Review: The Art of the Secret World of Arrietty

THE ART OF THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY
VIZ MEDIA

WRITER: Studio Ghibli
ARTISTS: Hiromasa Yonebayashi, Hayao Miyazaki, Ai Kagawa, Akihito Yamashita, Studio Ghibli
ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Takami Nieda
ISBN: 978-1-4215-3064-2; soft cover
248pp, Color, $34.99 US, $39.99 CAN, £25.00 UK

The Secret World of Arrietty, a 2010 Japanese animated fantasy film, opens in the United States today. Known as The Borrower Arrietty in Japan, it is the latest animated feature film from Studio Ghibli, the Japanese animation and film studio founded by Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata. Miyazaki is known for such animated films as the Oscar-winning Spirited Away, the Oscar-nominated Howl’s Moving Castle, and also Princess Mononoke. The Secret World of Arrietty is based upon The Borrowers, the 1952 children’s fantasy novel by Mary Norton.

Although he drew key art sketches and co-wrote the screenplay, Miyazaki is not The Secret World of Arrietty’s director. That honor goes to rising star Hiromasa Yonebayashi, who also did the concept and rough character sketches for Arrietty. Now, readers can take a look behind the scenes of the production of The Secret World of Arrietty in a new book, The Art of the Secret World of Arrietty.

The Art of the Secret World of Arrietty is a full color collection of preliminary concept sketches and rough character sketches, concept sketches, concept art, background art, and character sketches and designs. The book also includes film stills and the complete voice-over script, illustrated with black and white images from the film.

The television campaign to promote The Secret World of Arrietty’s release to theatres is quite good, the best that I’ve seen for a Studio Ghibli movie since the U.S. release of Princess Mononoke. One could also view The Art of the Secret World of Arrietty as promotion for the film; just thumbing through it is enough to convince someone to see the movie. All the beautiful art, sketches, and assorted graphics from the books are tempting samples from the film.

Certainly, fans of the animated films of Studio Ghibli will want this book. Not only is The Art of the Secret World of Arrietty a behind-the-scenes look at the drawing and visual storytelling process of creating The Secret World of Arrietty, but it is also a dreamscape showing off the tremendous artistic and film talent that works at Studio Ghibli.

The Art of the Secret World of Arrietty also has several pages of sketches produced by the master himself, Hayao Miyazaki. These concept sketches have an impressionistic quality, as if Monet had created them as studies for paintings he would later produce. $34.99 is a bargain just to have the Miyazaki sketches.

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Leroy Douresseaux Reviews: THE ART OF PONYO

THE ART OF PONYO
VIZ Media

WRITER: Hayao Miyazaki
ARTIST: Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli
ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Takami Nieda
ISBN: 978-1-4215-3064-2; soft cover
272pp, Color, $34.99 US, $39.99 CAN, £25.00 UK

Ponyo is a 2008 animated film written and directed by famed Japanese film director, Hayao Miyazaki, and made by the company he co-founded, Studio Ghibli. Walt Disney Pictures released the fantasy film in North America in 2009. Pixar, the American computer animation company, supervised the production of Ponyo’s English dub.

According to Miyazaki, Ponyo is a reworking of Hans Christian Anderson’s “The Little Mermaid,” placed in a contemporary Japanese setting. Readers can learn facts like that and also get a wide open, behind-the-scenes look at the creative process of Ponyo in VIZ Media’s English-language publication of The Art of Ponyo. It’s a treat for people who love “Art of…” books that focus on animated featured films.

The Art of Ponyo features a generous selection of concept sketches, concept art, backgrounds, character sketches and designs, and film stills (of scenes from Ponyo). Readers shouldn’t think for a minute that they won’t get to see any drawings done by Miyazaki. According to the book, he drew all the concept sketches, and the book is littered with wonderful Miyazaki drawings which give us a small peek into this revered director’s creative process. One page even features a storyboard Miyazaki drew himself.

The book includes numerous examples of both Ponyo concept art, which was produced by the staff of Studio Ghibli, and character sketches and designs produced by Katsuya Kondo, the supervising animator of Ponyo. Also included are the complete voice-over script for the English-language release of the film and interviews with four of the guiding hands behind the film, including Kondo and Art Director Noboru Yoshida.

The list of people who will want The Art of Ponyo is long: animation aficionados, fans of Miyazaki, libraries, and people who’ve bought previous Miyazaki-related art books. People who remember the “Art of” books that Hyperion published in the 1990s for Walt Disney animated films (such as The Lion King) will also want The Art of Ponyo, a superbly produced book full of wonderful movie art. Chances are the movie will also be wonderful.

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