Mahito Maki watches as the hospital his mother works at is destroyed during a bombing raid in World War 2, and he is unable to do anything to save her. 2 years after the war, he and his father Shoichi move to the countryside, to live with the latter's pregnant new wife Natsuko. One day, in this quiet country paradise, a strange heron swoops in, and tells Mahito that his mother is still alive and beckoning him, leading the boy into an abandoned old tower on the property, into a strange, fantastical world...
Magical.
There is no other word for it.
I felt the same whimsy, wonder and charm that I felt when I watched a Studio Ghibli for the first time (my first was "The Cat Returns" and along with "Porco Rosso", it remains my favourite). It has the opposite problem of "Suzume" - where that movie shat itself in the final act, this one lays its foundations a tad rushed, but then soars in its final act, a myriad of wonders and charm which revel in the majesty of fairy tales.
At its best, Ghibli envoke that sense on wonderment, that love of fairy tales for adults. Here, the film tackles the ideas of death, and moving on, and focuses on the idea that whilst these worlds are wonderful, and a fantastical escape - all things must end, and these adventures shall pass, one cannot stay here forever, and must confront that which scares, that which scars, and all the things which taint and mar this world.
The emotional ending actually made me feel something, its stakes felt real, it surpassed the actually somewhat disappointing "Suzume" and later Ghibli works by earning the high emotional payoff, and by having one. We become immersed in this world, relish in its wonders, but always are at a distance due to its edge and dangers: the reincarnating souls, the devouring pelicans who just try to survive, the cannibalistic parakeets, the seemingly endless oceans, the ever dwelling curses. All of it adds a spice, and feels like a clasic children's fairy tale of old, but accessible for adults (as much of a cliche as that may be).
The film also plays out like a "Greatest Hits" victory lap of all that we love in Ghibli.
The proud and haughty "Parakeet King" and his goofy animal minions are akin to "The Cat Returns", there is a shot of a garden straight out of the royal palaces of "Howl's Moving Castle", there's a pagoda a character sits in which I swear is shot-for-shot the one from "Porco Rosso", the old women are very "Spirited Away", the adventures with the mysterious pirate lady are rather "Princess Mononoke" and "Ponyo", there is straight up food pornography in multiple sequences, and it still retains that wonderfully charming "Cottagecore" aesthetic - but it all feels earned, celebratory, and a send off rather than recycling, as the film's ideas are its own, they are developed, they are pure and an expression of actual art, a story which wanted and compelled telling rather than a churned out tube of "content".
We like this boy, we understand his journey, we come to adore the world and the characters around him. When the journey comes to an end, we too will miss it, but unlike him: we are allowed that lingering memory, that fondness... Some tales are better fondly remembered and dwelled upon in their melancholic finality, rather than relished in the moment...
Oh, and the fire is PERFECTION. Good grief it's spectacular.
I'd say it's worth a watch.
Animation fan? Watch it.
Ghibli fan? Watch it.
Fancy some kind of unique little story? Watch it.
Going through some stuff? Watch it.
Not going through some stuff and want a good time? Watch it.
Hell, I've not even gotten into the incredible cast in the dub.
