Bridget may well wish to throw in her own two yen, but for now the
thread is mine...
Richard Lawson wrote:
<snippage>
When I first saw the subtitle (thanks, Zen!), I thought Jiji was a female
cat. That was mostly because the voice actress was female, of course, and
made no effort to sound "male". So it was a little startling to hear Phil
Hartman's obviously male voice coming from Jiji's mouth. The dialogue
changes and Hartman's voice made Jiji into a much more sarcastic, negative
cat than I remember from the subtitle.
I have never seen the original, and Phil Hartman's voice at first seemed
a little out of place. By the end of the film however, I was quite happy
with the job he did.
<snip>
I was going to recommend that my friend buy this movie for his four-year-old
daughter. I may have to revise that; this is a very slow movie for the
under-six set.
Rachel, age 4, absolutely loved this film, and had no trouble sitting
with rapt attention through the whole thing. She watched it the next day
too. And the next. And the next...
During the "Previews" section, Disney showed scenes from the next Miyazaki
movie they'll be releasing in 1999. "Castle in the Sky", they call it.
B-ko and I are hoping they do "Porco Rosso" soon. All I can say is,
Bravo to Disney for a job well done. Ten years ago they probably would
have butchered "Kiki," but their new crop of talent was weaned on anime,
and obviously, respect for Miyazaki.
Jamie