Anime Trailer for Studio Ghibli's first CG movie is here...

[Ghost_MH]

 

Aside from the potato quality trailer being the only one I can find online, it looks...OK? I think Lupin III lends itself a bit more to the CG look. This movie is certainly better looking than Ronja, but I'll wait for a second trailer before really committing one way or the other. The stills they released a while back looked good, so we'll see. Goro Miyazaki still isn't the best director Ghibli has, so that isn't winning them any favors.

[Slug]

Seeing the Ghibli aesthetic in CG is slightly off-putting.  I'm sure I'll get used to it, but..weird vibe.

[Amazatron]

Yeah, I feel like the magic ain't there at all with CG.

[Fizzzzle]

It's missing... style? I know that's such a nebulous concept, but I can't think of another way to put it. The animation flow that they have with their 2d animation just isn't there. 

 

This isn't Ghibli, obviously, but notice how there's a certain emphasis on key frames. It's like there's a pause to emphasize certain motions. Ghibli films are full of these kinds of animation techniques. 

 

 

 

This clip does it a little better justice. Notice the slight pause on key frames, where it seems like time slows down. It emphasizes the whimsical nature and fantasy elements of what's happening in the scene. The trailer in the OP has lost all of that completely.

[Mercury33]

BOOOOOOOOOOO

[TwinIon]

That looks like a cheap childrens TV show. Just awful.

 

I'm guessing that they underestimated how difficult it is to make CG look good. Different elements look like they belong in different films, it feels like it doesn't have it's final lighting pass, and it feels like it's lacking texture or detail. The low quality doesn't help, but materials don't look noticeably different. I don't mind a simplistic art style, but I don't think this has a guiding sense of style. I don't think it's unsalvageable, but I hope this doesn't reflect the quality of the final result.

[ort]

Yuck. Looks like a direct-to-dvd piece of shit from a decade ago.

[heydude93]

Looks ok to me, though not as appealing as their 2D styles of course.

 

In an interview Miyazaki (Hayao) said they're more laid back w/ their work process now, completing an average of twelve minutes of animation a year for his upcoming hand-drawn film.  I'd imagine that reason and just wanting to try something new are why they went with 3D for this.

[silentbob]

Just watched and some of the animation works and lot just feels off. I miss that hand drawn warmth the picture would exude, and this just feels a little stale. I didn’t really notice the little things like the grass blades and leaves blowing in the wind or subtle breeze. I wanna see more animation in the animation. I do hope Joe Hisaishi is in charge of the musical score

[Keyser_Soze]

Disney must have forced their hand. "Hey we ditched the magic of hand drawn animation years ago and now we just make CG versions of the cartoons and everyone thinks they are great!"

[silentbob]

55 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said:

Disney must have forced their hand. "Hey we ditched the magic of hand drawn animation years ago and now we just make CG versions of the cartoons and everyone thinks they are great!"

I don't believe Disney has been involved with them in years, as GKids have the digital sales rights. Plus HBO Max has the exclusive streaming rights now as well

[Reputator]

Yeah no thanks.

[Ghost_MH]

1 hour ago, silentbob said:

I don't believe Disney has been involved with them in years, as GKids have the digital sales rights. Plus HBO Max has the exclusive streaming rights now as well

 

Yeah, this isn't about Disney forcing anything. This is a combination of things. The budget for hand drawn animation is through the roof, especially Studio Ghibli hand drawn animation where do much of the screen is alive. Also getting any feature length movies done in a reasonable amount of time takes a ton of people, people the studio no longer has after the exodus that occurred following Miyazaki's retirement and the move of some folks over to Studio Ponoc. I think their current hand drawn feature is scheduled for release like 2/3 years from now and it's already been in production for a few years now.

 

On top of that, the market for hand drawn features has dramatically shrunk over the last few decades. There is a belief that Studio Ghibli movies have a larger audience than your typical anime and that CG films do better with modern audiences, especially kids. Disney did see this as a thing that was happening, so it's no shock Studio Ghibli came to the same conclusion.

 

I guess I'm 2020 we expect Studio Ghibli to be able pull off Moana when they're really in the Chicken Little territory.

[Ghost_MH]

At least the puppets look great...

 

 

[Ghost_MH]

Well, it won't be a long wait to check this out ourselves...

 

Studio Ghibli's 'Earwig and the Witch' Gets Theatrical, HBO Max Release Dates | Hollywood Reporter

WWW.HOLLYWOODREPORTER.COM

 

Looks like the movie is hitting HBO Max on February 5th.

[Bloodporne]

I just saw Spirited Away for the first time last weekend so it's incredibly fresh in my mind and this looks devoid of any of that charm. I just flat-out can't stand the look just like I have yet to see a 2.5D game look like anything but that shitty Garfield CG reboot cartoon to me. Also based on that footage and despite my very limited exposure to Ghibli so far, I agree with @Fizzzzle's post. It looks very uh, bare and bland, like nothing exciting is happening in terms of stylistic angles or anything.

 

Just looks really boring and 'normal'.  

[Keyser_Soze]

As someone who never watched the trailer in the OP and am watching the official

 

This one

 

Spoiler

 

 

Trailer for the first time. I don't think it looks that bad. It looks like a better looking version of Dragon Quest or something. And the characters still have that Ghibli look to them.

[Keyser_Soze]

@Bloodporne I've mentioned this one before but if you're interested in CG anime (which most people aren't) I thought Oblivion Island was actually alright, if you get a chance to see it

 

 

[Bloodporne]

50 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said:

@Bloodporne I've mentioned this one before but if you're interested in CG anime (which most people aren't) I thought Oblivion Island was actually alright, if you get a chance to see it

 

 

I don't mean to sound like some anime snob after seeing like five total in my life but part of my interest in it is actually the art and animation itself. So far I've seen exactly two CG anima trailers, the OP and this, and I don't like the look of either unfortunately.

[Keyser_Soze]

Fucking snob.

[Keyser_Soze]

Honestly though I generally share your sentiment and have for a long time. 2D hand drawn animation is special. When Disney started doing the animation to live action thing I was not a fan because the appeal of the movies (to me) was the animation. Real life is boring and animation can take us to special places. CG animation is fine for the most part but Japanese haven't gotten the aesthetic down for years, even going back to something like Appleseed it usually looks kind of out of place.

That being said if you're willing to give  the film I suggested above a fair shake it is enjoyable, just not as magical as a well animated movie and the movie this thread is actually about is probably going to be that way as well.

[Greatoneshere]

33 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said:

Honestly though I generally share your sentiment and have for a long time. 2D hand drawn animation is special. When Disney started doing the animation to live action thing I was not a fan because the appeal of the movies (to me) was the animation. Real life is boring and animation can take us to special places. CG animation is fine for the most part but Japanese haven't gotten the aesthetic down for years, even going back to something like Appleseed it usually looks kind of out of place.

That being said if you're willing to give  the film I suggested above a fair shake it is enjoyable, just not as magical as a well animated movie and the movie this thread is actually about is probably going to be that way as well.

 

It's true, I agree with you. Polygon Pictures is getting close with stuff like Knights of Sidonia and Blame! and the Godzilla trilogy which still keep some of that anime style. Land of the Lustrous is also pretty eye grabbing, though that's not 3D CG as we think of it either. 

 

There's a way to do it, but it's still in its infancy and I think it needs to be a blend rather than emulating anything Disney/Pixar is doing. 

[Keyser_Soze]

Just now, Greatoneshere said:

 

It's true, I agree with you. Polygon Pictures is getting close with stuff like Knights of Sidonia and Blame! and the Godzilla trilogy which still keep some of that anime style. Land of the Lustrous is also pretty eye grabbing, though that's not 3D CG as we think of it either. 

 

There's a way to do it, but it's still in its infancy and I think it needs to be a blend rather than emulating anything Disney/Pixar is doing. 

 

I think Ghost in the Shell 2 had a fair amount of CG and it worked pretty well.

[Greatoneshere]

3 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said:

 

I think Ghost in the Shell 2 had a fair amount of CG and it worked pretty well.

 

It did but it was either all for background/vehicles/etc. or the robots. It was used to somewhat distinguish between humans (which are hand drawn in the film) and anything technological (robotic parts, androids, cars, tech, etc.) which were mostly CG. That's a great way to do a blend, and that came out in 2004.

 

I heard the new CG Lupin the III movie did it pretty well.

[Ghost_MH]

I have yet to watch the new Lupin movie, but the animation of that one is spot on. At least in the trailer and short clips I've seen. They worked with Marza for the CG there and those guys have been doing CG anime for close to a decade now. I think Ghibli's issue here might be that they're new at this and went in alone. Ronja was a little rough, but they should have stuck with Polygon Pictures for the production Earwig and the Witch. The thing is, I really like the character designs and I think they translate to CG pretty well. The problem is that Ghibli's worlds breath life in every frame and that's what's missing from these clips. That's really hard to do in CG, mind you. I can't think of any studios outside of Pixar that are there. Disney great, but even they fall short here. Disney hasn't put anything as dynamic on screen at the Land of the Dead in Coco or the fairgrounds in Toy Story 4. Outside of the Disney bubble, the last time the animation in a CG film really blew me away was...the chase scene in Tintin?

 

It's an uphill battle, for sure, but I think Ghibli would have been better off producing a few more TV series, shorts, or just working with others before going into a feature film alone.

 

I guess we'll see if trailers are any indication. Could still be a great movie even if the animation is lacking. Goro Miyazaki isn't exactly batting 1.000 like his dad, but there's hope I guess.

[NeoJoe]

The official trailer was way better than that first video posted but something about it being in this early 2010's era CGI makes it lose the "magic" I think it can potentially have similar to the other movies from Ghibli. They're trying something new though so I'll try to give them the benefit of the doubt.

[Ghost_MH]

What the fuck is this movie? It's incredibly short and feels like the first episode of some new series. A series whose story is told in the closing credits with a bunch of stills that had more life to them than the stiff animation. I really don't get it. The movie literally "yadda yadda, happy ending" itself in the literal last five minutes.

 

Earthsea, Goro Miyazaki's directorial debut, was also incredibly stiff, so I'm not convinced it's the CG animation team's fault. They certainly put in a noble effort, even if it falls far short of the Ghibli charm. From up on Poppy Hill was good, but it was also penned by his dad. I'm not sure I have much hope for Goro Miyazaki's next outing if his father isn't going to be working closely with him. I'll call it now. Studio Ghibli's two worst movies are his so that's not a very promising start for his career. Worst still that they aren't even bad by Ghibli standards. They're just not very good, period.

 

I has a sad.