From Up On Poppy Hill (2013)
Average Rating: 7/10
Reviews Counted: 81
Fresh: 67 | Rotten: 14
Gentle and nostalgic, From Up on Poppy Hill is one of Studio Ghibli's sweeter efforts -- and if it doesn't push the boundaries of the genre, it remains as engagingly lovely as Ghibli fans have come to expect.
Average Rating: 7.5/10
Critic Reviews: 25
Fresh: 22 | Rotten: 3
Gentle and nostalgic, From Up on Poppy Hill is one of Studio Ghibli's sweeter efforts -- and if it doesn't push the boundaries of the genre, it remains as engagingly lovely as Ghibli fans have come to expect.
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Average Rating: 3.8/5
User Ratings: 7,686
Movie Info
The setting is Yokohama in 1963, and the filmmakers lovingly bring to life the bustling seaside town, with its misty harbor, sun-drenched gardens, shops and markets, and some of the most mouthwatering Japanese home-cooking set to film. The story centers on an innocent romance beginning to bud between Umi and Shun, two high school kids caught up in the changing times. Japan is picking itself up from the devastation of World War II and preparing to host the 1964 Olympics - and the mood is one of
Cast
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Sarah Bolger
Umi (English languag... -
Masami Nagasawa
Umi (Japanese langua... -
Isabelle Fuhrman
Sora (English langua... -
Haruza Shiraishi
Sora (Japanese langu... -
Anton Yelchin
Shun (English langua... -
Junichi Okada
Shun (Japanese langu... -
Christina Hendricks
Saori (English langu... -
Gillian Anderson
Miki (English langua... -
Yuriko Ishida
Miki (Japanese langu... -
Alex Wolff
Riku (English langua... -
Raymond Ochoa
Riku (English langua... -
Tsubasa Kobayashi
Riku (Japanese langu... -
Aubrey Plaza
Sachiko (English lan... -
Rumi Hiiragi
Sachiko (Japanese la... -
Chris Noth
Akio (English langua... -
Nao Omori
Akio (Japanese langu... -
Jeff Dunham
Gen (English languag... -
Emily Osment
Nobuko (English lang... -
Jamie Lee Curtis
Ryoko (English langu... -
Jun Fubuki
Ryoko (Japanese lang... -
Keiko Takeshita
Hana (Japanese langu... -
Bruce Dern
Yoshio (English lang... -
Takashi Naitô
Yoshio (Japanese lan... -
Beau Bridges
Mr. Tokumaru (Englis... -
Teruyuki Kagawa
Mr. Tokumaru (Japane... -
Charlie Saxton
Mizunuma (English la... -
Shunsuke Kazama
Mizunuma (Japanese l... -
Ron Howard
Philosophy Club Pres... -
Jake Steinfeld
Fish Seller (English... -
Emily Bridges
Mr. Tokumaru's Assis...
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All Critics (81) | Top Critics (25) | Fresh (67) | Rotten (14) | DVD (2)
The gorgeous score and subtle visual craft save this entry in the Ghibli canon from mediocrity. But given what the studio is capable of, it's not everything fans will be hoping for.
Top CriticA departure for Studio Ghibli - an emotionally nuanced, nostalgic look at the past that is grounded in everyday reality but retains the humor and delight that are part of the studio's trademark.
Goro Miyazaki has a style that's both more painterly and more cinematic than the cartoonish norm, while his father's screenplay is a classic coming-of-age story that seems suited for a live-action remake.
In the wisdom of this artfully rendered film, Umi and Shun - and the viewer - come to learn that the past and the future should go hand in hand, that the best way to move forward is to reflect, and respect, what came before.
The story of a girl grappling with first love, the absence of her parents and the anxieties of an on-rushing future in 1963 Yokohama has all the earmarks of a Miyazaki classic.
The film's perfectly fine, but it's not a patch on "Spirited Away," "My Neighbor Totoro," "Princess Mononoke," and other Studio Ghibli classics.
The story will undoubtedly appear slow moving and uneventful to those used to the pizzazz of Pixar, but allow the richly detailed hand-drawn animation to work its charms and the film's mood of gentle nostalgia proves surprisingly moving.
From Up on Poppy Hill may be able to boast about its outstanding music and smooth animation, but it's far too flat to leave much of an impression.
A lovely Japanese hand-drawn animated film with a female heroine.
It's really hard to go wrong with a Studio Ghibli film, and From Up on Poppy Hill is no exception. It may not be their very best work, but it's still good work, full of charm and fun.
The magic is found in the everyday details of domestic life.
A gently lyrical diversion for Ghibli die-hards ... a gentle snooze for others.
It's a lively, touching story, full of sadness and optimism, drawn with an unaffected simplicity.
An interesting way of tackling everything from understanding parentage to the atomic bomb which devastated Nagasaki.
From Up On Poppy Hill finds Goro Miyazaki sitting much more comfortably in the director's chair, but fans of Studio Ghibli's fantasy epics may find this fanciful delight to be lacking the familiar magic.
Beautifully precise architectural sketches, endearingly warm nostalgia, gentle teen romance and genuine intrigue.
It ... arrives with the vast reserves of patience, optimism and artistry we've come to expect from this studio.
The incest-scare subplot never trips up the movie's charm. And there's a haunting reverberance, very Hayao Miyazaki, to the war memories that empower the parental back-stories.
Not up there with the Ghibli masterworks of yore, but still a bounty of ideas and emotions.
You don't watch a Studio Ghibli film so much as sink into it like a hot spring, with groans of delight.
Joyously warm and gentle... though perhaps too gentle to be entirely satisfying.
From Up on Poppy Hill's protagonists emerge as unexpectedly facetless, especially from a studio with such a vibrant and morally complex back catalogue.
The sincerity and sentiment of this film are there to be basked in. Yet audiences outside Japan may find the subject too serious and yet too slight; there's a reason why films about potential incest aren't often as cute as this.
Not on a par with Ghibli's greatest work like Totoro or Spirited Away but not without charms of its own. A solid second effort from Miyazaki Junior.
From the studio that brought us classics like Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle, this animated drama feels unusually low-key and realistic.
Audience Reviews for From Up On Poppy Hill
Super Reviewer
While far from a bad movie, 'From Up on Poppy Hill' feels completely uneventful, especially for a Studio Ghibli flick. In a way it comes off as a much lesser version of 'Whisper of the Heart'; another idealistic boy-meets-girl devoid of the typical Ghibli magical realism. However, where 'Whisper of the Heart' managed to tell a powerfully sweet coming-of-age tale while making mundane everyday life seem enchanting on it's own right; 'From Up on Poppy Hill' instead tells an unsettlingly trite "save the rec-center" plot with Goro's direction lacking the expert eye-for-detail or youthful invigoration in order to make the ordinary city-scape exciting. One of the few times the film conjures up any of that special Studio Ghibli magic is in the clubhouse scenes.
The script by Hayao Miyazaki and Kaiko Niwa contains interesting themes regarding the idea of keeping the memory of the past alive while still looking forward to the future but Goro fails to conjure up any emotional resonance or intrigue from this simple tale. The characters are mostly forgettable; with the protagonist Umi being the only character with anything resembling depth (although far from the most engaging female protagonist that Studio Ghibli films contain in spades) and her romantic interest Shun contains zero personality. The narrative is blandly straightforward and little background is given as to why the clubhouse is so important to save from demolition (the students keep talking about how much history the clubhouse contains but we are never told any of it). There is also a plot twist that happens halfway through that could have been daringly interesting but the ensuing drama is so half-baked and the fact that it is literally retconed fifteen minutes later leaves the whole thing feeling like a cheap gimmicky soap-opera curveball (also leads to the biggest WTF moment in the film; those who've seen the movie will know what I'm talking about).
Aside from the good animation and atypical sets 'From Up on Poppy Hill' is Goro's second time at bat and things are not looking too bright. Either he needs to find his own style or has to stop making films altogether (emulating his father's style is only calling attention to all his shortcomings as a filmmaker).
Super Reviewer
Discussion Forum
| Topic | Last Post | Replies |
|---|---|---|
| Are people bashing this because it's Goro, not Hayao? | 6 months ago | 39 |
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Foreign Titles
- Der Mohnblumenberg (DE)
- From Up On Poppy Hill (Kokurikozaka kara) (UK)
