki.
In Japanese with English subtitles.
This first of many triumphs for Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki is set a thousand years after a nuclear holocaust has gutted the globe.
After the death of her father and an attack from the hostile Tormekia, Princess Nausicaa must use her uncanny ability to communicate with the giant crustacean Ohmu to unite her people against the threat of annihilation.
Based on the manga of the same name, and using Miyazaki’s distinct stylistic flare for the dreamlike and fantastical, the film also inaugurates Miyazaki’s enduring collaboration and friendship with composer Joe Hisaishi.
Its visually breathtaking, truly dexterous animation is more than worthy of a repeat viewing, let alone a first.
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CASTLE IN THE SKY
TENKU NO SHIRO RAPYUTA
1986, Studio Ghibli, 124 min. Dir. Hayao Miyazaki.
Recommended ages: 7 to Adult.
In Japanese with English subtitles.
Don’t miss this rare opportunity to see one of Hayao Miyazaki’s most stunningly beautiful, exciting, and infrequently screened films.
A young girl with a mysterious crystal pendant falls out of the sky and into the arms and life of young Pazu.
Together they search for a floating island in the sky, site of a long-dead civilization promising enormous wealth and power to those who can unlock its secrets.
CASTLE IN THE SKY is an early masterpiece of storytelling and filmmaking whose imaginative and ornately detailed vision presaged later films like PRINCESS MONONOKE and SPIRITED AWAY.
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Sunday, February 3 – 7:30 PM – Egyptian Theatre
HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE
HAURU NO UGOKU SHIRO
2004, Walt Disney Pictures, 119 min. Dir. Hayao Miyazaki.
Recommended ages: 8+ to Adult.
In Japanese with English subtitles.
Sophie, an average teenage girl working in a hat shop, finds her life thrown into turmoil when she is literally swept off her feet by a handsome but mysterious wizard named Howl.
But after this chance meeting, the young girl is turned into a 90-year old woman by the vain and conniving Witch of the Waste.
Embarking on an incredible adventure to lift the curse, she finds refuge in Howl’s magical moving castle.
As the true power of Howl’s wizardry is revealed, and his relationship with Sophie deepens, our young grey heroine finds herself fighting to protect them both from a dangerous war of sorcery that threatens their world.
HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE was the second Studio Ghibli film to be nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards.
