Okay, Miyazaki-san didn’t use those exact words, but his sentiment to reporters after a screening of Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea was in a similar vein. I’ll always defend anime, if only on the grounds that it is the last (and perhaps greatest) bastion of traditional animation left in the world.

As much as I enjoy Pixar films, and the generation of computer-animated imitators which have followed, there is a sterile quality to computer animation that no one has yet to overcome. Call it the ‘uncanny valley‘ if you will, but there simply is no comparison between Wall-E and Spirited Away. None.

Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale “The Little Mermaid,” the film tells the story of a little goldfish who longs to become a human to be with her love, five-year-old boy Sosuke. It uses hand-drawn art throughout.

“I think animation is something that needs the pencil, needs man’s drawing hand, and that is why I decided to do this work in this way,” the silver haired, notoriously shy director told reporters after a press screening.

“Currently computer graphics are of course used a great deal and, as I’ve said before, this use can at times be excessive,” he added, speaking through an interpreter. “I will continue to use my pencil as long as I can.”

Variety Asia reports that Japanese Star Wars fans attending the Star Wars Celebration Japan will be treated to a glimpse of the upcoming ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars‘ CGI film, as well as the ‘Clone Wars‘ TV series, set to debut later this year. I have to admit my interest in all things Lucas has dwindled to a singularity, but I’m actually kinda, sorta, looking forward to ‘Clone Wars‘.

Japanese fans will be the first in the world to see clips from the new CG toon. produced by Lucasfilm Animation. Also, director Dave Filoni will fill in fans on the pic’s production process in a talk with Japanese animator Atsushi Takeuchi, whose credits include “Ghost in the Shell” and “The Sky Crawlers.”

Tomorrow…

Rating:  

There’s a certain irony to Vexille that sets in quickly after the opening credits. The film’s central theme is the subjugation of humanity by an increasing reliance on technology. And yet, the film is itself an example of the very sin the screenwriters seek to purge.

Following closely on the massive success of the CGI film Appleseed, director Fumihiko Sori (aka ‘Sori’) uses the same 2D/3D approach that made the former film a smash hit amongst anime enthusiasts, both here and abroad. Instead of adapting another well-known work, however, Vexille is an entirely new universe, albeit one that borrows heavily from Shirow-san in more ways than one. The result is a film that *almost* succeeds despite itself, a beautiful-looking but fairly run-of-the-mill experience that reminds you of better films, but doesn’t quite achieve their level of success.

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