tenshi_ippikiookami From Up on Poppy Hill is not a bad movie, it is just not great either.The story is simple and charming enough. An old school building, used for the school clubs, is going to be demolished, so the students stand up and do their best to save it. Umi and Shun, the protagonists, get to know each other and become good friends because of that.On the upper side, the movie has nice characters, you care about the protagonists, and a small and nice story too. The animation is traditional Ghibli, so don't expect anything different if you have seen any other of their movies. It's good, but it has gone a little bit stale with the years.On the down side, it is a little bit too simple, not original at all, and a little bit slow, even if it is just 90 minutes long. And there are also a couple of cringe worthy moments, that makes you wonder who decided to put them there. Gorô Miyazaki has improved from his first movie (tooooo slow), but he is still not his father.Good, but not great Ghibli movie.

hayashimegumi Now, From Up on Poppy Hill (2011) is one film by Gorō Miyazaki that I could ungrudgingly accept that it is a box office success as it was pretty enjoyable. Indeed, the script is made of simple scenes and lines but it does not lack its own charm. I watched the original Japanese version. A dramatic slice of life and coming of age kind of film with several serious themes and unexpected twists which can be funny or lovely at times, From Up on Poppy Hill (2011) is generally nice. Although the story may feel too slow paced for some, to me it looks a little too fast moving as many of the scenes are very brief. They could have been developed. Still, love the music and the storyline is quite fresh!In short, From Up on Poppy Hill (2011) is not bad. The twists confuse me at first but when those complicated scenes sort out themselves, they are actually quite hilarious. The major themes include anti demolition, team work, preserving traditional values and fighting for what you love. The message is quite deep coming from teenager's setting but that is all due the characters being so passionate.PS. So glad that the director did not give up after his infamous first and have improved since!!

Stompgal_87 After having watched Jambareeqi's review for this film, I was intrigued to see it. Whilst browsing the Channel 4 website, I saw that this was showing on Film Four today and this was my very chance of seeing it. As I watched this film, it offered me more than I expected and while the first half hour ran at a brisk pace, the film started to drag on from the middle.The animation is consistent in terms of its style fitting in with that from Hayao Miyazaki's films and had sharp colouring, subtle, humanistic movements (in particular characters cleaning, cooking and raising flags) and great uses of lighting and cel-shading but it was a little choppy and slow in places. The backgrounds were beautifully designed and reminiscent of those from 'Ponyo' with regards to the sea. Another positive about the animation is that the character's clothes, hairstyles (particularly Sora's) and vehicles are true to the style of the 1960s. Not only did the story include its basic premise of high school students protesting against the demolition of a club house but it also included dramatic family matters such as Shun revealing he is actually Umi's adoptive brother when she suspects he doesn't love her and Umi's mother telling the moving story of how Shun got adopted. Although I'm not a fan of soap operas such as 'EastEnders' and 'Coronation Street,' these family issues did remind me of a typical soap opera dilemma and it was interesting to see them in animated form. While this film has several realistic elements, the most fantastical part was Umi's dream of her wandering against a sunset-lit background and crying when she was little and when she is older, her father comes home. This dream sequence had the perfect balance of fantasy and reality because it was executed as a vivid dream and it nearly reduced me to tears. One weakness with regards to the story is that it has a lot of filler that slowed down the second half considerably until the announcement of the clubhouse not being demolished. Despite the filler and the uneven pace, the ending was more steadily paced and was not as abrupt as I anticipated. The music was unique for the film's animation style and fitting for its setting and I especially liked the jazzy piano-led pieces. The songs were quite nice as well, especially the one playing during the ending and the closing credits - it was beautifully written as well. Although the version I watched was in its original Japanese language with a hint of unrecognisable Russian as the TV announcer on Film Four stated, the voice acting was expressive and a lot of the dialogue was engaging, which was helped a great deal with the English subtitles. While the dialogue is mostly dramatic, the funniest part of it was when Shun was referred to as "a live wire" then it was questioned if he was the "electrician's son" - that subtle joke certainly raised a chuckle. Despite the weaknesses with the pacing, filler and somewhat inconsistent animation quality, this is the most lifelike Studio Ghibli film I have seen to date and it makes a refreshing change from the studio's more fantastical films. I would also like to see the English dub for this to see how it compares to the original Japanese dialogue. 8/10.

aldri-feb Following the tradition of Ghibli animated movie, "From Up on Poppy Hill" is a good work of art filled with solid graphic animation, overwhelming storyline and surrounded by beautiful-gentle music. The movie delivers thick Japanese culture and interesting romantic love story from Umi and Shun character. It shows processes how the growth feelings between their relationship as they spend more time together and some obstacles both of them have to face to defend their feelings. From his second directorial, Goro Miyazaki prefers to play safe and doesn't offer much conflict in it which makes "From Up on Poppy Hill" felt too flat and gives less impression than other of masterpiece Ghibli cartoon. With no magical character or even a bad guy and has much attention on finding identity and romance, it could bored kids audience. Afterall "From Up on Poppy Hill" is still satisfying and a quite fun film to see, but could have much potential to be amusing if they want to explore more in it.