One more musical tonight before the big Hamilton release tomorrow is one that I had not seen before, but had a couple of great songs that I had always liked.  It was a multiple Oscar winning musical called Cabaret.

Berlin, 1931.  Weimar Republic.  Cambridge University student Brian Roberts (Michael York) arrived to complete his German studies.  He rents a room in an inexpensive rooming house where he can teach English.  At this rooming house, Brian meets Sally Bowles (Liza Minnelli), a performer at the Kit Kat Club, a cabaret club run by the all-knowing Master of Ceremonies (Joel Grey).  Brian and Sally hook up and drama ensues.

Liza Minnelli staked her claim in the lead role as she was just brilliant.  She showed such range and an unbelievable amount of talent.  Then, Joel Grey, who played his role on Broadway, is the Greek muse of the 1930 German with the MoC.

The film deals with a ton of topics as well, from abortion to Nazism to antisemitism.  Plus, all kinds of sexual issues.  The controversy was gigantic for Cabaret and it did not shy away from anything.

Bob Fosse directed the film in his defining style.  He did win the Academy Award for Best Director for his work.  Both Minnelli and Grey won Oscars too.  Cabaret won 8 Academy Awards and became the film to have won the most Oscars without winning the Best Picture.

I enjoyed the film considerably and I was really impressed with the talent involved.

I have been looking forward to the arrival of Hamilton on Disney +, which is coming tomorrow and, to get in the mood, I chose to pick out a musical to watch.  After scanning through the list of musicals on Vudu, I stopped at the Academy Award nominated Chicago from 2002.

I had enjoyed Chicago when I saw it when it first came out and I especially enjoyed much of the soundtrack.  Although I prefer the version performed on the stage by Bebe Neuwirth, All That Jazz is a centerpiece of the show, here sung by Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Roxie Hart (Renee Zellweger) was a wannabe star who attempted to use her body and sex to get ahead.  On the night that headliner Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones) killed her sister and husband, Roxie began an affair with Fred (Dominic West), who said he had connections.  When she found out that he was lying about that, she ends up shooting him dead.

Roxie wound up on Death Row with Velma.  While there, she pilfered Velma’s famous attorney Billy Flynn (Richard Gere), as they battled with each other over which case could be more big time..

The music in Chicago is fantastic and the dance routines are amazingly choreographed.  The design of the sets and each musical number was spectacular.  The film has a definite feel of a stage show.  The costumes were stand out and worked in every scene.

The three main stars of the film were on fire.  Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Richard Gere were amazing together and entertaining as these over-the-top characters.  There was also a impressive performances from John C. Reilly as Roxie’s sad sack husband Amos and Queen Latifah as prison guard Matron “Mama” Morton.

I did not expect to like this as much as I did the first time I saw it and this time was just as entertaining.  It certainly Razzle Dazzled me.

The next film in the Studio Ghibli watch is one listed as a TV movie and it was one that did not have the English dub.  Ocean Waves was the first Studio Ghibli film that was directed by someone other than Hayao Miyazaki or Isao Takahata.  It was directed by Tomomi Mochizuki and, according to Wikipedia, it was meant to be done by the younger crowd at Studio Ghibli.

The story focuses on two friends, Taku and Yutaka.  They had been friends for years, but they both fell for the same transfer student, Rikako.  As the triangle progressed, the friends found themselves pitted against each other for Rikako’s affection.

I was not fond of this film.  Of course, the animation is beautiful as always, so that gives these animated films a plus no matter what.  However, the character of Rikako was unlikable and irritating.  I had a difficult time buying the fact that she would be someone that either of the boys would give two hoots about.

The story was simple, but I had a hard time investing into the relationship.  Since I did not accept the relationship within the triangle, there was not much else here for me to care about.

The music was nice as this was the first score that I was able to hear in the original form (since I have been doing the English dub versions of these films).  It was nothing that really stood out, but it effectively created the tone.

This was a fine film, but way under the level that I have come to expect from Studio Ghibli.  This feels like a typical Lifetime movie.

You’ve heard the one about when pigs fly, right?

Well, now I have seen everything.

Yes, the next Studio Ghibli film, once again from Hayao Miyazaki, is Porco Rosso, a film about an Italian World War I flying ace who has been cursed by being turned into an anthropomorphic pig.

That is what I said.

Porco Rosso is now a hired bounty hunter to track down air pirates.  Porco flies his recognizable red plane.  He winds up in a dogfight with an American pilot named Curtis.

I loved this movie.  It was the weirdest thing I have seen in a long time and it was funny, energetic and well written.  It has a feel of the old series called “Tales of the Golden Monkey.”

And to make it all the more awesome… the English dubbing on the Porco Rosso character was done by none other than Michael Keaton.  Seriously, could that be any cooler?

The flying scenes in this animation are just beautiful. The entire animation is amazing, much like all of the Studio Ghibli movies.

This one caught me off guard and I really had a lot of fun with this one.  There is a lot to this, even more than what you might guess about a sea plane flying pig.  If you have not seen this one, check it out.

The next Studio Ghibli film is one that is quite different than the others.  This was not a magical fantasy with magical creatures.  No Tartaro.  No witches.  No Pandas.  It is just a story of memories, from a 27-year old girl to her younger years.  Memories that were basic, universal.

Unfortunately, again, the DVD was having issues with this movie.  It caused some glitches and skips around the one hour mark so I did miss a chunk of the story.

What I did see was an artistic masterpiece.  The animation was gorgeous and different than any of the previous films.  It fit the more realistic tone of the movie and was less of the style of anime.

It was a much more adult story and told a reflective story.  It is a coming of age story as well as a human drama.

Too bad I could not see the uninterrupted movie.

Hayao Miyazaki’s next film for Studio Ghibli turned out to be a charming and breezy film featuring a young witch named Kiki.

In Kiki’s Delivery Service, Kiki is a 13-year old witch and, in tradition with witch training, she leaves home to survive by herself for a year.  Accompanied by her black cat Jiji, Kiki finds a new town in which to live and, since she can fly exceptionally well on her broom,  starts up her own delivery business.  Unfortunately, Kiki has some problems with her own self-image and it causes her to struggle with her power.

This film is fun and very light-spirited.  While it is still a film targeting a younger audience, I actually found this much more entertaining , unlike the other Miyazaki films meant for young children.

Probably the reason behind that is the charming and friendly character of Kiki.  She is remarkably likable and filled with honesty and heart.  The new English dubbing version of the film has Kirsten Dunst voicing Kiki.  It also has Phil Hartman providing the voice of Jiji the black cat.

Here comes the regular animation comment.  It is absolutely beautifully rendered and could be considered a piece of art.  The animation seems to be getting better with every movie released by Studio Ghibli, which is saying something.

The plot of this movie is not that important.  This is a character piece, zeroing in on Kiki and her path to becoming a successful witch.  She has to deal with such problems as Tombo, a boy who takes an immediate shine to Kiki, weather challenging her delivery business and other kids who are keeping her an outsider.

Some of the supporting characters in this film are just sweet.  Osono and her bakery provides room and board for Kiki while her first delivery customer Melanie MacQueen becomes a close friend.

Kiki’s Delivery Service does not dive too deeply in the mythology of the world.  Everybody knows about witches and they are not seen as a negative thing.  In fact, most of the regular people look at Kiki with awe and amazement when she flies.   Most of the witch ideas such as the apprenticeship when she turned 13 are dealt with as if it is a known commodity.  That is not a bad thing, but it does not provide a world that is deep.

The film is sweet and charming.  The characters are enjoyable and easy to watch and the movie has some very positive messages of self-worth and friendship.

The next Studio Ghibli film on the list in Hayao Miyazaki classic My Neighbor Tortoro.  This is one of the most beloved anime films in international cinema and, after seeing what had come before this on my DVDs, I was excited about seeing it.

Unfortunately, I was quite disappointed with this movie.

Yes, the animation is beautiful.  I have a feeling that when looking at all of these Studio Ghibli films, that is a statement that I can include in every review.

The story was sweet and I think that children would love this movie.  There is a touch of magic in the film and the two girl characters, Satsuki and Mei, are very relatable.  The story was simple and is more about the two girls than any plot points that happen in the film.  There was a fun moment at the bus stop, but other than that, I was unimpressed.

Much like Panda, Go Panda, I found Mr Neighbor Tortoro to be too much targeted toward the very young children and that there was not much here for the adult in me.

I also found what plot points there was here were fairly dumb.  I had a definite issue with Satsuki and Mei’s father, university professor Tatsuo Kusakabe.  He was one of the worst parents I have seen in a long time.  Things were happening right under his nose, as he was too involved in his work.  His children were disappearing and he just went about his business.

The whole plot point where Mei gets lost was so inane as well.  There were so many spots where I was just laughing at what was happening and the people’s reaction to the situation.

Beautiful to look at, great to listen to (with a wonderful score) but unengaging for me.  My Neighbor Tortoro was not what I had hoped it was going to be.

I’m not crying…you’re crying…

Whoa, that was an experience.  Grave of the Fireflies was the next film in the list of Studio Ghibli movies, written and directed by Isao Takahata, and this one was a heart-aching tale of two young kids in Japan trying to survive the final few months of World War II.

Grave of the Fireflies tells the story of two young siblings, Seita and Setsuko, whose father was fighting the war and whose mother was killed in an enemy firebombing of their village.  This put brother and sister alone to face the struggles of life compromised by war.

We know what type of story this is going to be with the heart-wrenching opening to the film.  After that, the remainder of the movie is told in flashback, showing us how the situation arrived at what it did.

Older brother Seita took his little sister Setsuko to live with their aunt after the bombing.  The aunt was not a very empathetic individual towards the children.  In fact, there were not very many adults portrayed in this movie as being kind or helpful.  The adults could not find the time to help these children, showing that their own personal problems outweighed the needs of others.

Isao Takahata has claimed that this movie is not an “anti-war” film, but it would be difficult to argue that the themes of Grave of the Fireflies are not directly influenced from the consequences of the war and its effects on society and its point of view of the results.

The animation is haunting throughout the movie.  There were a couple of moments (Setsuko at the doctor) where I literally gasped at the images shown me.  The metaphor of the fireflies was both beautifully and painfully portrayed.

Grave of the Fireflies is unlike most animated movies you see.  It usually shows you the power of the underdog overcoming odds planted before them.  This film gives you the anguish of seeing the other side of that coin.  This is a masterpiece.

Laputa: Castle in the Sky was the first official animated film from Studio Ghibli, and it was one that I had a difficult time following, though it was not the film’s fault.

The DVD that I had had multiple glitches on it when I was watching this movie, especially about the first 20 minutes or so of the film.  That caused a real problem with understanding exactly what was happening and who these characters were.

Directed by EYG Hall of Famer Hayao Miyazaki, Castle in the Sky is a beautiful looking film, with amazing artistic animation and cool character design.

Once again, I have been watching these movies with the English dubbing done when Disney released these Studio Ghibli movies in the early 2000’s.  This film included the voice work of Mark Hamill, James van Der Beek, Anna Paquin, Cloris Leachman, Mandy Patinkin, Andy Dick, and the iconic Jim Cummings.

This tells the story of an orphan girl named Sheeta, kidnapped by government agent Muska, but rescued by young boy named Pazu.  Sheeta has a magical amulet that will lead her back to her ancestors home, a floating city of Laputa.  There is a race to find the city among a group of characters to gain the powers of the land.

Colonel Muska is a top notch villain in this film.  I love the work of Mark Hamill, who brings such a menace to his voice work.  I know that he was not the original voice, but he is such a great voice over actor that I cannot imagine that he did not make this better.

The film is beautiful to watch and has a lot of amazing action here too.  The finale is excellent and filled with drama.

It is unfortunate that the DVD did not work properly for me because this seemed to be another great animated film.