Worst Studio Ghibli Feature?

I have to wonder if they pulled the plug on trying to find new people to ease their workload as directors when they saw how Earthsea did. If that guess is true, that's a shame, because I'd love to see more from Morita, or somebody else in the ranks.

Pixar, the debatably American equivalent of Ghibli, arguably does it right: Some of its films have been directed by the Pixar veterans (Lasseter, Stanton), but certainly not all of them, and we're seeing more and more newcomers to the director's chair in the next few years. As a result, the potential for different styles is higher. Like, I wouldn't place Monsters Inc. and Cars on the same directorial wavelength, nor would The Incredibles and Up be the same.
 
When Yoshifumi Kondo (Whisper of the Heart director) died from overworking, Miyazaki slowed down. I think they know Ghibli neeRAB new blood, they just haven't found someone close enough to Miyazaki or Takahata yet.
 
Herein lies the problem though. You can't expect to pluck some 35 year old from the Ghiblu animation staff and expect a Miyazaki or Takahata right away. Even Miyazaki and Takahata didn't become master animators overnight. Have you guys seen some of their older work? Panda Go Panda anyone? They certainly didn't exhibit the craft and vision that their later stuff did. It also helps that these two always, always get the biggest budgets to work with while guys like Morita or Kondo always get B-level budgets. So from an animation quality standpoint it's virtually impossible to be at the exact same level. Now, I certainly think that a newbie director SHOULDN'T get A-level budgets before cutting their teeth first (I'm looking at you Goro) but I do think a lot more leniency should be in order. Perhaps Ghibli should develop another division for made-for-TV films and have their younger directors work out their craft there.

Incidentally, I watched The Cat Returns again last night and I agree with Speedy that it may be one of their funniest films. It's a bit on the silly and frivolous side but that's it's unique charm I think. It has that "silly nonsense" tone that you'd find in a children's book, whereas Miyazaki's stuff, even his lighthearted ones, tend to work with "heavier" emotional tones. It's also great to see a Ghibli film that isn't about end of the world stuff but the simple idea of a girl trying to escape getting married to a cat!
 
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