From 1993 to 2003, the decade was the period when Ghibli used the most new directors.
This is not only the reason why Miyazaki and Takahata are getting older and their energy is decreasing, but also because Ghibli has always been directed by these two familiar faces, injecting fresh blood will also make the audience refreshed.
In 2002, Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki curated two animations at the same time, one of which was directed by the famous animation director Mori Hosoda.
But in the end, this animation changed the coach in the middle of the way, and the director was changed to Hayao Miyazaki, which has a variety of opinions and has not yet been conclusive.
Another animation is also a newcomer director Hirokashi Morita started by Ghibli, and this animation is what I want to talk to you about today.
"The Cat's Reward"
Haru Yoshioka is an ordinary high school girl who talks and spanks with her classmates on the road one day, but happens to meet a dead kitten who crosses the street without looking at traffic lights.
Haru Yoshioka relied on his running ability to not be late for school and rescued the cat in front of the truck in time.
Who would have thought that the cat she saved was actually the prince of the cat kingdom, and Haru Yoshioka was regarded as a benefactor by the entire cat kingdom.
The cat kingdom's way to repay the favor is to give Yoshioka a rat set for the new year.
In addition, the whole kingdom is also ready to invite her to play in the cat kingdom, and the cat king will let her marry his son as a princess.
In fact, Haru Yoshioka did not particularly hate the life of cats, she thought that she could eat and sleep every day without work, eat and sleep, such a dead house life seems to be good, so she casually agreed to the messenger of the cat kingdom and decided to go to the cat kingdom.
But on second thought, Haru Yoshioka and the cat have met once, so they don't want to be the wife of a strange cat.
At this time, a mysterious voice from nowhere reminded Haru Yoshioka that he could go to the Cat Office to find someone to help.
Haru Yoshioka found the Cat Office, and she controlled her physique, and seeing that the Cat Baron of the Cat Office was a handsome cat, she immediately couldn't walk.
Both the Cat Baron and his friend Fat Fat decide to come to the heroine's aid, and he reminds Haru Yoshioka that even when he arrives at the Cat Kingdom, he must keep himself.
The cat kingdom that came to pick up Haru Yoshioka in the evening arrived as scheduled, and the servants of the cat kingdom had already dressed the heroine according to the standards of the princess.
Although she always felt that she was just coming to visit and did not intend to really stay, in the end she felt that the cat kingdom was also good, and the jewelry and clothes were beautiful.
However, just as Haru Yoshioka was immersed in this beautiful feeling, she actually grew cat ears and began to change into the appearance of a cat.
But the fat who accompanied the heroine to the kingdom first also fainted in the jelly because he ate too much.
In the end, the cat baron disguised himself and mixed with the guests of the cat king to rescue the heroine.
Haru Yoshioka and his party broke through the labyrinth laid down by the Cat King and came to the tower connecting the human world and the cat kingdom.
The entire tower was blown up by the Cat King, and it seemed that he would never be able to return to the human world.
Fortunately, the cat prince, who was saved by the hostess at this time, rushed over, stopped his father, and confessed that he already had the cat he wanted, and his favorite cat, Xiaoxue, was the mysterious voice that reminded Haru Yoshioka to find the cat's office before.
Since Haru Yoshioka had also saved Koyuki when she was a child, Koyuki decided to help her, and Haru Yoshioka escaped from the cat kingdom with the help of these people.
Only because the top of the tower was destroyed, the entrance to the human world was also moved to the sky, and the heroine posed as the standard descending from the sky, ready to grab the ground with her head and make intimate contact with the earth.
("The Cat's Retribution", "Spirited Away", "Weather Son")
Just as he was about to fall to the ground, the Crows of the Cat Office called on his other Crow friends to help Haru Yoshioka return to the human world, and Haru Yoshioka grew from this adventure and became more serious about life.
The story itself is not complicated, and if you look at all Ghibli's works, "The Cat's Reward" is obviously not the most profound one, but director Hiroyuki Morita did incorporate some thoughts into the film.
The core of "The Cat's Reward" is more like most of the portrayal of modern people's lives.
For many people, the heavy work is already unbearable, and almost everyone may think that it is good to sleep enough every day to eat and drink.
Morita Hiroyuki believes that if you stop at a life of eating and drinking, you are just going with the flow.
The most important thing is to think clearly about what you want and strive to achieve the goal you want to achieve.
This is also Ghibli's consistent theme of self-growth, whether it is "Spirited Away" or the cat's sister article "Listening in the Ear".
But of course, this animation is not only the content of what is expressed, but his foreshadowing recycling is just as wonderful.
For example, in the first half of the anime, Haru Yoshioka's mother mentions that the heroine also saved a kitten when she was a child.
In the later period, the kitten, that is, Xiaoxue, became a key role in guiding the heroine to the cat's office and persuading the heroine not to stay in the cat kingdom.
The crows of the Cat's Office that appeared in the front also became an important role in saving Haru Yoshioka in the later period.
This is also in line with Chekhov's words -
"If there's a gun hanging on the wall in the first act, then be sure to shoot it in the back."
Although the animation will not be like the drama, every prop is a foreshadowing, but most of the characters or props that have a lot of ink will still play a huge role in the back.
The foreshadowing in "The Cat's Reward" is the standard design, which will make the story more focused, rather than the director arbitrarily arranging some plots, or deviating too far from the theme; or digging a hole and not filling it.
In addition to the excellent plot and expression connotation, this work also has a very rich lens language.
For example, when the emissaries of the cat kingdom came to persuade Haru Yoshioka, Haru Yoshioka was shaken in his heart.
At this time, the director took a short empty shot of swaying flowers to reflect the wavering mentality of the heroine.
There are two oblique pictures in the whole film, one is after the heroine saves the cat kingdom, a group of cats follow her into her school; the other is the castle of the cat kingdom.
The language of the shots in these two places is very suitable, the first tilt shows the fear of the heroine, and the second tilt reflects the evil of the cat kingdom.
In addition, the director also uses logical lens language to express the relationship between the strength of the characters.
For example, when Haru Yoshioka ran into the maze, the director used the angle of the overhead shot and the long-range scene to paint Haru Yoshioka and his party, and used the upward shooting angle with the close-up and medium-shot scenes to paint the cat king.
The cat king, who occupies more space in the picture, appears more imposing, while Haru Yoshioka is less imposing.
And when the Cat Earl saw through the Cat King's plan and broke the trap laid by the Cat King with soldiers, the director also began to use close-up and medium-shot to paint the protagonist group, so that the protagonist group and the cat king looked equal.
In the most critical part of the whole film, the director also used the language of the camera to hint at the direction of the plot.
At this time, the Cat Count had just won the Cat King with the sword, and Haru Yoshioka was about to run to the entrance to the human world, but at this time, the Cat King's position was higher than that of the Cat Count.
Later, the audience learns that this is because the protagonist and his party have not yet escaped from difficulties, and the Cat King anticipates that because the tower crashes, the entrance to the human world has also moved, which will put the protagonist group in trouble.
The director uses these fine lens languages to unify the form and content.
If you ignore the plot and just arrange some shots at random, it will only make the effect that this animation wants to express greatly reduce.
The scenery of the lens and the position of the characters are all elements that need to be considered in visual arts such as animation and film.
Although this animation also has some shortcomings, such as the heroine has grown a lot, but her own efforts are very small, mainly helpers are more practical, which does not reflect the protagonist's initiative very well.
It is estimated that this is also the reason why the director was scolded by Miyazaki, after all, in Miyazaki's films, the protagonists basically solve problems by themselves.
But then again, Miyazaki's high standards are also famous, and he even scolded his early works when he was "crazy".
But for a person who is getting an independent directing opportunity for the first time, it is enough to express something and the language of the camera is wonderful enough.