I need a rec

[tarotgal]

I need to buy another Disney video this month (so I can get a free one, actually). I'm trying to decide between/among
1- Sprited Away
2- Finding Nemo
3- other

If you've seen and have a recommendation to give, I'd love to hear it. I was thinking about getting Pete's Dragon but I don't know that I can justify spending $25 on a DVD I will probably only watch once or twice. I thought maybe Fantasia... though I have it on video already.
But I've never seen either Spirited Away or Finding Nemo and I've heard good things about both, but I'm having trouble deciding. So recommendations would be helpful! Thanks!!!

Comments

[glitter-sprite.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen Spirited Away, but Finding Nemo is great. Except it's not the kind of movie you really need to see more than once, so I'd reccomend against buying it- if you just want to see it, rent it.

[tarotgal]

Hrm... sounds like good advice. I could watch Monster's Inc. over and over again happily... but from the many, many commercials I've seen for Finding Nemo it does indeed look like the sort I would just watch once or twice, not need to get on DVD. Thanks! :-)

[ladykorana.livejournal.com]

Finding Nemo is an excellent and entertaining family picture, but Spirited Away is a work of art, plain and simple. I never get tired of watching it, and I notice some new background detail each time...plus you get the added bonus of the DVD having both the Japanese and English vocal tracks, so it's almost two subtly different movies for the price of one. Plus, Miyazaki is a storytelling genius in the 'coming of age' genre.

Also, I'm just really fond of the gorgeous hand-drawn animation that can only be found from anime. American animation seems flat and blocky to me, and CGI just feels cold and impersonal, whereas Miyazaki drew a great deal of the animation cells himself and that personal touch really shines through to me. All IMHO, of course :)

[tarotgal]

Thanks greatly for the input!

As a computer geek, I drool at these computer-animated movies because I'd love to do that sort of thing. Not at all the same feeling I get when watching live action mixed with special effects. When it's all done with computers... there's a certain beauty I can't get enough of... I weep thinking of all the beautiful code that went into making the snowball melt on Sully's fur in Monster's Inc. *sniffles*

But compared to regular American animation, anime is off the scale. Even the bad japanese anime is spectacular in comparison. It's just a much different feel, a completely different art form.

I think I'm going to have to go with Spirited Away :-) Thanks!!

[(Anonymous)]

I read both the other recs and I have to say that these are both such different movies, that they are hard to compare. On the one hand, you have "Finding Nemo" which is a great Disney flick, funny - I mean I think you will laugh out loud at many, many parts...and you will feel sad and you will cry a little...but overall, it's funny. Typical American Disney fare, one of the good ones. On the other hand, you have "Spirited Away" from the same people (I believe) who gave us "Kiki's Delivery Service" and also "Totoro"...it's completely a different kind of movie-making. The stories are not typical American stuff, they are in that softer Japanese style, with their more innocent characters and sometimes their own legends...My kids have seen both, but the one they have watched over and over is "Spirited Away" We also have "Totoro" and that is one of our all-time favorite and most watched movies - it's not from Disney, but it's awesome! So...I don't know if that helped at all yet, but like I said, it is so hard to compare these two, b/c they are such different types of movies.

Patti

[tarotgal]

They certainly are... and I have an appreciation for both of them... though haven't seen either of them.

I really liked 'Kiki's Delivery Service' when I saw it a few years ago... last year? Two years? I don't recall. Was stunned at the great cast they got for the American dubbers. Whatever year it was that I sat down and watched every single Halloween-themed movie I could find playing in October :-)
And what I'd heard about Spirited Away was great- I downloaded it to watch once but deleted it before watching more than 2 or 4 seconds- the picture was awful and it looked like such a good movie that I couldn't do that to it. Movies like that were meant to be enjoyed for their beauty as much as anything. So I put it on my 'must rent' list and just never got down to it.

And I adore Pixar. As a computer geek, what they can do now with computer animation blows me away! When I saw Monsters Inc. I was nearly crying- I wanted to be the one who programmed Sully's fur to make it move the way it did! Sooo beautiful. Finding nemo looks very cute and adorable... but I'm not sure how many times I could watch it... Hrmmmmm...

Anyway, many, many thank yous for the descriptions. It's good to know that there are such good points for whichever one I choose. (Though I'm leaning towards Spirited Away) Thanks!!

[magictoes11.livejournal.com]

Just my opinion, but I think Finding Nemo is definitely a movie worth seeing several times over. I enjoyed it much more than Monsters Inc. I think I've watched it four or five times now, and it still hasn't gotten old. The plot is cute, the jokes are funny, and the characters are great! And if you get the DVD, it has all sorts of amusing easter eggs, like a 'documentary' with Jean-Michel Cousteau. Oh, and there's a couple sneezes in by an 'H2O intolerant' seahorse.

I've never seen Spirited Away, so can't tell you which would be better to buy. Heck, buy 'em both!

[tarotgal]

Yeah, I've seen the commercials/trailers with the seahorse sneezing... which is cute :-)
Damn... I think I'm going to have to rent them both this weekend and try to decide, now! GAH!
I was all over all the extras in Monster's Inc. and I'd bet it's similar for Finding Nemo... boyfriend thinks I should get it, too (he saw the movie Sat without me, grr! lol)

So... doh! Yeah, I think I'll rent and see. I'm buying SO many DVDs this year so I need to watch my money. Though I probably will end up buying both eventually.

Thanks for your help!!! LOL! I'm terrible with decisions... :-)