After watching this movie again, I'm amazed at what Studio Ghibli can achieve. I still don't understand how they make some of these erratic and chaotic shots possible without using CGI. The music, as always, is just top-notch. Joe Hisaishi is damn good at his job. Most of all, it shows what you can get in terms of story and animation if you do the research, have a good budget, and great production.
I don't think I need to say much about Miyazaki's work here; he's the essential piece, and he pulls off his role incredibly well.
The amount of research on human and animal anatomy they do for these movies is crazy. In this scene, they could've just done a normal "turn around and close the door," but the way she bends her knees a little to balance the tray is just a nice touch.
The way the heron flies and walks is animated with such precision and as accurately to real life as possible.
Some of these frames look straight out of a painting that someone has put hours, or days, or even months into, and to an extent, that's what they are.
The colors, the highlights, and shadows are handled so well. I can't believe the work it took for each of these frames; it must've been insanely complex and time-consuming.
These movies are such a work of art, and I can't believe some would rather not watch and dismiss them just because of the animated medium it's presented through.
People watch some weirdly animated ones with bad stories and decide not to watch it. Some even think anime is all about those big-eyed, cute characters, which there are, but also, there's so much more it offers.
