Ghibli Museum
Went to the Ghibli Museum today, for those out of the loop, this is a place dedicated to the works of an animation company here in japan that has created some popular and seminal works, maybe not to a great extent in north america, but in Japan, this is their Disney... with integrity. Some of the more known titles they've created are: Howls Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away and My Neighbour Totoro. All fantastic films where you'll find the greatest conflict in the film is rarely defeating the "bad guy" but believing in oneself. Infact many of the films really lack conflict, but almost by miracle create a sense of accomplishment at the end without that big fight. kikis Delivery Service being top of that list... I cant even think of an antogonist in the film, same with spirited away really...
I must apologise though. i forgot that no photos are allowed to be taken in the building. So I took some outside, and even a pirate video of a special area of the museum, which I will "youtube" sometime soon.
The Museum itself isn't a complete disappoinment, its just that... theres really very little there, and the design of the building wasn't as "crazy" and as imaginative as one would assume a building featuring the ideas of Ghibli Studios would be. I wanted the entrance to be the Catbus doorway, or Totoro's mouth, but the entrance and building as a whole is very subdued, minimal and almost conservative.
It actually says on the map of that there is no official "flow" and you should allow yourself to go where you feel your inner direction takes you. Which I think is a way of them saying, there isn't much here... so explore and enjoy what little there is.
A couple incredible areas regardless of the lackluster design include:
4 full rooms of drawings. Thousands of them just tacked up on the walls overlapping eachother. With THUMBTACKS. REAL drawings from REAL productions. I figured they would be prints. NOPE. all images were real and exposed. Strewn about rooms decorated as if to be Miyazaki and Ghibli creative offices. Offices as if they were in a sort of Victorian/dickens building of some kind...a romantic version of japanese creativity spaces. Actually all of the art rooms had the same faux office decor. Conversely, I am sure, they operate in cramped spaces, in some neon lit office building. lol. Lots of great paraphernalia there too... including a lifesize replica of the long gun from "Nausciaa." TONS of text books all round as well though, everything you'd think animators would need on hand, and about 1000 other books you didn:t know they needed, but made complete sense once you read the spine.
They have full storyboard books on display with the purpose of people leafing through them, excellent stuff.
An animation coloring technique room with tons of paints on display, cels and every step in the process of coloring cels.
Just an aside, but, I am a DIEHARD lover of behind the scenes/pre production and production work. So the above rooms were just a dream for me. I am one of those guys that cant get enough of behind the scenes, I usually find that more interesting than the final product ever anyways. Its like comparing something kinetic to something static. I seem to love the gesture drawings more than the masterpiece. I would take leonardos sketches over the mona lisa anyday. Alot of people could care less.
moving on... other rooms:
A movie theatre showing an exclusive short. Made just for the Museum.
A room of real time stop-motion animation. Something so magical and special you'd have to really see to understand its essence. They had windows of action where they had events being played out. The main "attraction" being a fantastic Totoro scene where the girls are Jumping rope, Totoro is hopping and landing using his umbrella and various other little things happening. They simply had a sculpture for every step in the animation cycle, and it rotated quickly on base and a strobe light helped create the persistance of vision (how film works). I make it sound so easy. lol. Actually, the "Youtube" video i will post will be this scene... sneakily filmed through my bag.
Trying to take "banned" photos was actually very difficult. They had attendants EVERYWHERE. Even when I thought noone was looking (I am usually great at sneaking things), I was about to take a pic and I get a little tap on the shoulder "su-me-ma-sen"... I wanted to snap a picture of the woman telling me not take a picture in some sort of poetic justice, but realized I should just enjoy my time there and not be silly.
You can take pics on the roof and outside however... and boy did I take pics of that!!! This was probably one of the Greatest things ever made by man. Space Station? Printing press? ...the wheel?! Screw em' this was way better. Sadly no birds were on the roof.
I would say Its a nice place for those passionate about the process of animation and Ghibli, but even then you may end up saying "is this all there was?" Its really a humble presentation of Ghibli Memorabilia, and not much more. The magic is in the movies, not the museum.
Here are some random images from the visit.
I must apologise though. i forgot that no photos are allowed to be taken in the building. So I took some outside, and even a pirate video of a special area of the museum, which I will "youtube" sometime soon.
The Museum itself isn't a complete disappoinment, its just that... theres really very little there, and the design of the building wasn't as "crazy" and as imaginative as one would assume a building featuring the ideas of Ghibli Studios would be. I wanted the entrance to be the Catbus doorway, or Totoro's mouth, but the entrance and building as a whole is very subdued, minimal and almost conservative.
It actually says on the map of that there is no official "flow" and you should allow yourself to go where you feel your inner direction takes you. Which I think is a way of them saying, there isn't much here... so explore and enjoy what little there is.
A couple incredible areas regardless of the lackluster design include:
4 full rooms of drawings. Thousands of them just tacked up on the walls overlapping eachother. With THUMBTACKS. REAL drawings from REAL productions. I figured they would be prints. NOPE. all images were real and exposed. Strewn about rooms decorated as if to be Miyazaki and Ghibli creative offices. Offices as if they were in a sort of Victorian/dickens building of some kind...a romantic version of japanese creativity spaces. Actually all of the art rooms had the same faux office decor. Conversely, I am sure, they operate in cramped spaces, in some neon lit office building. lol. Lots of great paraphernalia there too... including a lifesize replica of the long gun from "Nausciaa." TONS of text books all round as well though, everything you'd think animators would need on hand, and about 1000 other books you didn:t know they needed, but made complete sense once you read the spine.
They have full storyboard books on display with the purpose of people leafing through them, excellent stuff.
An animation coloring technique room with tons of paints on display, cels and every step in the process of coloring cels.
Just an aside, but, I am a DIEHARD lover of behind the scenes/pre production and production work. So the above rooms were just a dream for me. I am one of those guys that cant get enough of behind the scenes, I usually find that more interesting than the final product ever anyways. Its like comparing something kinetic to something static. I seem to love the gesture drawings more than the masterpiece. I would take leonardos sketches over the mona lisa anyday. Alot of people could care less.
moving on... other rooms:
A movie theatre showing an exclusive short. Made just for the Museum.
A room of real time stop-motion animation. Something so magical and special you'd have to really see to understand its essence. They had windows of action where they had events being played out. The main "attraction" being a fantastic Totoro scene where the girls are Jumping rope, Totoro is hopping and landing using his umbrella and various other little things happening. They simply had a sculpture for every step in the animation cycle, and it rotated quickly on base and a strobe light helped create the persistance of vision (how film works). I make it sound so easy. lol. Actually, the "Youtube" video i will post will be this scene... sneakily filmed through my bag.
Trying to take "banned" photos was actually very difficult. They had attendants EVERYWHERE. Even when I thought noone was looking (I am usually great at sneaking things), I was about to take a pic and I get a little tap on the shoulder "su-me-ma-sen"... I wanted to snap a picture of the woman telling me not take a picture in some sort of poetic justice, but realized I should just enjoy my time there and not be silly.
You can take pics on the roof and outside however... and boy did I take pics of that!!! This was probably one of the Greatest things ever made by man. Space Station? Printing press? ...the wheel?! Screw em' this was way better. Sadly no birds were on the roof.
I would say Its a nice place for those passionate about the process of animation and Ghibli, but even then you may end up saying "is this all there was?" Its really a humble presentation of Ghibli Memorabilia, and not much more. The magic is in the movies, not the museum.
Here are some random images from the visit.
posted by Benjamin Tiesma at
2:15 AM
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