Completely beautiful film.
Miyazaki did the
storyboards,
production, and wrote the
script, which made minor but crucial changes to the
manga source story. The manga was by
Hiiragi Aoi, and for once I don't think
the manga is better. I imagine it's good, or
Ghibli wouldn't have picked it up, but
divinity is in the details. There are a lot of interesting things going on in Whispers of the Heart, from the
fantasy art used in the
story sequences, to the additional details to be gleaned from carefully watching the background of the
end credits. I really loved this movie; the end made me
cry. Other
hopeful romantics will, too. It's also a good thing to watch if you're having spells of "what am I doing with my life?!"-
angst.
You can read about Whispers of the Heart at http://www.
nausicaa.net/miyazaki/mimi but avoid the
FAQ section if you don't want
spoilers. Be sure to read it afterwards, though! It's a very
detailed film and you don't want to miss any of it, even if you must rewatch it a few times. (which I plan to!) It hasn't been released in
English yet, although
Disney is sitting on the rights.
-
Baron
-
Moon