From Up On Poppy Hill (originally written 5/5/2013)

If you can find it, you’ve got to see From Up on Poppy Hill. Goro Miyazaki has proven to be just as capable as his father Hayao with lovely characters and gorgeous art like no other studio. Despite having none of the regular Studio Ghibli magical happenings (it’s about high school students saving their clubhouse in pre-1964 Japan, instead of spirits running a bathhouse), the film manages to strike the same emotional chord as Spirited Awaybytouching on themes of family, love, and nostalgia. Finally, even though the romance is restrained relative to a typical Disney movie, it reaches levels of tension, complexity, and sweetness that Disney can only dream of. Watch out for that plot twist!