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My first ever Studio Ghibli review 
I know this isn't horror, but I often feel as though this film is always over looked, so I thought I'd try to give it a little exposure 
and also because it's one of the few Ghibli gems that I've seen in both English and Japanese.
From Up on Poppy Hill follows a teenage girl named Umi (Sarah Bolger) who struggles to cope with the death of her father, who perished in the Korean war. However, when her school's clubhouse is threatened with closure, she decides to assist her peers in cleaning it up, but along the way, she meets Shun (Anton Yelchin) and the two slowly fall in love with each other, but that is quickly threatened by a shocking revelation.
Positives
Once again, Studio Ghibli's attention to detail creates a sequence of visually gorgeous scenes that evidently have had many hours dedicated to them, and it's tiny effects like this that always complete their films, and makes them fantastic in every way, with this film being no exception whatsoever!
This film is also quite rare in that I honestly believe that the English version is superior to the original one, and I feel this way for numerous reasons. Firstly, the English version is accessible to any viewer regardless of their location, culture, country of origin etc. for in the beginning it gives a quick overview of Japan in the 1960s and the shifting attitudes possessed by their citizens, something that the original version fails to do. This seems a bit nit picky, but it's pretty pivotal. For only then can we witness this film and truly experience an overwhelming sense of nostalgia that this film commits a large quantity of time attempting to develop. I also think it's the first time a film has ever strongly provoked such a strong and specific emotion and feeling. I mean I was feeling poignantly nostalgic about a decade I wasn't even alive in and a country and culture I've had minimal exposure to! That was peculiar, but strangely beautiful too. The soundtrack also emphasised this effect massively, it's a small element of the film, but when it is used, it's used to its fullest potential.
Romance has always been an element that has been proficiently and masterfully tackled by Studio Ghibli on a very consistent basis. The romance between Howl and Sophie in their respective film was totally enchanting and you could fully comprehend why they fell for each other. This film replicates this, Umi and Shun are charming characters, who only become even more sweet and likeable when they're in the presence of one another, so basically, you end up rooting for these characters massively.
Studio Ghibli almost always allow Disney to do the English dubbing of their films, this time GKIDS took the reigns, but the result was fantastic, and regardless, they always manage to attract big names. For example, Christian Bale and Lauren Bacall (who were both in Howl's Moving Castle). This film is no exception, with Jamie Lee Curtis being amongst the ranks this time. However, the lead, Sarah Bolger, is actually pretty outstanding, she conveys such a wide spectrum of emotions with the correct amount of accuracy and precision. The scene in which Umi confesses her love to Shun was the most magical and heart warming scene within the film, although the direction (offered by Hayao's eldest son, Goro), was terrific too, especially within this particular scene.
This company are perhaps best known for their expeditions into fantastical and marvellously extravagant dominions that act as a form of escapism into worlds perhaps superior to our own. So to see them explore such an ordinary story about ordinary individuals was refreshing, but it worked amazingly well too. I certainly feel as though they represented us perfectly, the teenagers are full of wonder, optimism and a persistent urge to actively defend what they believe in. The adults are portrayed as knowledgeable, a bit distant at times, but fully empathetic as well, because they too were the same age as the protagonists at some point, and this is something I feel as though many films frequently forget. Anyway, the story was simple, but touching, and all of the sub-plots ended up tying together nicely, with no strings left unattended.
Negatives
The subbed version I saw almost scarred me for life! Basically, at one point, it is discovered that Shun and Umi are possibly half-siblings, that inevitably leaves them feeling quite perplexed and confused about how they feel for each other. In the English version, Umi gives a touchingly sweet but brief speech about how she loves him but knows there's nothing they can do about it, and it was my favourite scene of the film without a doubt. But the original version... well... she stands there next to Shun, grabs his hand, and tells him she doesn't care if they're siblings, because she loves him and knows that she always will which was quite touching, yes, but I could not get past the first bit! It was condoning an incestuous relationship between teenagers! Perhaps I am being a little dramatic, but I couldn't get over what she did, and it was a significant put-off.
The plot was perhaps a bit too simplistic. It was gorgeous, but when you realise what the writers at Studio Ghibli are capable of, I was guilty of expecting a little bit more. Shun also comments at one stage that the whole thing feels like something from a soap opera, and he's not exactly wrong. It was quite far fetched and it quickly resolved itself, so it wasn't too realistic. But, I still love this film without a doubt.
Conclusion
A foray into an often untouched territory for the masters on animation, that was magically nostalgic and completely mesmerising! Disney deliver an astounding dub as they always do, which ultimately allowed its version to become superior to the original, Japanese version. This is quite a tricky one, but I gave it an 8 on IMDb so I'll convert it and give it the equivalent:
I know this isn't horror, but I often feel as though this film is always over looked, so I thought I'd try to give it a little exposure and also because it's one of the few Ghibli gems that I've seen in both English and Japanese.From Up on Poppy Hill follows a teenage girl named Umi (Sarah Bolger) who struggles to cope with the death of her father, who perished in the Korean war. However, when her school's clubhouse is threatened with closure, she decides to assist her peers in cleaning it up, but along the way, she meets Shun (Anton Yelchin) and the two slowly fall in love with each other, but that is quickly threatened by a shocking revelation.
Positives
Once again, Studio Ghibli's attention to detail creates a sequence of visually gorgeous scenes that evidently have had many hours dedicated to them, and it's tiny effects like this that always complete their films, and makes them fantastic in every way, with this film being no exception whatsoever!
This film is also quite rare in that I honestly believe that the English version is superior to the original one, and I feel this way for numerous reasons. Firstly, the English version is accessible to any viewer regardless of their location, culture, country of origin etc. for in the beginning it gives a quick overview of Japan in the 1960s and the shifting attitudes possessed by their citizens, something that the original version fails to do. This seems a bit nit picky, but it's pretty pivotal. For only then can we witness this film and truly experience an overwhelming sense of nostalgia that this film commits a large quantity of time attempting to develop. I also think it's the first time a film has ever strongly provoked such a strong and specific emotion and feeling. I mean I was feeling poignantly nostalgic about a decade I wasn't even alive in and a country and culture I've had minimal exposure to! That was peculiar, but strangely beautiful too. The soundtrack also emphasised this effect massively, it's a small element of the film, but when it is used, it's used to its fullest potential.
Romance has always been an element that has been proficiently and masterfully tackled by Studio Ghibli on a very consistent basis. The romance between Howl and Sophie in their respective film was totally enchanting and you could fully comprehend why they fell for each other. This film replicates this, Umi and Shun are charming characters, who only become even more sweet and likeable when they're in the presence of one another, so basically, you end up rooting for these characters massively.
Studio Ghibli almost always allow Disney to do the English dubbing of their films, this time GKIDS took the reigns, but the result was fantastic, and regardless, they always manage to attract big names. For example, Christian Bale and Lauren Bacall (who were both in Howl's Moving Castle). This film is no exception, with Jamie Lee Curtis being amongst the ranks this time. However, the lead, Sarah Bolger, is actually pretty outstanding, she conveys such a wide spectrum of emotions with the correct amount of accuracy and precision. The scene in which Umi confesses her love to Shun was the most magical and heart warming scene within the film, although the direction (offered by Hayao's eldest son, Goro), was terrific too, especially within this particular scene.
This company are perhaps best known for their expeditions into fantastical and marvellously extravagant dominions that act as a form of escapism into worlds perhaps superior to our own. So to see them explore such an ordinary story about ordinary individuals was refreshing, but it worked amazingly well too. I certainly feel as though they represented us perfectly, the teenagers are full of wonder, optimism and a persistent urge to actively defend what they believe in. The adults are portrayed as knowledgeable, a bit distant at times, but fully empathetic as well, because they too were the same age as the protagonists at some point, and this is something I feel as though many films frequently forget. Anyway, the story was simple, but touching, and all of the sub-plots ended up tying together nicely, with no strings left unattended.
Negatives
The subbed version I saw almost scarred me for life! Basically, at one point, it is discovered that Shun and Umi are possibly half-siblings, that inevitably leaves them feeling quite perplexed and confused about how they feel for each other. In the English version, Umi gives a touchingly sweet but brief speech about how she loves him but knows there's nothing they can do about it, and it was my favourite scene of the film without a doubt. But the original version... well... she stands there next to Shun, grabs his hand, and tells him she doesn't care if they're siblings, because she loves him and knows that she always will which was quite touching, yes, but I could not get past the first bit! It was condoning an incestuous relationship between teenagers! Perhaps I am being a little dramatic, but I couldn't get over what she did, and it was a significant put-off.
The plot was perhaps a bit too simplistic. It was gorgeous, but when you realise what the writers at Studio Ghibli are capable of, I was guilty of expecting a little bit more. Shun also comments at one stage that the whole thing feels like something from a soap opera, and he's not exactly wrong. It was quite far fetched and it quickly resolved itself, so it wasn't too realistic. But, I still love this film without a doubt.
Conclusion
A foray into an often untouched territory for the masters on animation, that was magically nostalgic and completely mesmerising! Disney deliver an astounding dub as they always do, which ultimately allowed its version to become superior to the original, Japanese version. This is quite a tricky one, but I gave it an 8 on IMDb so I'll convert it and give it the equivalent: