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Princess Mononoke (DVD) (Hong Kong Version)
Miyazaki Hayao (Producer)
Honestly, I have already lost count of how many times Miyazaki Hayao has amazed me with his incredible creativity. Following in the tradition of Miyazaki's other features, Princess Mononoke is filled with all the essential ingredients you could expect in an animation of this scope including valiant heroes, man's ongoing struggle with nature, and bizarre and fantastic characters. The tale takes place in an ancient time when the forests are protected by animals with god-like strength. Caught in the middle of the fight between the forest's guardian animals and a tribe trying to conquer the forest are San and Prince Ashitaka. The former is a girl raised by a wolf deity who does everything to... [read more]
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McDull Kung Fu Ding Ding Dong (DVD+AVCD Edition) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)
Anthony Wong
| Sandra Ng
| the pancakes
| Brian Tse (Director, Producer)
If I had to pick one movie character that most embodied Hong Kong, it would have to be McDull. On the outset, McDull seems an unlikely candidate. Hong Kong is fast, smart, trendy, materialistic, on the ball. McDull is slow, naive, emotional, and not very bright. Also, he's an animated kindergarten pig. And yet, one would be hard-pressed to name another figure that captures the local culture, sentiments, landscape, language, and lifestyle of Hong Kong as well as McDull does. The neverending urban redevelopment, the cycle of newfangled trends, the flurry of accents and colloquialisms, the obsession with success, and, yes, even the potty humor in McDull's world are all quintessentially Hong... [read more]
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Howl's Moving Castle (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)
Miyazaki Hayao
I can't recall how, but sadly, I missed Howl's Moving Castle on the big screen. With the benefit of hindsight, it's another jewel from anime dream weaver Miyazaki Hayao. Miyazaki's impressive full-length feature tells the tale of Sophie Hatter, fittingly the operator of a hat shop. Her life is changed forever after she runs into the charming sorcerer Howl who helps her out of trouble when she is harassed by two problem-seeking guardsmen. The Witch of the Waste, who has a liking for Howl, does not like the way things are developing and casts a spell on Sophie that turns her into a 90-year-old woman. Heading out into the sphere where demons and magic rule, Sophie attempts to find a way to... [read more]
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Laputa: Castle in The Sky (Hong Kong Version)
Miyazaki Hayao (Producer)
Magic on the ground, in the air, and beyondMiyazaki Hayao undoubtedly stands head and shoulders above all other contemporary animators, and among his works, I consider Laputa: Castle in the Sky to be one of the best. The tale revolving around Sheeta, heiress of a royal family from a legendary flying city called Laputa, and Pazu, who finds and takes care of her, takes the viewer on a fast-paced roller coaster-like adventure. There seem to be no limits to where a fight can take place in this Miyazaki animation that features very fascinating visuals in mid-air, on the ground, and even underground. Take a deep breath, because a chase starting in the air continues on the ground by train in the possibly grandest way ever conceived in an... [read more]
February 20, 2009 Picked By A-Xiang Joe See all this editor's picks
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Kung Fu Panda (DVD) (Hong Kong Version)
Josie Ho
| Jackie Chan
| Eason Chan
| Denise Ho
Several months ago, my family and I went to watch Kung Fu Panda with low expectations, but in the end we couldn't have been happier about the decision because it turned out to be a dazzling martial arts surprise filled with loads of humor. As a life-long fan of Bruce Lee, the legendary king of kung fu himself, I was a bit turned off by the idea of Kung Fu Panda at first, because it just didn't sound appealing enough to me. My adored icon, as everybody knows, is remembered as a perfectly trained living weapon, swift as lightning and agile as a cat and with the right physical appearance to match, whereas this tale's protagonist, Po, is anything but. If anything, he is just a very clumsy,... [read more]
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Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (Normal Edition) (Japan Version - English Subtitles)
Miyazaki Hayao (Director)
| Naya Goro
| Sakakibara Ryoko
| Tsujimura Masato
Miyazaki Hayao's Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind presents an apocalyptic fantasy tale admonishing the horrors of war and the continued pollution of the environment by ignorant human behavior. In his second feature-length animation released in spring 1984, Japan's master director and animator warns of how mankind may finally bring about their own destruction through senseless warring activities and ignorant use of advanced technology, turning originally fertile land into one filled with toxic elements. At the center of Miyazaki's film is the relentless fight against all odds of a peaceful boundary nation living in the remote Valley of the Wind, as nature turns against them and power-greedy... [read more]
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Bee Movie (DVD) (Hong Kong Version)
It's a bird, it's a plane ... it's a beeLike the title reveals, Bee Movie revolves around our useful black and yellow insect friends that have the inclination to sting from time to time. The fast-paced colorful animation comes packed with stinging humor and buzzing action. In this bee-populated big-screen feature, writer and producer Jerry Seinfeld also lends his voice to the animated answer to Benjamin Braddock, new-generation graduate and wanna-bee success Barry Bee Benson. Not only revolving around Barry's life, Bee Movie introduces the viewers to the most vibrant beehive ever to appear in a film and much more. Among the secrets revealed are the size and kind of magazine you need to take out a bee, exactly what kind of jobs are... [read more]
August 21, 2008 Picked By A-Xiang Joe See all this editor's picks
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My Neighbor Totoro (Japan Version - English Subtitles)
Miyazaki Hayao
| Amagasa Toshiyuki
My Neighbor Totoro takes viewers on another ride into a world where fantasy never sleeps. The magical elements of storytelling wizard Miyazaki Hayao take the upper hand again in his classic anime My Neighbor Totoro, primarily revolving around the adventures of Kusakabe Satsuki, her younger sister Mei, and their family in rural Japan. Totoro is a mammoth chinchilla-like creature among whose favorite pastimes are sleeping and traveling around in the unique Cat Bus which takes him to wherever he likes. Harmless in spite of his gigantic proportions, Totoro and his family and friends are not only rare sights to observe, but are also very useful to have around as the protagonists of this anime... [read more]
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Komaneko - The Curious Cat (DVD) (Special Edition) (Taiwan Version)
Health is poor, spirits are low, work is piling, and rent remains blissfully unpaid. At least I still have Komaneko. Written, designed, and directed by Goda Tsuneo, Komaneko - The Curious Cat is a feature-length stop-motion animation starring a very cute, very cuddly, and very curious stuffed cat who happens to be an aspiring stop-motion animator herself. Clearly the paws-on type, Komaneko earnestly goes though the steps to make her very first stop-motion film, down to sewing little felt leads and creating sets and background art with paper and crayons. With everything in place, she starts snapping away with her 8mm, but that's when everything starts falling down... Komaneko's opening... [read more]
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Peter Pan (Platinum Edition, 2-Disc Set) (US Version)
Clyde Geronimi (Director)
| Hamilton Luske (Director)
| Walt Disney
| Bill Peet
All the real-life big screen adaptations seem to be no match for Walt Disney's classic animation of Peter Pan. This movie came as a present for my younger brother and me around three decades ago and I revisit it whenever I need a capful of over-the-top adventures. Based on writings by J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan offers fantastic excitement from beginning to end, revolving around the tale's titular protagonist who lives a life of never-ending adventure. I can still recall the scene in which he has to perform the feat of catching his own shadow and all the ensuing fun as if it was yesterday. As for the story's supporting characters, Walt Disney's rendition is perhaps the best of the Peter Pan... [read more]
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Ratatouille (DVD) (Hong Kong Version)
Brad Bird
I watched Ratatouille with a 3-year old who is currently obsessed with super heroes. Hey, want to watch a movie about a rodent who becomes a super chef? "Yeah, hee!" came the big response; whereas I cringed at the idea. What will Pixar think of next? A cockroach barista? Rats conjure up images of the Great Plague, disease, and so forth - nothing too positive. To see a whole army of rats swarming around the sacred kitchen is not my ideal night of entertainment, but that's exactly what happens in this brave new animation. Having an extremely keen sense of taste as well as a passion for culinary arts, you can say, Remy is not your average rat. But in a world driven by humans, an eccentric rat... [read more]
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Pinocchio (Limited Edition) (Japan Version)
Rusk Hamilton (Director)
| Cliff Edwards
| Jones Dick
Walt Disney's animated version of Carlo Collodi's Pinocchio presents a classic in its own right. It's not difficult to like this 40s masterpiece that comes with unique narration by a cricket, namely Jiminy Cricket. The animation retells the familiar story of industrious toy inventor Geppetto who longs for a son of his own. As he is a kind and loving man, the Blue Fairy grants him his wish and bestows the gift of life to his latest invention, the wooden puppet Pinocchio. Arguably presenting the best animated adaptation of the story to date, Walt Disney's take on Pinocchio sparkles through its renditions of such memorable characters as Figaro the cat and the cute goldfish Cleo. As far as... [read more]
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Brave Story (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)
Matsu Takako
| Tokiwa Takako
| Imai Miki
| Wentz Eiji
Anyone who's ever played an RPG should find the story of Brave Story familiar. A 10 year-old boy named Wataru follows mysterious friend Mitsuru through a strange portal, only to arrive in a fantastic medieval land called Vision, complete with dragons, anthropomorphic creatures, melee weapons, and armor. Once there, Wataru assembles a party of compatriots and treks across in the land in search of the "Goddess of Destiny", in order to fulfill some important quest involving fate, destiny, and the lives of untold innocents. Or something like that. Wataru's quest actually has acute real-world significance to him: his parents are estranged and his mother deathly ill, and Wataru wants the Goddess... [read more]
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Ocean Waves (Japan Version - English Subtitles)
Tobita Tetsuo
| Midorikawa Hikaru
| Araki kae
| Seki Toshihiko
Not all great anime movies need giant robots, cyberpunk settings, or sweeping ecological themes. Sometimes they just need to elicit the right emotions, perishable though they may be. Ocean Waves (a.k.a. I Can Hear the Ocean) is a notable Studio Ghibli production for a few reasons, among them the fact that it's not included in the Disney-Tokuma licensing deal that gave Miramax the North American rights to the Ghibli catalog. Somehow, the powers-that-be over at Disney didn't think a sweet tale of gestating high school romance would be as big a hit as, say, Princess Mononoke. Judgement from the Mouse aside, fans of Ghibli may find plenty to enjoy in Ocean Waves. Even though it possesses none of... [read more]
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Kiki's Delivery Service (Hong Kong Version)
Miyazaki Hayao (Producer)
A teen witch's coming-of-age taleAnother work of passion, Miyazaki Hayao's fifth directorial film turned into a major success for Studio Ghibli. There is a certain charm about Kiki's Delivery Service that won me over as soon as this movie was in my DVD player. It all starts with the relaxing music by Miyazaki's first choice film score composer Hisaishi Joe whose acoustic sounds complement this original story about a thirteen-year-old witch like a glove fits the hand. As for the stunning artwork from the now established Japanese animation studio the world has come to know and love, many viewers including myself may get the idea to look for original paintings from the movie to put up at home. As background motifs for his... [read more]
December 6, 2007 Picked By A-Xiang Joe See all this editor's picks
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SPIRITED AWAY (Japan Version - English Subtitles)
Miyazaki Hayao (Producer)
| Hiragi Rumi
The Garden of Eden Among Fantasy AnimationsMiyazaki Hayao's epic animation Spirited Away takes viewers on a fantastic roller coaster ride through Japan's land of make believe. Spirited Away is the tale of a seemingly ordinary ten-year-old girl, Ogino Chihiro, who gets drawn into a dangerous inhuman world full of bizarre happenings that is inhabited by the likes of phantoms and sorcerers. Presented as a spoiled brat at the outset of the movie, Chihiro's character sees a big change in attitude after she gets separated from her parents, proving that she can fend for herself if worst comes to worst. Even though Miyazaki's film also approaches some serious themes, including how the individual can be changed by the influence of a greedy... [read more]
November 1, 2007 Picked By A-Xiang Joe See all this editor's picks
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The Jungle Book (2-Disc Set; 40th Anniversary Edition) (US Version)
Dodie Smith
| Ken Anderson (Writer)
| Walter Sheets
| Eva Reitherman (Director)
Classic Jungle Beat Keeps On SwingingThe final movie made under the supervision of the late, legendary Walt Disney, The Jungle Book invites viewers to a story full of adventures and laughs. Disney's classic work The Jungle Book was also the first movie that I had the joy to watch in a cinema and it still hasn't lost any of its past splendor. Loosely based on the same-titled novel by Rudyard Kipling, the Wolfgang Reitherman-directed animation revolves around Mowgli, a man-cub who grows up in the jungle. He is kept company by some of Disney's most unique characters to date including happy-go-lucky bear Baloo, the jungle V.I.P orangutan King Louie, and Kaa, the perhaps cutest man-eating python to ever crawl on screen. Ever since I... [read more]
October 16, 2007 Picked By A-Xiang Joe See all this editor's picks
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My Life As McDull (Korean Version)
Animation
Hong Kong's best-loved pig is the star of the hilariously funny biography-style animation My Life As McDull. For all those who consider the Hong Kong reflected in movies such as the Infernal Affairs trilogy as a bit too grim, this 2001 hit movie, which was even a match for Miyazaki Hayao's Spirited Away, should come as a positive surprise. It follows the various life stages of piglet McDull who views the world through rose-tinted glasses. Anything but a successful person, McDull may stand as a representative of the ordinary Hong Kong citizen, living in a small apartment and clinging on to small dreams. However, what makes this naively cute protagonist stand out is the fact that he always... [read more]
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Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (Full Frame) (US Version)
Ralph Fiennes (Actor)
| Helena Bonham Carter (Actor)
| Nicholas Smith (Actor)
| Liz Smith (Actor)
Cartoons may never have looked better or acted cooler than in The Curse of The Were-Rabbit. The heroes of this movie, namely Gromit and Wallace, were first introduced to me by a friend during my university days. At that time we went out to see a special short movie feature about the clever dog and his inventive master, including The Wrong Trousers and A Close Shave, and I became an instant fan. As for this full-length movie, it lives up to or even surpasses the fun and the creativity found in the earlier works of this franchise. Creator Nick Park's imitation of suspense works very well, one of the best examples being perhaps the scene in which Gromit chops the carrots. Applause must also go... [read more]
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The Incredibles (Widescreen) (US Version)
Brad Bird (Director)
| John Walker
| Holly Hunter
Superheroes have had a fair amount of silver screen presence and there seems to be no end in sight, as far as the demand for this genre is concerned. The Incredibles sees Brad Bird bring alive his own share of superhero magic with a little help from the talented Pixar Studio team. Longer than most traditional animations, The Incredibles has plenty of good laughs and thrills to offer. Supposed to showcase superheroes, some of the film's most appealing scenes are perhaps those that expose the featured characters as human beings deep down inside. Whether it's Helen revealing more than she ought to when she is asked about Bob's whereabouts ("either he's in trouble, or he's going to be..."), or... [read more]
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