The author of this article is @Ghost Foot Seven of the Xiaowan family
The only thing movie does is to make life more interesting than movies
The top three japanese film box office this year are currently animated films, and they are all local animations.
Even for an animation power like Japan, this is a rare sight.
The winner was New Evangelion Theater Edition: The End, which was the finale of the series, which grossed more than 10 billion yen, followed by the new theatrical version of "Detective Conan: Crimson Bullets" by "Ten Thousand Years Elementary School".
The third runner-up is much more niche - Hosoda's new film "The Dragon and the Freckled Princess".
Although it has a slightly magical name, the story of "Dragon and Freckled Princess" is still the "real/virtual world" + "youthful blood" that Hosoda is best at.
In a year without neither Ghibli nor Makoto Shinkai, will this new film bring us the familiar "fresh feeling"?
The protagonist of the story, "Suzu", is an unremarkable high school girl, after the death of her mother, she is caught in her own emotional world on the one hand, and on the other hand, she is gradually alienated from the people around her, and becomes a person who hides herself.
Until one day, she came into contact with an online virtual community "U", in this world she used the name of "Belle" to put aside all the restrictions in reality and sing freely with her voice, and thus became a "red person" in the virtual community.
Judging from the above introduction, this is a simple story of healing inner wounds and finding self in the virtual and real world, but the other protagonist of "Dragon and Freckled Princess" has not yet appeared -
Belle has become a star with many fans in the virtual world, and there is another "star" that everyone fears: the dragon.
The dragon who goes around wreaking havoc is a dangerous person in this world, and everyone tries to reveal his true face under his virtual identity.
The princess representing "good" and the dragon representing "evil" met in the online world.
That's right, this is a new-age version of the Beauty and the Beast story.
It's just that in "Dragon and Freckled Princess", the beast and beauty in the virtual world have to complete the process of soothing each other's scars, and outside the virtual world, the real bell must also learn to face themselves again and no longer evade the story of responsibility.
Everyone sees the dragon as a "terrorist" in the online world, trying every means to find out his true face, and even unwarranted suspicion of people who have similarities with the dragon in the details, this set of practices seems a little familiar.
Yes, "Internet violence" or "human flesh", virtual identity provides shelter for people, but also makes people ignore that behind each ID and image, they are all living people in reality.
This, only the bell that also uses the virtual identity to hide the inferiority of the bell can understand, the film between the two protagonists, the establishment of a dual "beauty and beast" relationship, they not only understand and support each other in the "U" world, but also in real life to establish a common resistance to the cold relationship around them.
This is hosoda's most classic story theme: the shell of science fiction and whimsical stories, with a simple and straightforward youthful passion.
"The Dragon and the Freckled Princess" is a gorgeous visual effect and Belle's beautiful singing voice on the one hand, and on the other hand, a girl immersed in the pain of losing her mother and a boy who suffers from domestic violence from her father. The contrast between two different colors, different temperatures, and different touches has become the most important means for the film to create an emotional impact.
In the climactic passage at the end of the story, Suzu, who chooses to take off his hypocritical and self-detonating identity in "U", also chooses to show his heart to the dragon, "The reality is terrible, but we can face it together.".
For Hosoda Mori, the success of "Dragon and The Freckled Princess" is of course an important node in the director's career, but looking back at Hosoda Mori's directorial resume, similar story patterns and relaxed and lively stories are concentrated displays of personal styles, at the same time, the lack of depth and development in the story has become an increasingly obvious shortcoming.
As one of the animation directors of the "post-Ghibli" era, Hosoda's resume is very unusual.
So far, the first five of the six masterpieces are all Japan Academy Awards for Best Animation, winning every battle (not yet awarded this year);
"Future of the Future" was nominated for the Oscar for Best Animation, the only time non-Ghibli animation was nominated;
He was once appreciated by Miyazaki and invited him to direct "Hal's Moving Castle", but was removed due to lack of box office appeal when the storyboard was almost completed;
Starting with his 2006 film The Girl Who Traveled Through Time, Hosoda has made a new work every three years: 2009's Summer Wars, 2012's Wolf's Child Rain and Snow, 2015's Son of monsters, and 2018's Future Future.
Neither did he have the "ten years to sharpen a sword" like Miyazaki, nor did he become a rising star in the industry like Makoto Shinkai, hosoda Mori was more like an honest craftsman, completing his work step by step.
Sci-fi settings are a common theme in Hosoda's works, "The Girl Who Traveled Through Time" tells the experience of a girl who can constantly travel back in time, and "Summer Battle" is the story of fighting AI hackers in the virtual world;
"Wolf's Child Rain and Snow" is a single mother with two werewolf blood children, the protagonist in "Son of the Monster" enters the world of animals, and "Future Future" meets his future sister.
Although it has a science fiction coat, hosoda's story is actually more important to the emotional connection between people and people, if it can be repeated continuously, is there no regret in youth? In the era of networked personalization, what is the value of large families? How to understand and tolerate the people closest to you? How should we relate to the world?
These universal themes are at the heart of Hosoda's work, and in his works we can see vibrant protagonists, whimsical experiences, hilarious passages, and the throbbing and regret of youth.
Neither does it touch on deeper themes such as the environment and nature, as Miyazaki did, nor does it have the ambition of Makoto Shinkai, and Hosoda's youth story has its own unique flavor.
The lack of refinement in the script and the abundance of emotion constitute two sides of Hosoda Mori, both admirers and critics, but in any case, in the absence of industry attention and great pressure of commercial success, Hosoda Mori is still doing the animation he wants to do, which is perhaps the greatest luck.
This year's "Dragon and the Freckled Princess" won the third place at the box office of the year, and it is no surprise that the top two "Evangelion" and "Detective Conan" will be shortlisted for the Japanese Oscar nomination list for best animation.
Hosoda Mori of "100 Shots and 100 Shots" has killed three Conan theatrical versions (06, 09, 18 years) and double-killed EVA theater versions (09, 12 years), this year, can the undefeated god continue to win six consecutive games?
Note: Some of the pictures in this article come from Douban and the Internet, if there is infringement, please take the initiative to contact us.