Paprika!!

[Eliseu Gouveia]

I WANNA SEE THIS MOVIE!

NOW!!

Edit: Forget "see". I wanna own it!

[Inkthinker]

Manohla Dargis of the New York Times is making me cry.

It's not the fault of American animators that we're stuck in the kiddie sandbox.

But yeah, Satoshi Kon is pretty excellent, and this looks to be one of his better mindbenders.

[Eliseu Gouveia]

Yeah, i think the comment was completely unnecessary and only serves to stir up controversy by further polarising the camps between western and eastern fans and creators.

I´ve only recently discovered that Satoshi Kon is the mInd behind Perfect Blue and Tokyo Godfathers.

I really have to track down Milennium Actress and any other jewels he happens to have crafted.

[Sandoz]

The opening credits can also be seen here. Satoshi Kon is one of my favorite directors, and this looks absolutely incredible. I'm definitely going to be on the lookout for the soundtrack as well.

Yeah, i think the comment was completely unnecessary and only serves to stir up controversy by further polarising the camps between western and eastern fans and creators.

Only really sensitive animation fans are going to get worked up over that quote. Frankly, it's true--just look at all of the poorly-animated CGI "talking animal" films that have recently clogged up the American animation market. "For kids" doesn't automatically mean "bad" and "mature" doesn't always equal "good," nor is she saying that all anime is better than American animation. However, the simple fact is that very few Western animators (Richard Linklater and Brad Bird are the only ones who come to mind) actually treat animation (especially non-CGI) as an artform.

[Eliseu Gouveia]

You have a point but - at the risk of further fueling this tangent- you mustn´t confuse animation - the craft- with animation -the end product-.

Although the western scenne has been inundated with awful talking animal animation movies lately, I do consider some of its character animation absolutely top notch.

So, it´s not a problem with the modern day animators, it´s a problem with the modern day storytellers who seem to have run out of ideas..

But back on topic, do you know of any other works Satoshi Kon did?

[Kevin M.]

That movie looks bananas. I want to see that movie proto.

As for the comment it is not the animators falut, it is the studios. They want something that will give them money so they are going to stick with formulatic talking animals. Also the American public for the most part really do not gravitate towards experimental concepts. The Easter audiance on the other hand embrace creativity and support it for the most part. If you have a problem with what I said then buy all means tell me what you think.

[Inkthinker]

Only really sensitive animation fans are going to get worked up over that quote.

Or really sensitive animators.

*sniff* :(

But back on topic, do you know of any other works Satoshi Kon did?

We had a pretty good ongoing Paranoia Agent thread when the series first aired on Adult Swim. I haven't seen Millenium Actress or Perfect Blue, but I'm given to understand that screwing with your head is par for the course with Satoshi Kon.

[Sandoz]

But back on topic, do you know of any other works Satoshi Kon did?

Perfect Blue: A psychological thriller about a pop star who fears she's being stalked. The people around her start dropping dead, and the lines between what is real and what is imaginary become blurred when the pop star dreams of being the killer herself.

Millenium Actress: The story of a documentary director who uncovers the life and career of a famous but now reclusive actress. The film has a sort of "play within a play" structure.

Tokyo Godfathers: A "family" of homeless people (an aging transvestite, an alcoholic, and a teenage runaway) try to locate the parents of a lost baby on Christmas Eve.

Paranoia Agent: A 13-episode television series about a social phenomenon created around Lil' Slugger, a mysterious figure who assaults several Tokyo citizens with his "golden bat." As a pair of detectives try to find Lil Slugger, secrets about his victims are uncovered and the question of whether not Lil Slugger is even real (or human) is raised. Aired on Adult Swim last year.

And though not one of his directorial works, Kon wrote the screenplay for the "Magnetic Rose" segment of Memories.

[Althalus]

And not to forget, he also did a manga, back in 1990: "Kaikisen". There are many seaside towns with mermaid legends - what if one of them was true?

Here's a link to the publisher of the French edition (with preview pages).


~Althalus

[Smokeyjay]

Millenium Actress was a great movie. One of my favs anime movie and I'm not necessarily a big fan of anime movies.

I wasn't a fan of Tokyo Godfathers. It felt too much like a "Christmas holiday special" to me, and though it may be new and unique in Japan, I got the feeling that I saw the same type of movie several times as a kid watching TV in the West.

This movie looks awesome and the animations looks stunning.

Right now the big thing in Western cinema is CG animation. I wish this wasn't the case though. There are a lot of good artist here in the West. CG to me still hasn't succeeded in capturing the magic of cinema that animation has yet for me.

[Cayman]

Paprika looks amazing. Can't wait.