2B - Thursday, December 7, 2006

{the b-side}

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

My Neighbor Totoro (1988)

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
By BERNIE NGUYEN
ManagingArtsEditor
Think back to the hazy days
of childhood, when anime giant
Studio Ghibli and its beloved
films "Spirited Away" and "Prin-
cess Mononoke" didn't yet exist.
Think way back, to lovable giant
puff-balls whose strange mix of
cat- and owl-like features didn't
belie the general mysteriousness
of their nature.
I speak, of course, of "My Neigh-
bor Totoro," one of the first of
Hayao Miyazaki's films to find its
way across the pond. Written and
directed by Miyazaki before he
became anime's hottest commod-
ity, "Totoro" was not only a lovable
chapter in a childhood memory,
but also a damn good movie.
"Totoro" tells the endearing
tale of two sisters, Mei and Sat-
suki, whose relocation with their
father to a rural country house
(ostensibly in order to be closer to
their hospitalized mother) brings
them into contact with a number
of delightfully eerie spirits: tiny
soot sprites, whose bouncy pro-
cessions along the hallways of
the old house can't help but evoke
a smile, and the indescribably
larger Totoro, several furry-look-
ing monsters who dwell in a giant
tree in the forest that borders the
house. The largest of these lovable
Totoro befriends the girls, setting
up a series of fantastic adventures
that range from a trip on the mys-
tical Catbus all the way to an aer-
ial midnight flight, set aloft by an
umbrella.
But what really made "Toto-
ro" special was the relationship
Miyazaki developed between the
two sisters.
The film, under its splendid
mask of fantasy and imagination,
paints a tender portrait of fam-
ily and childhood, teasing out the
naivete that gives the film its most
substantial qualities. Unlike the
CARGO
Froim page 1B
Additonally, "This Christmas"
by Donny Hathaway is about as
close as any of us mortals are
going to getcto hearing an actual
angel singing a Christmas tune.
Add Clarence Carter's "Back Door
Santa," and the Curtis Mayfield-led
Impressions' own divine interpre-
tation of "Silent Night" and you
have the most soulful collection of
Christmas tracks available.
Last, but not least, is the Beatles'
own Christmas Album (what, you
thought I'd go a whole column
without mentioning them?). As
pervasive as the Beatles music is,

supreme complexity of his later
movie like "Spirited Away" and
most recently "Howl's Moving
Castle," the narrative of "Totoro"
follows a simpler storyline that
focuses more on personal and
individual moments surround-
ing the film's characters than on
an overwhelming abundance of
Technicolor.
Not that the film itself lacks any
animated charm: the near-mini-
malist aesthetic Miyazaki takes to
the animation of the characters in
his films (round curves, straight
lines, the traditional child-like
look of his chosen subset of anime)
gives "Totoro" an endearingly
easy-to-follow quality. The setting
of his story, however, maintains
the intricate details that make his
characters pop.
Miyazaki has been lauded in
recent years for the rich narrative
ambiance of his films, and "Spir-
ited Away," his ode to the power
of imagination, took the Academy
Award for best animated feature
in 2003 and still ranks among the
best animated films of all time.
Miyazaki's other popular films
were originally released in Japan
before coming overseas with
fresh dubbing. "Totoro," which
was released in the United States
in 1993, actually made its debut
in Japan back in 1988. Because
of renewed interest and the cool-
factor attributed to anime films,
Disney re-released the film in
2006, redubbed in new voices and
enhanced for DVD release.
But "Totoro" remains a water-
shed for Miyazaki's films and
career, if only for the doors it
opened for him with U.S.-released
films. Fans willnotice that the logo
for his company, Studio Ghibli,
features two round, cat-like crea-
tures.
A fitting tribute, then, to the
film that might very well have
made Miyazaki's reputation what
it is today.
a lot of people don't even know
this record exists. Why? For one,
it's extremely rare. It's never been
released on CD, and the original LP
was only distributed through the
fan club, so copies go for hundreds
of dollars. Secondly, it's not a col-
lection of songs per se, it's a com-
pilation of the flexi-disc 7-inches
they would send out to the fan club,
beginning in 1963 and continuing
until their break-up. The messages
began with the four lads gathering
around a single microphone, crack-
ing each other up and thanking the
fans - butcthey grew increasingly
avant garde as the years pile up.
The album is more interesting as a
historical document than anything,
almost like a sonic timeline of their
development (and drug use). Any

Peter Jackson was recently rehired to direct "The Hobbi-
MUSIC
Britney Spears: candidate for Mensa. Not
that anyone is surprised by this. Regardless,
on Monday, New York-based auction house
Christie's put a hand-written book review of
Rex Warner's translation of the Greek tragedy
"Antigone" up for auction. The essay, which is
taken from Spears's junior high school note-
book, also includes teacher comments and a
wealth of spelling errors. Thank goodness she
doesn't write all her own lyrics.
MOVIES
Watch out, Hollywood - the furry-feeted
Middle Earth dwellers are back. Peter Jack-
son, director of the wildly successful "Lord
of the Rings" series, has been hired to direct
the anticipated prequel, "The Hobbit," also
to be released by New Line Cinema. Jackson,
who was previously involved in disputes with
the studio over royalties, was reportedly fired
last week and then rehired. Tolkienites every-
where are sure to rejoice. Let's just be thank-
ful Orlando Bloom won't reprise any role that
requires a blond wig.
VIDEO GAMES
Since its release, hosts of websites warning
users of the Nintendo Wii's destructive ten-
dencies have cropped up. One such site, www.

wiikilledmytv.com, claims that innocent televi-
sion sets are being destroyed when overzealous
players lose their grip on the wireless remote,
causing it to smash into their unsuspecting
televisions. Photos of Wii-related television
injuries, like softball-sized holes, are posted
on the sites. A safety strap is attached to the
remote to prevent this kind of accident, but
many users claim that during intense game
play if the remote goes flying, the wrist strap
snaps and goes with it.
TELEVISION
As if the Bush Administration's antics
weren't amusing enough on their own, Com-
edy Central has picked up six episodes of "Lil'
Bush," a cartoon featuring elementary-school
versions of the Prez, Dick Cheney, Condoleeza
Rice, Donald Rumsfeld and eventhe First Lady.
The show was originally developed as a series
of five-minute clips from wireless provider
Amp'd Mobile, who has licensed the episodes
to the network. The show's writer/producer
Donick Cary is no stranger to animation, either
-his resumeincludes work on "The Simpsons,"
among other shows. And you thought watching
Bush on CNN was funny.
- Compiled by Caitlin Cowan
and Bernie Nguyen.
memory for some.

MORE FASHION FROM THE
D-TOWN
The Detroit Fashion Incubator - in a wildly
ambitious endeavor - aims to create, sup-
port and promote a fashion industry in the
Detroit metropolitan area. Born from the mind
of Michael Delon, the goal is to create an eco-
nomic and artistic aid to encourage legitimate
competition in the national and international
fashion markets.
The DFI will most likely take the place of the
Pure Detroit Design Lab, which achieved mini-
mal yet effective support for new and upcom-
ing designers. The Detroit fashion community
is a small one, but the Design Lab motivated
local design shops and an eager clientele.
Nevertheless, the DFI's grand opening came
with much anticipation on Dec. 1, but left much
to be desired. The Design Lab's storefront on
Congress - an accessible and widely visible
location - has given way to a standalone brick
building at 4737 Grand River Ave., a good five
minutes from the downtown area. The build-
ing's outdoor lighting and Chelsea-esque wall
graffiti are initially appealing, but the store
inside wavers between avant-garde fashion
and rough-around-the-edges amateurism.
Not to seem gloomy, but it's going to take
more than a single organization to boost the
failing economy and general lack of interest in
the Detroit fashion scene. But if all goes well,
the DFI could potentially inspire the rest of
the city to follow suit. There's little doubt that
the DFl can maintain what Detroit already
has to offer, but whether it will succeed in its
attempts to elevate the local fashion industry's
status worldwide has yet to be determined.
To support the DF and local high-fashion
designers, mark your calendars this weekend
for the annual "Fashion Party," which was
first launched in 1999 and takes place Dec.
8 through 10 this year. Garnering as many as
5,000 attendees in past years, the event typi-
cally draws a diverse audience for three nights
of partying, runway shows and cutting-edge
garment sales downtown. For more informa-
tion, check out their website at www.detroit-
fashionincubator.com.
CAROLINE HARTMANN
noticed at first glance: Bits of ciga-
spin-offs rette butts, coins and keys can be
is work, found embedded in his works and
ects only faint handprints peek out behind
cy. Great strings of colors. The longer you
in a way look at his work, the more you
I Pollock realize there's a top and a bottom
to con- after all, creating a clearly defined
structure that can still appear so
create" a disorganized. A new world - cha-
t be simi- otic and orderly, animated and still
comput- - emerges and consumes its cap-
g next to tive audience.
am walls. As for the "struggle," few could
ns can be deny Pollock's traumatic history,
igns, Pol- which included a battle with chron-
without it alcoholism and nervous break-
ay's digi- downs. His work demonstrated the
of an art- importance of the artistic process
the piece and physical participation in one's
produce work, all as a personal outlet for
t Pollock the artist and person within.
"The painting has a life of its
isn't just own," Pollock said. "I want to
:s some- express my feelings rather than
to engulf illustrate them."
cling the And that he did, with more
ense lay- intensity and insight than any ele-
l than is phant ever could.

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ARTSPAGE@
MICHIGANDAILY.
COM"
Beatles fan would be remiss not
to try and at least track down a
bootleg.
So, while these albums are by
and large anomalies in the canon
of crappy Christmas music, they're
notable exceptions. There are
others too (James Brown's Funky
Christmas and Smokey Robin-
son and the Miracle's Seasonfor
Miracles come to mind the quickest)
that prove that it's indeed possible
to create worthwhile art around an
increasingly commercial holiday.
The common thread that unites
them is unfettered joy, and a few
rotations on the turntable ought
to make even the most hardened
Scrooge nostalgic for the days when
Santa was real, and December25
was the best day of the year.

POLLOCK
From page 1B
sketches contained similar fractal
patterns. Needless to say, this was
not good news for Pollock enthusi-
asts.
If a Pollock can be recreated
by a computer program or 4 year-
old, fractal patterns and all, why
not by an artistically inclined ele-
phant? There are more than a few
resources that compare the work
of pre-schoolers, trained elephants
and Pollock himself. It's harder
to detect a "fake" than you might
think, art scholar or not. For the
past several years, domesticated
Asian elephants have been taught
to paint in a variety of styles, drip
and splatter painting included.
Who better to create such a mas-
terpiece than an animal with a
built-in spray bottle? These paint-
ings have sold out at the prestigious
Christie's auction house, turning
Pollock's reputation into a distant

You can argue that;
and backlash discredit h
but if anything, these asp
strengthen Pollock's lega
art is thought provoking
that nothing else is, and
has pushed his audience
templation for decades.
Let's say you can "re(
Pollock. The results might
lar, but there aren't any
erized knockoffs hangini
his masterwork on museu
And even if fractal patter
identified in artificial desi
lock's work contains them
the additional help of tod
tal technology. The effect,
work is as significant ast
itself, and few others can
the same level of awe tha
achieved.
A Pollock drip painting
something to look at, it
thing that has the power,
its viewers. The paint cir
canvas and piled high in d
ers contains more detai

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