Not entirely by design I had a weekend of animation - not just Pixar's newest "WALL-E" but a 1995 Miyazaki Hayao film called "耳をすませば" (in English "Whisper of the
Heart") which someone's fed onto youtube, Dreamworks' summer blockbuster "Kung Fu Panda" (my reward for subjecting myself to a service at The Journey, a Rick Warren spin-off church promising but failing to deliver good news about "
God on Film"), and, courtesy of Netflix, Vincent Paronnaud's adaptation of Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel "Persepolis."
Four very different kinds of animation, each charming in its way. "WALL-E" I've told you about already; it's
deeeep. The Miyazaki is a dreamy adolescent love story with as yet minimal fantasy. "Persepolis" was too different from the aesthetic of the original books - sometimes in flat B&W like the books, but often using greys, invoking silhouettes and shadow puppets - coherence is lost. To my surprise,
it's "Kung Fu Panda" I'm inclined to commend to you, not just (I think) because I went into it with no expectations at all. After a slowish start, I was rapt withal, swept away, overjoyed with what only animation can do!
Not entirely by design I had a weekend of animation - not just Pixar's newest "WALL-E" but a 1995 Miyazaki Hayao film called "耳をすませば" (in English "Whisper of the 
Heart") which someone's fed onto youtube, Dreamworks' summer blockbuster "Kung Fu Panda" (my reward for subjecting myself to a service at The Journey, a Rick Warren spin-off church promising but failing to deliver good news about "God on Film"), and, courtesy of Netflix, Vincent Paronnaud's adaptation of Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel "Persepolis." 
Four very different kinds of animation, each charming in its way. "WALL-E" I've told you about already; it's deeeep. The Miyazaki is a dreamy adolescent love story with as yet minimal fantasy. "Persepolis" was too different from the aesthetic of the original books - sometimes in flat B&W like the books, but often using greys, invoking silhouettes and shadow puppets - coherence is lost. To my surprise, 
it's "Kung Fu Panda" I'm inclined to commend to you, not just (I think) because I went into it with no expectations at all. After a slowish start, I was rapt withal, swept away, overjoyed with what only animation can do!
