Podcast appearances and mentions of Hayao Miyazaki

Get in, losers, we're going to Laputa! This week we take flight with Pazu, Sheeta, and a gang of pirates with some seriously questionable motives to find the mythical land in the clouds where cool robots take care of birds (and shoot lasers). It's the first true Ghibli film, and, man, does it set the bar pretty high. Also... what the hell is going on with the English dub of this film? Next week, it's our very first Takahata film, GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES. Join the conversation on our Discord at https://discord.com/invite/RssDc3brsx and get more Eye of the Duck on our Patreon show, After Hours https://www.patreon.com/EyeoftheDuckPod References: Special Features Creating Castle in the Sky Scoring Miyazaki Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation by Helen McCarthy Starting Point by Hayao Miyazaki Studio Ghibli: An Industrial History by Rayna Denison Sharing a House with the Never-Ending Man by Steve Alpert The Works of Hayao Miyazaki: The Japanese Animation Master by Gael Berton Miyazakiworld by Susan Napier Credits:  Eye of the Duck is created, hosted, and produced by Dom Nero and Adam Volerich. This episode was edited by Michael Gaspari. This episode was researched by Parth Marathe. Our logo was designed by Francesca Volerich. You can purchase her work at francescavolerich.com/shop The "Adam's Blu-Ray Corner" theme was produced by Chase Sterling. Assistant programming and digital production by Nik Long. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Letterboxd or join the conversation at Eye of the Discord. Learn more at eyeoftheduckpod.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, the pacifist princess with mystical powers fends off an evil empire in while trying to discover the way to return health to the land. We bring on Scott Johnson to talk about one of his favorite films, as well as the deep well of influences on Miyazaki's ecological fantasy. Starring (in the 2005 Disney re-dubbing) Alison Lohman, Patrick Stewart, Shia LaBeouf, Uma Thurman, Chris Sarandon, and Edward James Olmos. Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, adapted from his manga of the same name. Check out Scott's anime/manga and gaming convention, https://zenkaikon.com

Calling all Tolmekians: it's a series premiere!!!! Today we take flight with the Princess of the Valley of the Wind for our new Studio Ghibli series. What a dream (of madness)! For the next few months we'll be fully devoted to the works of Miyazaki, Takahata, and the entire Ghibli collective. We hope you'll join us in the Sea of Decay! The water is fine (it's only mildly acidic and poisonous). Next week, it's the first true Studio Ghibli film, CASTLE IN THE SKY (1986). Join the conversation on our Discord at https://discord.com/invite/RssDc3brsx and get more Eye of the Duck on our Patreon show, After Hours https://www.patreon.com/EyeoftheDuckPod References: Special Features Nausicaä Continues On Behind the Microphone The Works of Hayao Miyazaki: The Japanese Animation Master by Gael Berton Starting Point by Hayao Miyazaki Sharing a House with the Never-Ending Man by Steve Alpert Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation by Helen McCarthy Hideaki Anno Wants to Remake Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind The Sydney Morning Herald Mai Fujisawa Interview A Real Glider A Real Glider Part 2 Credits:  Eye of the Duck is created, hosted, and produced by Dom Nero and Adam Volerich. This episode was edited by Michael Gaspari. This episode was researched by Parth Marathe. Our logo was designed by Francesca Volerich. You can purchase her work at francescavolerich.com/shop The "Adam's Blu-Ray Corner" theme was produced by Chase Sterling. Assistant programming and digital production by Nik Long. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Letterboxd or join the conversation at Eye of the Discord. Learn more at eyeoftheduckpod.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Con la edición más española y prometedora de Cannes ya en marcha, ponemos el foco en el desembarco estadounidense de alto voltaje que acaba de llegar a las salas, con la acción y el humor comercial repartiéndose los títulos más llamativos. Desde la adrenalina de "Jugada Maestra" con Glenn Powell hasta la simpática propuesta de "Movida Celestial", protagonizada por un Keanu Reeves que sorprende en la piel de un ángel caído. El programa disecciona las claves de los estrenos más esperados. No falta el espacio para las sensaciones fuertes con el terror perturbador de "Hokum", una cinta irlandesa dispuesta a sacudir los cimientos del género y a no dejar indiferente a ningún espectador que se atreva a cruzar el umbral de las salas este fin de semana. El broche de oro llega a través de la excelencia musical y emocional del Estudio Ghibli, gran protagonista tras el anuncio de los Premios Princesa de Asturias. Ángel Luque nos guía por el universo creativo de Hayao Miyazaki y el compositor Joe Hisaishi, un binomio que ha elevado la animación a la categoría de arte universal. A través de melodías que evocan castillos ambulantes y espíritus del bosque, el podcast rinde homenaje a una trayectoria que conecta valores humanos y fantasía desbordante, reafirmando que el cine, más allá de las pantallas, es una experiencia sonora y cultural que sigue emocionando a generaciones enteras.

It's the phenomenal 2004 Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki directed based on the book of the same name flick Howl's Moving Castle.How could Joe & Adam forget this? Doesn't matter; they're glad they did so they got to rewatch it and talk about: the choice between watching subtitled Ghiblis vs English dub versions, the joyful little side characters that invariably pop up in a Miyazaki flick and bindels, plus a sort of connected but not really side chat about The Last Samurai.Got a film you forgot you forgot? Join our growing Discord community and tell us all about it: https://discord.gg/b3CUUdPRf7Or send us an email at moviesyouforgotyouforgot@gmail.com with your thoughts, episode suggestions, or just some light praise.You can also follow Adam @errorofways on Letterboxd; he rates and reviews the films he watches. Also, be a pal: tell your chums, rate us, review us, shout our name into the void - whatever helps spread the word.

Le mudac présente une rétrospective consacrée au scénariste et réalisateur japonais Isao Takahata, cofondateur du mythique studio d'animation Ghibli avec Hayao Miyazaki. L'exposition est à découvrir au mudac jusqu'au 27 septembre 2026. En parallèle la Ciné­ma­thèque suisse, en colla­bo­ra­tion avec le mudac, lui consacre un cycle excep­tion­nel Inti­tu­lée "Rétros­pec­tive Isao Taka­hata : Lʹes­prit de Ghibli". Pour en parler, Anne Laure Gannac reçoit Marco Costantini, directeur du mudac.

El padre (severo) y el hijo (díscolo) hicieron un trato: si estudias puedes apuntarte, por fin, a clases de pintura. No sospechaban todavía ninguno de los dos que la medicina y el arte iban a quedar, desde entonces, íntimamente ligados en sus vidas, y sobre todo que iban a inspirar los descubrimientos mundialmente revolucionarios del padre de la neurociencia, Santiago Ramón y Cajal. Abundamos en la historia del científico aragonés y de su relación decisiva con el dibujo o la fotografía a partir del documental 'Ramón y Cajal: Dibujos en la retina', que han visto Carlos Alsina, Rubén Amón, Rosa Belmonte, Guillermo Altares y Sergio del Molino. Además, celebramos el Premio Princesa de Asturias 2026 de Comunicación y Humanidades para el famoso Estudio Ghibli del japonés Hayao Miyazaki y felicitamos, en su 100º cumpleaños, al naturalista británico David Attenborough. Y recomendamos la película en cartelera 'La isla de Amrum' y la versión de la ópera 'Salomé' en cartel, actualmente, en el Teatro de Les Arts de Valencia.

El padre (severo) y el hijo (díscolo) hicieron un trato: si estudias puedes apuntarte, por fin, a clases de pintura. No sospechaban todavía ninguno de los dos que la medicina y el arte iban a quedar, desde entonces, íntimamente ligados en sus vidas, y sobre todo que iban a inspirar los descubrimientos mundialmente revolucionarios del padre de la neurociencia, Santiago Ramón y Cajal. Abundamos en la historia del científico aragonés y de su relación decisiva con el dibujo o la fotografía a partir del documental 'Ramón y Cajal: Dibujos en la retina', que han visto Carlos Alsina, Rubén Amón, Rosa Belmonte, Guillermo Altares y Sergio del Molino. Además, celebramos el Premio Princesa de Asturias 2026 de Comunicación y Humanidades para el famoso Estudio Ghibli del japonés Hayao Miyazaki y felicitamos, en su 100º cumpleaños, al naturalista británico David Attenborough. Y recomendamos la película en cartelera 'La isla de Amrum' y la versión de la ópera 'Salomé' en cartel, actualmente, en el Teatro de Les Arts de Valencia.

El padre (severo) y el hijo (díscolo) hicieron un trato: si estudias puedes apuntarte, por fin, a clases de pintura. No sospechaban todavía ninguno de los dos que la medicina y el arte iban a quedar, desde entonces, íntimamente ligados en sus vidas, y sobre todo que iban a inspirar los descubrimientos mundialmente revolucionarios del padre de la neurociencia, Santiago Ramón y Cajal. Abundamos en la historia del científico aragonés y de su relación decisiva con el dibujo o la fotografía a partir del documental 'Ramón y Cajal: Dibujos en la retina', que han visto Carlos Alsina, Rubén Amón, Rosa Belmonte, Guillermo Altares y Sergio del Molino. Además, celebramos el Premio Princesa de Asturias 2026 de Comunicación y Humanidades para el famoso Estudio Ghibli del japonés Hayao Miyazaki y felicitamos, en su 100º cumpleaños, al naturalista británico David Attenborough. Y recomendamos la película en cartelera 'La isla de Amrum' y la versión de la ópera 'Salomé' en cartel, actualmente, en el Teatro de Les Arts de Valencia.Conviértete en un supporter de este podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mas-noticias--4412383/support.ESCUCHAR RADIO 

Send us a Question!MOVIE DISCUSSION: Legacy XP CoachingParyss Bryanne: Instagram // Tiktok // YouTube // SnapchatPixel Paryss: Instagram // Tiktok // YouTube // TwitchParyss Bryanne joins Melvin to talk My Neighbor Totoro! The two kick-off Ani-May with a much-beloved Studio Ghibli classic! Nostalgia, curiosity, and a whole lotta whimsy fill this episode from start to finish! Tune in now! Topics:Editor's Note: No Patreon Exclusive discussion! But, I do intend to trim this episode down from its original 1:35:43 length, so if you want to hear the UNCUT version, tune in on Patreon here!Paryss shares about her love of Undertale, her desire to see people grow through Legacy XP Coaching, and how she's wrestling with horror media.Paryss, "[My Nieghbor Totoro] does such a good job of taking you back into the shoes of a child."Where do Paryss and Mel rank My Neighbor Totoro against other Miyazaki/Ghibli movies?On big emotions, and how emotions become more complicated as an adult.Enduring against melancholic nostalgia.Melvin, "Did you kinda just feel like [My Neighbor Totoro] was, like, really heavenly?"Talking Totoro, and wondering if he actually exists.Getting into the ending.Recommendations:The Village (2004) (Movie)Lucid Blocks (2026) (Video Game) Support the showSupport on Patreon for Unique Perks! Early access to uncut episodes Vote on a movie/show we review One-time reward of two Cinematic Doctrine Stickers & PinsSocial Links: ThreadsWebsiteInstagramLetterboxdFacebook Group 

We continue our series on Studio Ghibli & Hayao Miyazaki with an introduction to and examination of the first few minutes of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind; a true masterpiece.

En este episodio hablo sobre la trayectoria de Studio Ghibli desde 2017 a la actualidad.Puedes leer las notas de este podcast en el siguiente enlace: Música: Pamgaea by Kevin MacLeodContacto | Twitter | Spreaker

Comics creator Tim Probert is welcomed to the show for the first time to discuss his award-winning all ages fantasy graphic novel series Lightfall and its latest installment, A Place Between, book four of the series. "I loved books growing up that didn't talk down to me as a kid and just talked to me as a person and that weren't afraid of being scary." Tim's website Conversation highlights * Beginning the series as an animated pitch for Nickelodeon called The Ballad of Bea and Cad. * Visual influences on the Lightfall world including Dinotopia and the Hudson Valley School of painters * Narrative influences including Brian Jacques' Redwall series, The Lord of the Rings, and Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind * Visualizing Bea's anxiety in comic book form * Character maturation across the series and adapting to your audience * Delving into workflow and advice for younger artists From the publisher In the fourth installment of the award-winning, critically acclaimed Lightfall series, Bea, Cad, and their friends continue their quest to restore light on their dark world. Perfect for fans of Amulet and Avatar, this next book dives deeper into the magical world of Irpa, where ancient secrets and adventures abound. After surviving a shipwreck on the Fuerre Sea, Cad washes ashore on the shores of Pellidyr. There, he searches for Lorgon, the Water Spirit, but instead finds the other spirits of Irpa who question if their planet can be saved. One of them offers to help Cad and transports him to A Place Between, a strange liminal realm between the living and the dead, where Cad works to uncover the reason Lorgon summoned them to Pellidyr in the first place.  Meanwhile, Bea awakens within the walls of the capital city. While Pellidyr's leader has heard the tales of Bea's derring-do and believes her to be a hero with all the answers, she's never felt more uncertain about the future. What she does know is that she can't accomplish anything without her crew. When Bea's escape plan also brings her to A Place Between, she makes a shocking discovery that changes her understanding of everything that came before her…and what could soon follow. Follow Comic Book Yeti

Check out the Kickstarter for Paul Duffield's The Firelight Isle here!You can now join the Art of Comics discord server and chat comics with Jaws, Paul and other listeners! Click Here to join!In this episode of the biweekly podcast, The Art of Comics, creators Paul Duffield and Jaws Stone discuss Hayao Miyazaki's folktale fantasy, Shuna's Journey.As usual, this is an in-depth discussion, and there'll be spoilers for the story and content of the comic, so you might want to pause now, read the book and listen once you've had your own reaction. The episode is designed to work regardless of whether you've read it or not, so if you don't mind spoilers, dive right in!Next episode, for episode 69 (nice), we'll be discussing three short smutty comics (warning full-on NSFW): Thirteen by C. Bedford, Red Waters by lilhappycloud and The Butler Did It by Mikael Lindeburg, so if you want to read along with us, pick up a copy and read it over the next two weeks.To support the podcast, you can join Jaws' Patreon

The Boy and the Heron - Ep. 393 This week, Normies Like Us spreads its wings for The Boy and the Heron, Hayao Miyazaki's stunning return and conclusion to filmmaking. Join your hosts as they discuss grief, fantasy, war, talking birds, mysterious towers, and whether the master still has movie magic left in the tank. Is this a fitting swan song, a new classic, or one beautiful fever dream? Find out on this heartfelt, head-scratching, bird-brained episode of Normies Like Us! Insta @Normies_Like_Us https://www.instagram.com/normies_like_us/ @jacob https://www.instagram.com/_j__a___c___o__b_/ @Mike_Has_Insta https://www.instagram.com/mike_has_insta/ https://letterboxd.com/BabblingBrooksy/ https://letterboxd.com/hobbes72/ https://letterboxd.com/mikejromans/

Jean-Pierre Dionnet, on connaît : il est éditeur de bande dessinée, un des fondateurs de Métal Hurlant et des Humanoïdes Associés, producteur, scénariste, journaliste, et animateur de télévision… C'est surtout un témoin de l'évolution de la bande dessinée depuis les années 1960 et la Revue Phénix à laquelle il a collaboré jusqu'à son émergence dans les années 1970. Il a été aux premières loges de son évolution et a rencontré les plus grands noms de la bande dessinée de son temps : Hergé, Franquin, Goscinny & Uderzo, Hayao Miyazaki ou encore Jack Kirby. Mais surtout Will Eisner, le fondateur de l'industrie du comic-book américain et l'inventeur du roman graphique moderne. Il nous en parle dans ce podcast.Une production ActuaBD.com - Interview N°311 : Didier Pasamonik & Colin Besnier- Merci à Rémi Barnault pour le montage — Photo : Didier Pasamonik - Musique : We March Together — Courtesy of Patrick Patrikios — Youtube Audio Library

How'd a 1971 country-pop anthem about West Virginia... inspire a 1995 anime classic about teens in Tokyo? We kick off a season about great movie needle-drops with the tale of WHISPER OF THE HEART — the anime that helped drive John Denver's "Take Me Home Country Roads" into Japanese culture. Guests include the song's co-writer Bill Danoff, plus rare interviews with Studio Ghibli cofounder Toshio Suzuki and his daughter Mamiko — the movie's lyricist. The audio documentary podcast MUBI Podcast returns with a sequel to our super-popular season diving deep into the grooves of classic movie "needle drops."  Titled NEEDLE ON THE RECORD - SIDE TWO, in each episode host Rico Gagliano  tells the story of a film that fused music and image to make magic — and sometimes, change popular culture. Guests include director Gurinder Chadha and musician Bally Sagoo on BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM's bhangra bangers, and movie star Jack O'Connell on THIS IS ENGLAND, the ska-fueled drama that introduced him to audiences.YUKI'S SUN is now streaming almost globally as a part of the Drawn to Life: Animated Films collection on MUBI. FLOW is now streaming on MUBI in the UK and Ireland. To stream some of the films we've covered on the podcast, check out the collection Featured on the MUBI Podcast. Availability of films varies depending on your country.WHISPER OF THE HEART will return to cinemas with an exclusive IMAX re-release across the US and Canada from April 21, newly remastered in 4K. Tickets are available here.MUBI is a global streaming service, production company and film distributor dedicated to elevating great cinema. MUBI makes, acquires, curates, and champions extraordinary films, connecting them to audiences all over the world. A place to discover ambitious new films and singular voices, from iconic directors to emerging auteurs. Each carefully chosen by MUBI's curators.

A cursed pig, a golden age of flight, and a man still at war with himself. Victor Lams, Jeff Haecker, and Patrick Mason unpack Hayao Miyazaki's *Porco Rosso* — survivor's guilt, Ghibli planes, and what honor costs. The post The Secrets of Porco Rosso appeared first on StarQuest Media.

Check out the Kickstarter for Paul Duffield's The Firelight Isle here!You can now join the Art of Comics discord server and chat comics with Jaws, Paul and other listeners! Click Here to join!In this episode of the biweekly podcast, The Art of Comics, creators Paul Duffield and Jaws Stone discuss the psychological mystery-horror, Hello Sunshine by Keezy Young.As usual, this is an in-depth discussion, and there'll be spoilers for the story and content of the comic, so you might want to pause now, read the book and listen once you've had your own reaction. The episode is designed to work regardless of whether you've read it or not, so if you don't mind spoilers, dive right in!Next episode, we'll be discussing Shuna's Jounrey by Hayao Miyazaki, so if you want to read along with us, pick up a copy and read it over the next two weeks.To support the podcast, you can join Jaws' Patreon

https://m.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=tindogpodcast&_pgn=1&isRefine=true&_trksid=p4429486.m3561.l49496 Atlantis: The Lost Empire is a 2001 American animated science fiction adventure film directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Tab Murphy. Produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, it stars Michael J. Fox, James Garner, Cree Summer, Don Novello, Phil Morris, Claudia Christian, Jacqueline Obradors, Florence Stanley, David Ogden Stiers, John Mahoney, Jim Varney, Corey Burton and Leonard Nimoy. Set in 1914, the film follows young linguist Milo Thatch, who gains possession of a sacred book, which he believes will guide him and a crew of mercenaries to the lost city of Atlantis. Development of the film began after production had finished on The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996). Instead of another musical, directors Trousdale and Wise, producer Hahn, and screenwriter Murphy decided to do an adventure film inspired by the works of Jules Verne. Atlantis: The Lost Empire was notable for adopting the distinctive visual style of comic book artist Mike Mignola, one of the film's production designers. The film made greater use of computer-generated imagery (CGI) than any of Disney's previous traditionally animated features and remains one of the few to have been shot in anamorphic format. Linguist Marc Okrand constructed an Atlantean language specifically for use in the film. James Newton Howard provided the film's musical score. The film was released at a time when audience interest in animated films was shifting away from traditional animation toward films with full CGI. Atlantis: The Lost Empire premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on June 3, 2001, and went into its general release on June 15. The film received mixed reviews from critics. Budgeted at around $90–120 million, Atlantis grossed over $186 million worldwide, $84 million of which was earned in North America; its lackluster box office response was identified as a result of being released in competition with Shrek, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, The Fast and the Furious and Dr. Dolittle 2. As a result of the film's box office failure, Disney cancelled a planned spin-off animated television series, Team Atlantis; an underwater Disneyland attraction; and a volcanic Magic Kingdom attraction based on it. Atlantis was nominated for several awards, including seven Annie Awards, and won Best Sound Editing at the 2002 Golden Reel Awards. The film was released on VHS and DVD on January 29, 2002, and on Blu-ray on June 11, 2013. Despite its initial reception, reception in later years became favorable and has given Atlantis a cult following[5] and reappraisal from critics as a mistreated classic, due in part to Mignola's unique artistic influence.[6][7] A direct-to-video sequel, Atlantis: Milo's Return, was released in 2003. Plot In 1914 Washington, D.C., archaeo-linguist Milo Thatch obsesses over finding the legendary lost city of Atlantis, believed to have sunk thousands of years ago. His employers ridicule his theories, but he gains an unexpected ally in eccentric millionaire Preston B. Whitmore, a friend of Milo's deceased adventurer grandfather who also sought the city. Determined to honor his old friend's quest, Whitmore recruits Milo for an expedition to Atlantis, having recently uncovered the Shepherd's Journal, an ancient Atlantean manuscript that contains directions to the lost city. Aboard the submarine Ulysses, Milo meets his teammates: Commander Lyle Tiberius Rourke, Lieutenant Helga Sinclair, demolitions expert Vincenzo Santorini, geologist Gaetan "Mole" Molière, medical officer Joshua Sweet, mechanic Audrey Ramirez, radio operator Wilhelmina Packard, mess cook Jebidiah "Cookie" Farnsworth, and a platoon of mercenaries. Upon reaching a cave entrance leading to the lost city, the submarine is destroyed by a massive mechanical leviathan, killing most of the crew. Milo and the survivors escape in smaller craft, navigating through the cave to emerge among ancient ruins. Milo translates the journal, guiding the team through caves beneath a dormant volcano until they reach the worn remains of Atlantis. There, they are greeted by Princess Kidagakash "Kida" Nedakh, who, despite being around 8,500 years old, has the appearance of a young woman. She leads them to her father, King Kashekim, who orders them to leave. Learning that Milo can read their language—a skill lost to the Atlanteans over millennia—Kida asks for his help in uncovering their forgotten history and highly-advanced technology, without which the city has declined and resources have dwindled. Milo learns that Atlantis is powered by the Heart of Atlantis, a massive crystal that grants longevity and health to its citizens through the smaller crystals they carry. Rourke betrays Milo and the Atlanteans, revealing his true intention to steal the Heart for profit, despite knowing the Atlanteans will perish without it. He mortally wounds the King while seizing control and uncovers the crystal's hidden location beneath the city. Sensing the danger, the crystal merges with Kida, who is then captured by Rourke. He departs with the crystallized Kida and his mercenaries, except for Vincenzo, Molière, Sweet, Audrey, Packard, and Cookie, who refuse to take part in the Atlanteans' destruction. Before dying, the King reveals that Atlantis was devastated by a megatsunami after he attempted to weaponize the crystal's vast power. To protect the city, the crystal merged with a royal family member, Kida's mother. This created a protective dome over the city's inner district, shielding it from total destruction as Atlantis sank beneath the waves, but Kida's mother never returned. To prevent the crystal from ever merging with Kida, the King hid it, inadvertently accelerating Atlantis' decline. He warns Milo that Kida will be lost forever if she is not soon separated from the crystal and pleads with him to save her. Alongside his allies, Milo rallies the Atlanteans to reactivate their long-dormant flying machines. Together, they eliminate Rourke and his mercenaries in the volcano. Milo and the others fly the crystallized Kida back to Atlantis as the volcano erupts. Kida ascends into the air and awakens Stone Guardians, who erect a barrier that shields the city from the lava flow. With Atlantis saved, the crystal separates from Kida and remains suspended in the sky. Milo chooses to stay in Atlantis with Kida, having fallen in love with her. Before returning to the surface, Vincenzo, Molière, Sweet, Audrey, Packard, and Cookie each receive a small crystal and a share of treasure. The six reunite with Preston on the surface and agree to keep their adventure a secret to protect Atlantis. Preston opens a package from Milo containing his own crystal and a note thanking him. The newly crowned Queen Kida and Milo carve a stone effigy of her father to join those of past rulers floating beside the Heart of Atlantis, as the city stands restored to its former glory. Voice cast Production layout sketch of Milo and Kida. Milo's character design was based in part on sketches of the film's language consultant, Marc Okrand. Michael J. Fox as Milo James Thatch, a linguist and cartographer at the Smithsonian who was recruited to decipher The Shepherd's Journal while directing an expedition to Atlantis. James Garner as Commander Lyle Tiberius Rourke, the leader of the band of mercenaries for the Atlantean expedition. Cree Summer as Kidagakash "Kida" Nedakh, the Princess of Atlantis and Milo's love interest. Natalie Strom provided dialogue for Kida as a young child. Summer also voiced the unnamed Queen of Atlantis, Kida's mother and Kashekim's wife who was "chosen" by the Crystal during the sinking of the city. John Mahoney as Preston B. Whitmore, an eccentric millionaire who funds the expedition to Atlantis. Lloyd Bridges was originally cast and recorded as Whitmore, but he died before completing the film. Mahoney's zest and vigor led to Whitmore's personality being reworked for the film.[8] Claudia Christian as Lieutenant Helga Katrina Sinclair, Rourke's German-born second-in-command. Don Novello as Vincenzo "Vinny" Santorini, an Italian demolitions expert. Phil Morris as Dr. Joshua Strongbear Sweet, a medic of African-American and Arapaho descent. Jacqueline Obradors as Audrey Rocio Ramirez, a Puerto Rican mechanic and the youngest member of the expedition. Corey Burton as Gaetan "Mole" Molière, a French geologist who acts like a mole. Jim Varney as Jebidiah Allardyce "Cookie" Farnsworth, a Western-style chuckwagon chef. Varney died in February 2000, before the production ended, and the film was dedicated to his memory. Steven Barr recorded supplemental dialogue for Cookie. Florence Stanley as Wilhelmina Bertha Packard: an elderly, sarcastic, chain-smoking radio operator who is also the expedition's photographer. Leonard Nimoy as Kashekim Nedakh, the King of Atlantis and Kida's father. David Ogden Stiers as Fenton Q. Harcourt, a board member of the Smithsonian Institution who dismisses Milo's belief in the existence of Atlantis. Production Development The production team visited New Mexico's Carlsbad Caverns to get a sense of the underground spaces depicted in the film. The idea for Atlantis: The Lost Empire was conceived in October 1996 when Don Hahn, Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise, and Tab Murphy lunched at a Mexican restaurant in Burbank, California. Having recently completed The Hunchback of Notre Dame,[9] the producer, directors and screenwriter wanted to keep the Hunchback crew together for another film with an "Adventureland" setting rather than a "Fantasyland" setting.[10] Drawing inspiration from Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864) and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas (1870), they set out to make a film which would fully explore Atlantis (compared to the brief visit depicted in Verne's novel).[11] While primarily utilizing the Internet to research the mythology of Atlantis,[12] the filmmakers became interested in the clairvoyant readings of Edgar Cayce and decided to incorporate some of his ideas—notably that of a mother-crystal which provides power, healing, and longevity to the Atlanteans—into the story.[13] They also visited museums and old army installations to study the technology of the early 20th century (the film's time period), and traveled underground in New Mexico's Carlsbad Caverns to view the subterranean trails which would serve as a model for the approach to Atlantis in the film.[14] The filmmakers wanted to avoid the common depiction of Atlantis as "crumbled Greek columns underwater", said Wise.[15] "From the get-go, we were committed to designing it top to bottom. Let's get the architectural style, clothing, heritage, customs, how they would sleep, and how they would speak. So we brought people on board who would help us develop those ideas."[16] Art director David Goetz stated, "We looked at Mayan architecture, styles of ancient, unusual architecture from around the world, and the directors really liked the look of Southeast Asian architecture."[17] The team later took ideas from other architectural forms, including Cambodian, Indian, and Tibetan works.[18] Hahn added, "If you take and deconstruct architecture from around the world into one architectural vocabulary, that's what our Atlantis looks like."[19] The overall design and circular layout of Atlantis were also based on the writings of Plato,[18] and his quote "in a single day and night of misfortune, the island of Atlantis disappeared into the depths of the sea"[20] was influential from the beginning of production.[9] The crew wore T-shirts which read "ATLANTIS—Fewer songs, more explosions" due to the film's plan as an action-adventure (unlike previous Disney animated features, which were musicals).[21] Language The Atlantean letter A, created by artist John Emerson. Kirk Wise noted that its design was a treasure map showing the path to the crystal, "The Heart of Atlantis". Main article: Atlantean language Marc Okrand, who developed the Klingon language for the Star Trek television and theatrical productions, was hired to devise the Atlantean language for Atlantis: The Lost Empire. Guided by the directors' initial concept for it to be a "mother-language", Okrand employed an Indo-European word stock with its own grammatical structure. He would change the words if they began to sound too much like an actual, spoken language.[16] John Emerson designed the written component, making hundreds of random sketches of individual letters from among which the directors chose the best to represent the Atlantean alphabet.[22][23] The written language was boustrophedon: designed to be read left-to-right on the first line, then right-to-left on the second, continuing in a zigzag pattern to simulate the flow of water.[24] The Atlantean [A] is a shape developed by John Emerson. It is a miniature map of the city of Atlantis (i.e., the outside of the swirl is the cave, the inside shape is the silhouette of the city, and the dot is the location of the crystal). It's a treasure map. — Kirk Wise, director[25] Writing Joss Whedon was the first writer to be involved with the film but soon left to work on other Disney projects. According to him, he "had not a shred" in the movie.[26] Tab Murphy completed the screenplay, stating that the time from initially discussing the story to producing a script that satisfied the film crew was "about three to four months".[27] The initial draft was 155 pages, much longer than a typical Disney film script (which usually runs 90 pages). When the first two acts were timed at 120 minutes, the directors cut characters and sequences and focused more on Milo. Murphy said that he created the centuries-old Shepherd's Journal because he needed a map for the characters to follow throughout their journey.[28] A revised version of the script eliminated the trials encountered by the explorers as they navigated the caves to Atlantis. This gave the film a faster pace because Atlantis is discovered earlier in the story.[29] The directors often described the Atlanteans using Egypt as an example. When Napoleon wandered into Egypt, the people had lost track of their once-great civilization. They were surrounded by artifacts of their former greatness but somehow unaware of what they meant. — Don Hahn, producer[30] The character of Milo J. Thatch was originally supposed to be a descendant of Edward Teach, otherwise known as Blackbeard the pirate. The directors later related him to an explorer so he would discover his inner talent for exploration.[31] The character of Molière was originally intended to be "professorial" but Chris Ure, a story artist, changed the concept to that of a "horrible little burrowing creature with a wacky coat and strange headgear with extending eyeballs", said Wise.[32][33] Don Hahn pointed out that the absence of songs presented a challenge for a team accustomed to animating musicals, as action scenes alone would have to carry the film. Kirk Wise said it gave the team an opportunity for more on-screen character development: "We had more screen time available to do a scene like where Milo and the explorers are camping out and learning about one another's histories. An entire sequence is devoted to having dinner and going to bed. That is not typically something we would have the luxury of doing."[16] Hahn stated that the first animated sequence completed during production was the film's prologue. The original version featured a Viking war party using The Shepherd's Journal to find Atlantis and being swiftly dispatched by the Leviathan. Near the end of production, story supervisor John Sanford told the directors that he felt this prologue did not give viewers enough emotional involvement with the Atlanteans. Despite knowing that the Viking prologue was finished and it would cost additional time and money to alter the scene, the directors agreed with Sanford. Trousdale went home and completed the storyboards later that evening after visiting a strip club where he boarded the new sequence on a napkin.[34] The opening was replaced by a sequence depicting the destruction of Atlantis, which introduced the film from the perspective of the Atlanteans and Princess Kida.[35] The Viking prologue is included as an extra feature on the DVD release.[36] Casting Kirk Wise, one of the directors, said that they chose Michael J. Fox for the role of Milo because they felt he gave his characters his own personality and made them more believable on screen. Fox said that voice acting was much easier than his past experience with live action because he did not have to worry about what he looked like in front of a camera while delivering his lines.[37] The directors mentioned that Fox was also offered a role for Titan A.E.; he allowed his son to choose which film he would work on, and he chose Atlantis.[38] Viewers have noted similarities between Milo and the film's language consultant, Marc Okrand, who developed the Atlantean language used in the film. Okrand stated that Milo's supervising animator, John Pomeroy, sketched him, claiming not to know how a linguist looked or acted.[24] Kida's supervising animator, Randy Haycock, stated that her actress, Cree Summer, was very "intimidating" when he first met her; this influenced how he wanted Kida to look and act on screen when she meets Milo.[39] Wise chose James Garner for the role of Commander Lyle Tiberius Rourke because of his previous experience with action films, especially war and Western films, and said the role "fits him like a glove". When asked if he would be interested in the role, Garner replied: "I'd do it in a heartbeat."[40] Producer Don Hahn was saddened that Jim Varney, the voice of Jebidiah Allardyce "Cookie" Farnsworth, never saw the finished film before he died of lung cancer in February 2000, but mentioned that he was shown clips of his character's performance during his site sessions and said, "He loved it." Shawn Keller, supervising animator for Cookie, stated, "It was kind of a sad fact that [Varney] knew that he was not going to be able to see this film before he passed away. He did a bang-up job doing the voice work, knowing the fact that he was never gonna see his last performance." Steven Barr recorded supplemental dialogue for Cookie.[41] John Mahoney, who voiced Preston Whitmore, stated that doing voice work was "freeing" and allowed him to be "big" and "outrageous" with his character.[42] Dr. Joshua Sweet's supervising animator, Ron Husband, indicated that one of the challenges was animating Sweet in sync with Phil Morris' rapid line delivery while keeping him believable. Morris stated that this character was extreme, with "no middle ground"; he mentioned, "When he was happy, he was really happy, and when he's solemn, he's real solemn."[43] Claudia Christian described her character, Lieutenant Helga Katrina Sinclair, as "sensual" and "striking", and was relieved when she finally saw what her character looked like, joking, "I'd hate to, you know, go through all this and find out my character is a toad."[44] Jacqueline Obradors said her character, Audrey Rocio Ramirez, made her "feel like a little kid again" and she always hoped her sessions would last longer.[45] Florence Stanley felt that her character, Wilhelmina Bertha Packard, was very "cynical" and "secure": "She does her job, and when she is not busy, she does anything she wants."[46] Corey Burton mentioned that finding his performance as Gaetan "Mole" Molière was by allowing the character to "leap out" of him while making funny voices. To get into character during his recording sessions, he stated that he would "throw myself into the scene and feel like I'm in this make-believe world".[47] Kirk Wise and Russ Edmonds, supervising animator for Vincenzo "Vinny" Santorini, noted Vinny's actor Don Novello's unique ability to improvise dialogue while voicing the role. Edmonds recalled, "[Novello] would look at the sheet, and he would read the line that was written once, and he would never read it again! And we never used a written line, it was improvs, the whole movie."[48] Michael Cedeno, supervising animator for King Kashekim Nedakh, was astounded at Leonard Nimoy's voice talent in the role, stating that he had "so much rich character" in his performance. As he spoke his lines, Cedeno said the crew would sit there and watch Nimoy in astonishment.[49] Animation For comparison, the top image (panoramic view of Atlantis) is cropped to Disney's standard aspect ratio (1.66:1); the bottom image was seen in the film (2.35:1). At the peak of its production, 350 animators, artists and technicians were working on Atlantis[50] at all three Disney animation studios: Walt Disney Feature Animation (Burbank, California), Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida (Orlando), and Disney Animation France (Paris).[51] The film was one of the few Disney animated features produced and shot in 35mm anamorphic format. The directors felt that a widescreen image was crucial, as a nostalgic reference to old action-adventure films presented in the CinemaScope format (2.35:1), noting Raiders of the Lost Ark as an inspiration.[52] Because switching to the format would require animation desks and equipment designed for widescreen to be purchased, Disney executives were at first reluctant about the idea.[16] The production team found a simple solution by drawing within a smaller frame on the same paper and equipment used for standard aspect ratio (1.66:1) Disney-animated films.[52] Layout supervisor Ed Ghertner wrote a guide to the widescreen format for use by the layout artists and mentioned that one advantage of widescreen was that he could keep characters in scenes longer because of additional space to walk within the frame.[53] Wise drew further inspiration for the format from filmmakers David Lean and Akira Kurosawa.[16] The film's visual style was strongly based upon that of Mike Mignola, the comic book artist behind Hellboy. Mignola was one of four production designers (along with Matt Codd, Jim Martin, and Ricardo Delgado) hired by the Disney studio for the film. Accordingly, he provided style guides, preliminary character, and background designs, and story ideas.[54] "Mignola's graphic, the angular style was a key influence on the 'look' of the characters," stated Wise.[55] Mignola was surprised when first contacted by the studio to work on Atlantis.[56] His artistic influence on the film would later contribute to a cult following.[57] I remember watching a rough cut of the film and these characters have these big, square, weird hands. I said to the guy next to me, "Those are cool hands." And he says to me, "Yeah, they're your hands. We had a whole meeting about how to do your hands." It was so weird I couldn't wrap my brain around it. — Mike Mignola[56] The final pull-out shot of the movie, immediately before the end-title card, was described by the directors as the most difficult shot in the history of Disney animation. They said that the pull-out attempt on their prior film, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, "struggled" and "lacked depth"; however, after making advances in the process of multiplaning, they tried the technique again in Atlantis. The shot begins with one 16-inch (40.6 cm) piece of paper showing a close-up of Milo and Kida. As the camera pulls away from them to reveal the newly restored Atlantis, it reaches the equivalent of an 18,000-inch (46,000 cm) piece of paper composed of many individual pieces of paper (24 inches [61 cm] or smaller). Each piece was carefully drawn and combined with animated vehicles simultaneously flying across the scene to make the viewer see a complete, integrated image.[58] Scale model of Ulysses submarine by Greg Aronowitz, used by digital animators as reference during production.[59] At the time of its release, Atlantis: The Lost Empire was notable for using more computer-generated imagery (CGI) than any other Disney traditionally animated feature. To increase productivity, the directors had the digital artists work with the traditional animators throughout the production. Several important scenes required heavy use of digital animation: the Leviathan, the Ulysses submarine and sub-pods, the Heart of Atlantis, and the Stone Giants.[60] During production, after Matt Codd and Jim Martin designed the Ulysses on paper, Greg Aronowitz was hired to build a scale model of the submarine, to be used as a reference for drawing the 3D Ulysses.[59] The final film included 362 digital-effects shots, and computer programs were used to seamlessly join the 2D and 3D artwork.[61] One scene that took advantage of this was the "sub-drop" scene, where the 3D Ulysses was dropped from its docking bay into the water. As the camera floated toward it, a 2D Milo was drawn to appear inside, tracking the camera. The crew noted that it was challenging to keep the audience from noticing the difference between the 2D and 3D drawings when they were merged.[62] The digital production also gave the directors a unique "virtual camera" for complicated shots within the film. With the ability to operate in the z-plane, this camera moved through a digital wire-frame set; the background and details were later hand-drawn over the wireframes. This was used in the opening flight scene through Atlantis and the submarine chase through the undersea cavern with the Leviathan in pursuit.[63] Music and sound Since the film would not feature any songs, the directors hired James Newton Howard to compose the score after they heard his music on Dinosaur. Approaching it as a live-action film, Howard decided to have different musical themes for the cultures of the surface world and Atlantis. In the case of Atlantis, Howard chose an Indonesian orchestral sound incorporating chimes, bells, and gongs. The directors told Howard that the film would have a number of key scenes without dialogue; the score would need to convey emotionally what the viewer was seeing on screen.[64] Gary Rydstrom and his team at Skywalker Sound were hired for the film's sound production.[65] Like Howard, Rydstrom employed different sounds for the two cultures. Focusing on the machine and mechanical sounds of the early industrial era for the explorers, he felt that the Atlanteans should have a "more organic" sound utilizing ceramics and pottery. The sound made by the Atlantean flying-fish vehicles posed a particular challenge. Rydstrom revealed that he was sitting at the side of a highway recording one day when a semi-truck drove by at high speed. When the recording was sped up on his computer, he felt it sounded very organic, and decided to use it in the film. Rydstrom created the harmonic chiming of the Heart of Atlantis by rubbing his finger along the edge of a champagne flute, the sound of sub-pods moving through the water with a water pick, while a ceramic pot from a garden store was used for the sounds of the movement of the Giant stone guardians.[66] Release Atlantis: The Lost Empire had its world premiere at Disney's El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on June 3, 2001[67] and a limited release in New York City and Los Angeles on June 8; a wider release followed on June 15.[4][61] At the premiere, Destination: Atlantis was on display, featuring behind-the-scenes props from the film and information on the legend of Atlantis with video games, displays, laser tag, and other attractions. The Aquarium of the Pacific also loaned a variety of fish for display within the attraction.[68] Promotion Atlantis was among Disney's first major attempts to utilize internet marketing. The film was promoted through Kellogg's, which created a website with mini-games and a movie-based video game give-away for UPC labels from specially marked packages of Atlantis breakfast cereal.[50] The film was one of Disney's first marketing attempts through mobile network operators, and allowed users to download games based on the film.[69] McDonald's (which had an exclusive licensing agreement on all Disney releases) promoted the film with Happy Meal toys, food packaging and in-store decor. The McDonald's advertising campaign involved television, radio, and print advertisements beginning on the film's release date.[70] Frito-Lay offered free admission tickets for the film on specially marked snack packages.[71] Home media Atlantis: The Lost Empire was released on VHS and DVD on January 29, 2002.[72] During the first month of its home release, the film led in VHS sales and was third in VHS and DVD sales combined.[73] Sales and rentals of the VHS and DVD combined would eventually accumulate $157 million in revenue by mid-2003.[74] Both a single-disc DVD edition and a two-disc collector's edition (with bonus features) were released. The single-disc DVD gave the viewer the option of viewing the film either in its original theatrical 2.39:1 aspect ratio or a modified 1.33:1 ratio (utilizing pan and scan). Bonus features available on the DVD version included audio and visual commentary from the film team, a virtual tour of the CGI models, an Atlantean-language tutorial, an encyclopedia on the myth of Atlantis, and the deleted Viking prologue scene.[72] The two-disc collector's edition DVD contained all the single-disc features and a disc with supplemental material detailing all aspects of the film's production. The collector's-edition film could only be viewed in its original theatrical ratio, and also featured an optional DTS 5.1 track. Both DVD versions, however, contained a Dolby Digital 5.1 track and were THX certified.[72][75] Disney digitally remastered and released Atlantis on Blu-ray on June 11, 2013, bundled with its sequel Atlantis: Milo's Return.[76] Reception Box office Before the film's release, reporters speculated that it would have a difficult run due to competition from Shrek and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. Regarding the market's shift from traditional animation and competition with CG-animated films, Kirk Wise said, "Any traditional animator, including myself, can't help but feel a twinge. I think it always comes down to story and character, and one form won't replace the other. Just like photography didn't replace painting. But maybe I'm blind to it."[61] Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly noted that CGI films (such as Shrek) were more likely to attract the teenage demographic typically not interested in animation, and called Atlantis a "marketing and creative gamble".[77] With a budget of $100 million,[3] the film opened at #2 on its debut weekend, behind Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, earning $20.3 million in 3,011 theaters.[78] During its second weekend, it would drop into fourth place behind the latter film, Dr. Dolittle 2 and The Fast and the Furious, making $13.2 million.[79] The film's international release began September 20 in Australia and other markets followed suit.[80] During its 25-week theatrical run, Atlantis: The Lost Empire grossed over $186 million worldwide ($84 million from the United States and Canada).[4] Responding to its disappointing box-office performance, Thomas Schumacher, then-president of Walt Disney Feature Animation, said, "It seemed like a good idea at the time to not do a sweet fairy tale, but we missed."[81] Critical response Atlantis: The Lost Empire received mixed reviews from critics,[82][83][84] many of whom criticized its story.[85] The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports that 48% of 144 professional critics have given Atlantis: The Lost Empire a positive review; the average rating is 5.5/10. The site's consensus is: "Atlantis provides a fast-paced spectacle, but stints on such things as character development and a coherent plot".[86] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 52 out of 100 based on 29 reviews from critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[87] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[88] While critics had mixed reactions to the film in general, some praised it for its visuals, action-adventure elements, and attempt to appeal to an older audience. Roger Ebert gave Atlantis three-and-a-half stars out of four. He praised the animation's "clean bright visual look" and the "classic energy of the comic book style", crediting this to the work of Mike Mignola. Ebert gave particular praise to the story and the final battle scene and wrote, "The story of Atlantis is rousing in an old pulp science fiction sort of way, but the climactic scene transcends the rest, and stands by itself as one of the great animated action sequences."[89] In The New York Times, Elvis Mitchell gave high praise to the film, calling it "a monumental treat", and stated, "Atlantis is also one of the most eye-catching Disney cartoons since Uncle Walt institutionalized the four-fingered glove."[90] Internet film critic James Berardinelli wrote a positive review of the film, giving it three out of four stars. He wrote, "On the whole, Atlantis offers 90 minutes of solid entertainment, once again proving that while Disney may be clueless when it comes to producing good live-action movies, they are exactly the opposite when it comes to their animated division."[91] Wesley Morris of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote positively of the film's approach for an older audience: "But just beneath the surface, Atlantis brims with adult possibility."[92] Other critics felt that the film was mediocre in regards to its story and characters, and that it failed to deliver as a non-musical to Disney's traditional audience. Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a C+ rating, writing that the film had "gee-whiz formulaic character" and was "the essence of craft without dream".[93] Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times said the storyline and characterizations were "old-fashioned" and the film had the retrograde look of a Saturday-morning cartoon, but these deficiencies were offset by its "brisk action" and frantic pace.[94] Todd McCarthy of Variety wrote, "Disney pushes into all-talking, no-singing, no-dancing and, in the end, no-fun animated territory."[95] Stephanie Zacharek of Salon wrote of Disney's attempt to make the film for an adult audience, "The big problem with Disney's latest animated feature, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, is that it doesn't seem geared to kids at all: It's so adult that it's massively boring."[96] Rita Kempley of The Washington Post panned the film, calling it a "new-fashioned but old-fangled hash" and wrote, "Ironically Disney had hoped to update its image with this mildly diverting adventure, yet the picture hasn't really broken away from the tried-and-true format spoofed in the far superior Shrek."[97] In 2015, Katharine Trendacosta at io9 reviewed the film and called it a "Beautiful Gem of a Movie That Deserved Better Than It Got" and said that the film deserves more love than it ended up getting.[6] Lindsay Teal considers "Atlantis" to be "a lost Disney classic". Describing the film as highly entertaining, she praises the writing and characterisation – in particular, Sweet, Helga and Kida.[7] In particular, much praise has been given to the character of Kida.[98] Summer has regarded the character of Kida as one of her favourite roles and even considers the character among the official Disney Princess line-up. Themes and interpretations Several critics and scholars have noted that Atlantis plays strongly on themes of anti-capitalism and anti-imperialism. M. Keith Booker, academic and author of studies about the implicit messages conveyed by media, views the character of Rourke as being motivated by "capitalist greed" when he pursues "his own financial gain" in spite of the knowledge that "his theft [of the crystal] will lead to the destruction of [Atlantis]".[99] Religion journalist Mark Pinsky, in his exploration of moral and spiritual themes in popular Disney films, says that "it is impossible to read the movie ... any other way" than as "a devastating, unrelenting attack on capitalism and American imperialism".[100] Max Messier of FilmCritic.com observes, "Disney even manages to lambast the capitalist lifestyle of the adventurers intent on uncovering the lost city. Damn the imperialists!"[101] According to Booker, the film also "delivers a rather segregationist moral" by concluding with the discovery of the Atlanteans kept secret from other surface-dwellers in order to maintain a separation between the two highly divergent cultures.[102] Others saw Atlantis as an interesting look at utopian philosophy of the sort found in classic works of science fiction by H. G. Wells and Jules Verne.[103] Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water controversy When the film was released, some viewers noticed that Atlantis: The Lost Empire was similar to the 1990-91 anime Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water, particularly in its character design, setting, and story.[104] The similarities, as noted by viewers in both Japan and America, were strong enough for its production company Gainax to be called to sue for plagiarism. According to Gainax member Yasuhiro Takeda, they only refrained from doing so because the decision belonged to parent companies NHK and Toho.[105] Another Gainax worker, Hiroyuki Yamaga, was quoted in an interview in 2000 as saying: "We actually tried to get NHK to pick a fight with Disney, but even the National Television Network of Japan didn't dare to mess with Disney and their lawyers. [...] We actually did say that but we wouldn't actually take them to court. We would be so terrified about what they would do to them in return that we wouldn't dare."[105] Although Disney never responded formally to those claims, co-director Kirk Wise posted on a Disney animation newsgroup in May 2001, "Never heard of Nadia till it was mentioned in this [newsgroup]. Long after we'd finished production, I might add." He claimed both Atlantis and Nadia were inspired, in part, by the 1870 Jules Verne novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas.[106] However, speaking about the clarification, Lee Zion from Anime News Network wrote, "There are too many similarities not connected with 20,000 Leagues for the whole thing to be coincidence."[107] As such, the whole affair ultimately entered popular culture as a convincing case of plagiarism.[108][109][110] In 2018, Reuben Baron from Comic Book Resources added to Zion's comment stating, "Verne didn't specifically imagine magic crystal-based technology, something featured in both the Disney movie and the too similar anime. The Verne inspiration also doesn't explain the designs being suspiciously similar to Nadia's."[110] Critics also saw parallels with the 1986 film Laputa: Castle in the Sky from Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli (which also featured magic crystals, and Atlantis directors Trousdale and Wise both acknowledged Miyazaki's works as a major influence on their own work)[104] and with the 1994 film Stargate as Milo's characteristics were said to resemble those of Daniel Jackson, the protagonist of Stargate and its spinoff television series Stargate SG-1 — which coincidentally launched its own spinoff, titled Stargate Atlantis; the plot of the 1994 film is also paralleled involving a group visiting an unknown world, a fictional language made for the other world's people, the main protagonist having apparent knowledge of the people's culture, falling in love with one of the female locals and electing to stay behind when the others return home.[111] Accolades Award Category Name Result 29th Annie Awards[112] Individual Achievement in Directing Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise Nominated Individual Achievement in Storyboarding Chris Ure Nominated Individual Achievement in Production Design David Goetz Nominated Individual Achievement in Effects Animation Marlon West Nominated Individual Achievement in Voice Acting – Female Florence Stanley Nominated Individual Achievement in Voice Acting – Male Leonard Nimoy Nominated Individual Achievement for Music Score James Newton Howard Nominated 2002 DVD Exclusive Awards[113] Original Retrospective Documentary Michael Pellerin Nominated 2002 Golden Reel Award[114] Best Sound Editing – Animated Feature Film Gary Rydstrom, Michael Silvers, Mary Helen Leasman, John K. Carr, Shannon Mills, Ken Fischer, David C. Hughes, and Susan Sanford Won Online Film Critics Society Awards 2001[115] Best Animated Feature Nominated 2002 Political Film Society[116] Democracy Nominated Human Rights Nominated Peace Nominated World Soundtrack Awards[117] Best Original Song for Film Diane Warren and James Newton Howard Nominated Young Artist Awards[118] Best Feature Family Film – Drama Walt Disney Feature Animation Nominated Related works Main article: Atlantis (franchise) Atlantis: The Lost Empire was meant to inspire an animated television series entitled Team Atlantis, which would have presented the further adventures of its characters. The series would have been akin to an animated steampunk version of The X-Files and feature a crossover with Gargoyles. However, because of the film's underperformance at the box office, the series was not produced.[119] On May 20, 2003, Disney released a direct-to-video sequel titled Atlantis: Milo's Return, consisting of three episodes planned for the aborted series.[120] Disneyland planned to revive its Submarine Voyage ride with an Atlantis: The Lost Empire theme with elements from the movie. These plans were canceled and the attraction was re-opened in 2007 as the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, its theme based on the 2003 Pixar film Finding Nemo, which was far more successful commercially and critically.[121] In addition, after the Submarine Voyage's Magic Kingdom counterpart, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage, closed down in 1994, four years before Disneyland's, there were proposals of a new attraction that would take its place, with one of them a volcano attraction inspired by that film's Vulcania location, being approved for the Magic Kingdom's Adventureland area. Around 1999, during development of Atlantis: The Lost Empire, it was decided that it would be themed to the movie, with it taking place in 1916, two years after the film's events. The ride would have focused on Preston Whitmore, a character from the film, seeking to make Atlantis existence public and offer expeditions to visitors in newly developed vehicles. However, due to mishaps, the vehicles would be forced to make a detour through the lava-filled caverns of the volcano. The attraction would have used a unique hybrid ride system, in which it would start as a standard coaster before the trains hook up to a suspended track midway through to fly through the caverns. The attraction would have been accessed by a new canyon path in between Pirates of the Caribbean and a re-routed Jungle Cruise that would have led to a Whitmore Enterprises base camp at the edge of the Walt Disney World Railroad path, with the mountain itself being built outside the berm. However, like the previous Submarine Voyage retheme, the ride was cancelled due to the film's disappointment in the box office.[122]

We are discussing Hayao Miyazaki's 1992 anti-war love letter to aviation and flying pigs: Porco Rosso! Including; gender roles, the effects of war, curses, rising fascism, romance, cute kids, ambiguous endings, and much more. Remember, it's better to be a pig than a fascist. This episode was originally released on May 1, 2023 I Love This You Should Too is hosted by Samantha and Indy Randhawa Porco Rosso (Japanese: 紅の豚, Hepburn: Kurenai no Buta, lit. 'Crimson Pig') is a 1992 Japanese animated adventure-fantasy film[1] written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It is based on Hikōtei Jidai ("The Age of the Flying Boat"), a three-part 1989 watercolor manga by Miyazaki.[2] It stars the voices of Shūichirō Moriyama, Tokiko Kato, Akemi Okamura and Akio Ōtsuka. Animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Japan Airlines and the Nippon Television Network, it was produced by Toshio Suzuki and distributed by Toho. Its score is by Japanese composer Joe Hisaishi. The plot revolves around an Italian World War I ex-fighter ace, now living as a freelance bounty hunter chasing "air pirates" in the Adriatic Sea. However, an unusual curse has transformed him into an anthropomorphic pig. Once called Marco Pagot (Marco Rossolini in the American version), he is now known to the world as "Porco Rosso", Italian for "Red Pig".

The Wind Rises 389: Airplanes are beautiful dreams. Cursed dreams… waiting for the sky to swallow them up. And we're waiting for you, dear listeners, to swallow this podcast up! We've had so much fun talking about Hayao Miyazaki this past year that it's a shame to see it coming to an end. Lucky for us, Miyazaki-san felt the same way and continued making films after this one! We discuss what it means to make a film you think will be your last as we head to the sky to discuss The Wind Rises, only on Normies Like Us. @Normies_Like_Us https://www.instagram.com/normies_like_us/ @jacob https://www.instagram.com/_j__a___c___o__b_/ @JoeHasInsta https://www.instagram.com/joehasinsta/ @Mike_Has_Insta https://www.instagram.com/mike_has_insta/ https://letterboxd.com/BabblingBrooksy/ https://letterboxd.com/hobbes72/ https://letterboxd.com/mikejromans/

This month, Evan and Brian talk about the first season of the Disney+ series Andor, and Liam talks about the anime movie Princess Mononoke by Hayao Miyazaki. Liam was at college when we recorded this episode, so the sound quality was not the best. Hopefully we'll fix that in the future.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Welcome to a very special Money On Film miniseries!Over three episodes, Slate Money's Felix Salmon and Slate culture writer Nadira Goffe revisit three films at the intersection of culture and finance. On this episode, Nadira and Felix take a trip to a bathhouse for spirits in 2001's Spirited Away.Directed by Hayao Miyazaki, the film follows a girl named Chihiro, who becomes trapped in the spirit world and must save her parents, encountering soot sprites, river spirits, a giant baby, and many more wonderful and terrifying beings along the way.The film is a masterpiece of storytelling and technical animation, but as Felix explains, it also works as a highly developed metaphor for capital and the Japanese economy at the close of the millennium: the bathhouse stands in for a stable but exploitative economic system, beset by outside capital forces, with workers stripped of their names and identities.This is the final episode of the Money On Film miniseries. Thanks for listening! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to a very special Money On Film miniseries!Over three episodes, Slate Money's Felix Salmon and Slate culture writer Nadira Goffe revisit three films at the intersection of culture and finance. On this episode, Nadira and Felix take a trip to a bathhouse for spirits in 2001's Spirited Away.Directed by Hayao Miyazaki, the film follows a girl named Chihiro, who becomes trapped in the spirit world and must save her parents, encountering soot sprites, river spirits, a giant baby, and many more wonderful and terrifying beings along the way.The film is a masterpiece of storytelling and technical animation, but as Felix explains, it also works as a highly developed metaphor for capital and the Japanese economy at the close of the millennium: the bathhouse stands in for a stable but exploitative economic system, beset by outside capital forces, with workers stripped of their names and identities.This is the final episode of the Money On Film miniseries. Thanks for listening! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to a very special Money On Film miniseries!Over three episodes, Slate Money's Felix Salmon and Slate culture writer Nadira Goffe revisit three films at the intersection of culture and finance. On this episode, Nadira and Felix take a trip to a bathhouse for spirits in 2001's Spirited Away.Directed by Hayao Miyazaki, the film follows a girl named Chihiro, who becomes trapped in the spirit world and must save her parents, encountering soot sprites, river spirits, a giant baby, and many more wonderful and terrifying beings along the way.The film is a masterpiece of storytelling and technical animation, but as Felix explains, it also works as a highly developed metaphor for capital and the Japanese economy at the close of the millennium: the bathhouse stands in for a stable but exploitative economic system, beset by outside capital forces, with workers stripped of their names and identities.This is the final episode of the Money On Film miniseries. Thanks for listening! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to a very special Money On Film miniseries!Over three episodes, Slate Money's Felix Salmon and Slate culture writer Nadira Goffe revisit three films at the intersection of culture and finance. On this episode, Nadira and Felix take a trip to a bathhouse for spirits in 2001's Spirited Away.Directed by Hayao Miyazaki, the film follows a girl named Chihiro, who becomes trapped in the spirit world and must save her parents, encountering soot sprites, river spirits, a giant baby, and many more wonderful and terrifying beings along the way.The film is a masterpiece of storytelling and technical animation, but as Felix explains, it also works as a highly developed metaphor for capital and the Japanese economy at the close of the millennium: the bathhouse stands in for a stable but exploitative economic system, beset by outside capital forces, with workers stripped of their names and identities.This is the final episode of the Money On Film miniseries. Thanks for listening! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to a very special Money On Film miniseries!Over three episodes, Slate Money's Felix Salmon and Slate culture writer Nadira Goffe revisit three films at the intersection of culture and finance. On this episode, Nadira and Felix take a trip to a bathhouse for spirits in 2001's Spirited Away.Directed by Hayao Miyazaki, the film follows a girl named Chihiro, who becomes trapped in the spirit world and must save her parents, encountering soot sprites, river spirits, a giant baby, and many more wonderful and terrifying beings along the way.The film is a masterpiece of storytelling and technical animation, but as Felix explains, it also works as a highly developed metaphor for capital and the Japanese economy at the close of the millennium: the bathhouse stands in for a stable but exploitative economic system, beset by outside capital forces, with workers stripped of their names and identities.This is the final episode of the Money On Film miniseries. Thanks for listening! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello, and welcome to another month of Apocalypse Video's look at the wondrous world of Nature. For the month of March, we leave behind the ocean waters and take to the skies to observe the many species that inhabit the world above our heads. This…is March of the Penguins (...And Other Bird Related Films).In this third installment we enter a mysterious and bizarre world inhabited by both the living and the dead; a world locked in a power struggle between its creator and an angry Parakeet King; a world much like ours, and like our world, it too is fragile and all too close to calamity. This…is The Boy and the Heron.I'm your host, Dave, and joining me as we try our best not to be overrun by swarming toads are fellow cinephiles and Studio Ghibli fanboys Mike and Ryan.Topics of discussion in this episode include a film that you understand less with each rewatch; The Heron gives Michael Myers a run for his money in the creepy, stalking department; and finally, we wonder if The Boy and the Heron is the last film of its kind and whether or not Miyazaki will return to show everyone how it's done one more time.Be sure to rate, review and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can also Like Us on Facebook, Follow Us on Instagram, or shoot us an email at apocalypsevideopod@gmail.comAnd thus concludes our look into the strange and wonderful imagination of Hayao Miyazaki. When we return, we'll be yucking it up with the Marx Brothers as they lay down some comedy foundations in Duck Soup.

This week, we turn once more to the wonderful world of media as we consider ten films for Changeling: the Lost inspiration. We did this previously with Changeling: the Dreaming (check out episode 50!), so it seemed like the right time to pull a similar for the other fae game. There are a couple crossover titles whose themes and plots and aesthetics work equally well in both, in our opinion... but otherwise, this list has a slightly eerier, horror-inflected vibe overall, we suppose? We've tried to keep the discussion as spoiler-light as possible, but for your edification, here are the deets and some trailers for the films we discuss in this order: Alice (Něco z Alenky) (dir. Jan Švankmejer, 1988): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nxugr1jEYj8 Black Swan (dir. Darren Aronofsky, 2010): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jaI1XOB-bs Annihilation (dir. Alex Garland, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89OP78l9oF0 The Blair Witch Project (dir. Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez, 1999): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBZ-POVsrlI The Cell (dir. Tarsem Singh, 2000): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIpy4p_yMV0 Labyrinth (dir. Jim Henson, 1986): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2yd4em1I6M The Green Knight (dir. David Lowery, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS6ksY8xWCY Rocky Horror Picture Show (dir. Jim Sharman, 1975): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldo_spDyLKc Spirited Away (dir. Hayao Miyazaki, 2001): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByXuk9QqQkk Smile (dir. Parker Finn, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcDK7lkzzsU Obviously, there were lots of other options that we could have discussed, but for the sake of keeping things trim, these ten will have to suffice. (For now...!) And for other shortlist goodness, further vectors of media include the various avenues to get our attention: Discord: https://discord.me/ctp Email: podcast@changelingthepodcast.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100082973960699 Mastodon: https://dice.camp/@ChangelingPod Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/changelingthepodcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChangelingThePodcast your hosts Pooka G (any pronoun/they) is four degrees from Kevin Bacon, depending how broadly you want to count. Amelia Fetch (she/her) has secured three of five clauses in the Contracts of Blooper Reel. Mothers of America / let your kids go to the movies! —Frank O'Hara, "Ave Maria"

Jackie and Greg board the Catbus for Hayao Miyazaki's MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO from 1988. Topics of discussion include Miyazaki's storybook aesthetic, its deliberate pace, how it handles its fantastical elements, and why it's quite literally, a film for all ages.#72 on Sight & Sound's 2022 "The Greatest Films of All Time" list. https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/greatest-films-all-timeCheck us out on Instagram: instagram.com/sceneandheardpodCheck us out at our official website: sceneandheardpod.comGraphic Design: Molly PintoMusic: Andrew CoxEditing: Greg KleinschmidtGet in touch at hello@sceneandheardpod.com

On this week's quest of Re:Sekai, AD, Jerri and Pat are joined by Nick to celebrate the 8th Anniversary of The Lookout and review Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli's Spirited Away.Discussion begins at 7:15.Re:Sekai is a part of The Lookout Network - https://linktr.ee/lookoutonrncFollow us on X:AD - @1ADZLJerri - @A_Bag_of_MonePatrick - @reaperlomeinNick - @ImgInception

What does Spirited Away actually mean? And who—or what—is No-Face really supposed to be? In this episode of For the Love of History, we dive deep into the Japanese folklore, Shinto mythology, and yokai legends that inspired one of the most beloved animated films ever made: Spirited Away. Directed by Hayao Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli, the film is packed with references to kami, yokai, purification rituals, and ancient spiritual beliefs that many viewers outside Japan may not recognize. You'll learn ✨ The meaning of kamikakushi — the folklore concept of being “spirited away” by the gods ✨ Why the spirit bathhouse reflects Shinto purification rituals and onsen culture ✨ The real folklore behind Haku's dragon form and river spirits ✨ The environmental message hidden in the Stink Spirit scene ✨ The possible yokai inspiration behind Yubaba and mountain witches ✨ And the true meaning behind No-Face, one of the most mysterious characters in animation From ancient Shinto beliefs about spirits in nature to the strange world of Japanese yokai, this episode uncovers the folklore that shaped Spirited Away's spirit world. If you love Japanese mythology, anime history, folklore, or Studio Ghibli, you're in the right place. Website (

In this episode of The Movie Men Podcast, Brady and Carl discuss Princess Mononoke (1997), the acclaimed animated epic from director Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. Set in a mythic version of feudal Japan, the film follows Ashitaka, a young warrior caught in the middle of a growing conflict between industrial expansion and the spirits of the forest. Featuring memorable characters like San—the fierce human raised by wolves—and Lady Eboshi, the determined leader of Iron Town, Princess Mononoke blends fantasy, environmental themes, and large-scale storytelling. Brady and Carl share their reactions to the film and reflect on its lasting reputation as one of the most celebrated works in animated cinema.   Subscribe to us on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@themoviemenpodcast Like us on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/The-Movie-Men-Podcast-2335323586526490/ Support us on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/themoviemenpodcast Follow us on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/themoviemenpodcast/ Follow us on X - https://twitter.com/TheMovieMenPod Buy our Merch - https://shop.spreadshirt.ca/the-movie-men-podcast/ MOVIE MEN BINGO - https://mfbc.us/m/jz85dn?fbclid=IwAR2sBAj4B4gZWApb91_azca4QfYX6WGzu7YxHwiIwOHqVONtd9bOoTwPQAI Brady' Gaming Channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH6K0vldmqS05fxegNrwWHw   Theme Licensed through - https://pixabay.com/  

We begin with Hayao Miyazaki's directorial debut in Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro. We break down the "gentleman thief" trope, invite family to ask a few big questions, then have just enough time to watch the beautiful intro.

Welcome to Studio Ghibli Weekly, a new show celebrating the genius and legacy of Hayao Miyazaki and similar film makers. What makes these movies some of the greatest of all time? Let's start at the very beginning.

Jackie and Greg board a train to the spirit realm for Hayao Miyazaki's SPIRITED AWAY from 2001. Topics of discussion include Miyazaki's unbridled imagination, how the film never speaks down to children, its lessons about adulthood and the environment, and why it could rightly be considered the greatest animated film ever made.#75 on Sight & Sound's 2022 "The Greatest Films of All Time" list. https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/greatest-films-all-timeCheck us out on Instagram: instagram.com/sceneandheardpodCheck us out at our official website: sceneandheardpod.comGraphic Design: Molly PintoMusic: Andrew CoxEditing: Greg KleinschmidtGet in touch at hello@sceneandheardpod.com

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Two Dudes waltz into the world of magical world of Hayao Miyazaki's 2004 masterpiece, Howl's Moving Castle. Featuring the voices of Christian Bale, Emily Mortimer, Lauren Bacall, Billy Crystal, and Jean Simmons. Get $5 off your Martie order at https://martie.com/TWODUDESWATCHCARTOONSFollow the pod

"Try laughing, then whatever scares you will go away."Few films capture the magic of girlhood quite like MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO, one of the few films that actually prioritizes the perspective of children rather than an "all-ages" affair. This week, The Wives Colangelo are recontextualizing their feelings about Hayao Miyazaki's classic fantasy tale, and celebrating his objective masterpiece exploring imagination, nature, age-appropriate anxiety, and adorable forest spirits.--------Article MentionedTowards a True Children's Cinema: on My Neighbor Totoro: https://www.brightwalldarkroom.com/2017/03/13/towards-a-true-childrens-cinema-on-my-neighbor-totoro/ --------Become a Patron! https://www.patreon.com/thisendsatprom--------MONTHLY SPOTLIGHTThe Flytrap Media (https://www.theflytrapmedia.com)--------Social Media Plugs@ThisEndsAtProm@BJColangelo@HarmonyColangelo----------Logo Design: Haley Doodles @HaleyDoodleDoTheme Song: The Sonder Bombs 'Title': https://thesonderbombs.bandcamp.com/

durée : 01:06:31 - Club Jazzafip - Une émission en l'honneur du célèbre réalisateur, scénariste, animateur, dessinateur et producteur japonais, créateur du studio Ghibli qui a fait naître "Le Voyage de Chihiro", "Princesse Mononoké", "Le Château Ambulant" ou encore "Mon Voisin Totoro", Vous aimez ce podcast ? Pour écouter tous les autres épisodes sans limite, rendez-vous sur Radio France.

Think about the histories of your family or memories from your past. What if you recounted them with a dash of magic? What happens when we infuse our stories on film with some magical realism? Tonight's edition of APEX Express features three filmmakers who created magical realism short films centering AAPI women. Listen to directors Cami Kwan, Dorothy Xiao, and Rachel Leyco discuss their films and experiences behind the scenes with host Isabel Li. Cami Kwan: Website | Instagram | Seed & Spark Dorothy Xiao: Website | Instagram  Rachel Leyco: Website | Instagram   Transcript 00:01 [INTRO] Isabel: You're tuned into Apex Express on KPFA. Tonight's edition is all about stories. Think about the histories of your family or memories from your past. Now, what if you recounted them with a dash of magic? What happens when we infuse our stories on film with some magical realism? I'm your host, Isabel Li, and today we have three very special guests, Cami Kwan, Dorothy Chow, and Rachel Leyco. All of them are AAPI filmmakers who received the Julia S. Gouw Short Film Challenge grant from the Coalition of Asian Pacifics and Entertainment and have created short films featuring AAPI stories with magical realism. My first guest of the night is Cami Kwan, a Chinese-American director specializing in stop-motion animation who directed the short film Paper Daughter.  Hi Cami, welcome to APEX Express!  Cami: Hello, thank you so much for having me. Isabel: How do you identify and what communities do you consider yourself a part of?  Cami: So I identify as a queer Asian American woman um and I am a descendant of immigrants, of Chinese immigrants. um Then the communities that I am part of, part of the queer community, part of the Los Angeles community, part of the Chinese American and Asian American community, part of the mixed race community and part of the stop-motion animation and independent artist community.  Isabel: I'm so excited to talk to you about your upcoming short film, Paper Daughter, a gothic stop-motion animated Chinese-American fairy tale about a young woman grappling with the guilt of using the identity of a deceased girl to immigrate to the US via Angel Island in 1926, which is such a fascinating concept. Can you tell our listeners a little bit about how you came up with this story and the historical specificity behind it?  Cami: Absolutely, yeah. So like I mentioned, I'm the child of immigrants, descendants of immigrants rather. So my great grandparents immigrated to the US from China. My great grandfather came over in 1916 and my great grandma came over in 1926. And so I've always grown up knowing the story of Angel Island and knowing the story about the paper sons and paper daughters who had to find any way into the United States that they could. And so they were forced to, you know, take on the identities of other people. And those stories have always stuck with me, you know, like it's very personal. Angel Island means a lot to me and my family. And just the extreme measures that people have always had to take just for the chance at a better life have always been really meaningful to learn about. just the like, I'll use romances in like the art movement, like romantic. It's very romantic and kind of fairy tale-ish, the idea of having to take on a new identity and pretend to be somebody that you're not. And often those identities would be people who had passed away, and then those families had then sold those identities or given those identities to new people. And so it's so interesting the idea of being like the last person to know somebody so deeply, but you'll never get to meet them and you'll never be able to thank them or repay what they sacrificed for your future. And that's kind of how I feel as a descendant of immigrants. The sacrifice that my family made for me was made so long ago that there's no way for me to ever pay it back. And I didn't really get a say in whether I received that sacrifice or not. And I think a lot of descendants of immigrants kind of have to struggle with this. What does it mean for us to be given this new chance at the cost of somebody who came before us? And so that's all of that kind of rolled up into this 14-minute film. Isabel: You describe your film as being in a gothic style? Can you describe what this looks like and why gothic?  Cami: The subject matter is just so naturally gothic. It's dealing a lot with death and a lot with guilt and those big capital R romantic subjects and stuff. My day job, my day-to-day job is working in stop-motion animation directing mostly like children's series and mostly toy related stuff. And so I spent so much of my time in the happy brighter like birthday party storyline kind of like space. But what really made me want to be a filmmaker in the first place were all these like heavier themes, these bigger themes, films by Guillermo del Toro and like Tim Burton and Henry Selig and Hayao Miyazaki and all of those kind of have this like gothic edge to them. And so that's like a story that I've been a type of story I've been wanting to tell for about a decade now.  Isabel: Stylistically, how does this show up in your film? So I imagine darker colors or do you have a visual like preview for us?  Cami: it is a little bit in the darker color space, but it's still very colorful despite all that. It's moody more so than dark, I would say. um We have a lot of like light and dark themes, a lot of like shadow. stuff and um a lot of magical realism, which is where that fairy tale aspect kind of comes in, because you're dealing with things that are so abstract, like guilt and sacrifice and wearing the identity of somebody else, that there's no literal way to convey that. Well, there are literal ways to convey that, but none of those literal ways I feel fully convey the emotional weight of everything. And so we've gone in this very magical realism space where people are tearing information out of these booklets that contain information about the person they're supposed to be and creating these paper masks out of them. And so yeah, there's this whole like magical aspect that tends to be kind of darker. There's imagery of just like being consumed by the identity that you're just supposed to temporarily wear. And there's a lot of like, yeah, there's a lot of darkness in those themes, I think.  Isabel: Wow, that's so interesting. I'd love to learn more about stop motion. What does stop motion make possible that isn't as easily accomplished through other forms of filmmaking? Cami: Yeah, I think the reason why I'm drawn to stop motion, what I stop motion makes possible is like a universality of just like a human experience because with other kinds of animation and other kinds of filmmaking, like there is kind of like an opacity to like how it's made. There's this this veneer, this magic to it, and there's that magic to stop motion too. But the difference between all of those and stop motion is made out of like everyday materials. It's made out of fabric. using paper. We're using clay. We're using materials that people have encountered in their day-to-day lives. And like, that's the one thing that we are all guaranteed to have in common is that we live in a material world and we encounter these textures and materials around us. so by like taking such a specific story and trying to convey such universal themes, it really like behooves us to be using like um a medium that is as universal as stop motion is. So I think that's like the big thing that stop motion unlocks for us. Plus also story-wise, like it's very paper centered, paper daughter, they're tearing paper strips, they're making paper masks. So like physically using these paper textures adds a lot to our world. um And I think working in stop motion gives you a degree of control that live action doesn't give you because we're creating. all of our characters, all of our sets by hand, which gives us so much of a say over what they look like and what they convey based on how they're constructed and stuff. And that's just a degree of communication that nothing else brings.  Isabel: I love that this is a magical realism film and you mentioned Guillermo del Toro. I know that in your campaign trailer, you featured Pan's Labyrinth, which is my all-time favorite movie.  Cami: Me too! Isabel: Yeah! How exactly did you come up with this specific blend of history and fantasy for your film?  Cami: I think that it's almost a natural human instinct to kind of have history and fantasy. Like, that's all that histories are, just stories told to us. And it's just being less literal about it and really leaning into the metaphors that we might use to convey the emotional realities of those histories, right? And so I feel like Del Toro does that a lot with his work. And Miyazaki as well does a lot of that with his work. So much of it deals with unpacking like World War II and things like that. And that's something that I've always just personally been drawn to. Even as a kid, my dream jobs were archaeologist or animator. And so here I kind of get to like do a little bit of both of those, know, like using the magic of animation to make history feel a lot more present and tangible and like emotionally relevant, which is It's really quite poetic to be able to be telling this story right now because it's going to mark the 100 year anniversary of my great grandmother's immigration to the US. I think we are due for an examination of immigration in our country. And I'm very interested to see how people respond to the questions that this raises of how different is the immigrant experience 100 years later. Have we gotten better? Have we gotten worse? Like I would posit it's perhaps worse now than it was then, but I'm really hoping to like, yeah, bring that reality into a more approachable space. And I feel like having that blend of magic and history just makes it a little bit more approachable than telling it in a literal way, you know? Isabel: Those are some great questions to ask. And on that same note, I'm interested in the specificity of Angel Island as well. What types of research did you do to produce your film?  Cami: Oh, gosh, I read every book I could find about it. have… How many books were those? Oh, my gosh, I want to say, like, not as many as I want there to be, you know? Like, Angel Island is not as well covered in history as places like Ellis Island, and there's a lot. to unpack as to why that may be, especially like the racial aspect of it. But I probably read about a dozen different books to prepare for this film. One of the most concrete and useful books that I read is a book called Island, and it's a collection of the poems that are carved into the walls of the men's barracks that remain on Angel Island. And those poems are a huge part, perhaps, the reason why Angel Island has even been preserved as a historical landmark. And so um the three authors went to great pains to replicate these poems, translate them into English, and provide a lot of historical context for the different topics of the poems. And there's a lot of like first-hand testimony from people who immigrated through Angel Island that they interviewed and included in this book. And so I do think that that book, Island, is like the primary source of most of my research for it. Everything else is more like quantitative history and quantitative data. Oh, also The Chinese in America by, I believe it's Iris Chang, that it's not just about Angel Island, but I read that and that gave me a much better understanding about like the place that Chinese immigrants have in American history. Because when I was a kid, like I really only ever learned about great grandma came over through Angel Island and now we're American and we live in America. But our history, as far as I was ever taught, begins and ends with us entering the United States. And so reading um the Chinese in America gave me a much broader understanding about, like, why did we leave China in the first place? And like, what has it meant for us to be in America as Chinese people since then? Yeah, all that came out of like in 2020 and 2021 when the rise of anti-Asian hate crimes were kind of coming about. I personally had to have a huge reckoning with like my racial identity and like how that has impacted like my experience growing up as a mixed-race person who's pretty perceivably Asian and all that stuff. So it was a really whole circle broad situation. Oh, I want to do a quick shout out to the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation. They were very generous with their time and they answered a lot of my questions and sent me a lot of archival images from Angel Island. So I want to thank them so much for their help in the research process of this.  Isabel: Oh, wow. How fascinating. Did you have any expectations on how the production process was going to go? And now that you're on the other side of it, what are your reflections?  Cami: I had no expectations as to whether we were going to get outside funding or not. Like I, I'm not an experienced or adept grant applicant. Like, it was really just because this was the right kind of project to fit with those kinds of grants. So I had no expectations there. So I am beyond thrilled to have received the support from Cape and Janet Yang and Julia S. Gouw and Shorescripts that we've received, like beyond thrilled for that. So that exceeded all of my expectations. um But as far as how the actual production has gone, the fabrication and the animation and the post-production, that's all stuff that I'm extremely familiar with. Again, that is my day-to-day life, that is my job, that is like what I have done for the last eight years at my studio, Apartment D.  So that all went pretty much as I hoped and expected that it would, but here on the other side, the one thing that has surprised me about it was how much love all of the artists put in this project because like we've said so much in this conversation, there's so much specificity to this. This is about my great grandma. This is about my family and my feelings about being a descendant of immigrants. It's so specific that I wasn't sure how emotionally it would resonate with anybody else that wasn't me or wasn't part of the AAPI community, you know?  But every single person — doesn't really even matter if they were Asian, doesn't really even matter if they have a specific connection to immigration — every artist that I asked to join me on this project, I immediately understood what it meant and understood what we were trying to say. And they put so much love into it. And like, we all put a lot of love into everything we do. It's stop motion. It's like, you don't do this unless you love it, you know, because you certainly are not doing it for the money or anything. um everyone was just so…I'm gonna say careful, but I don't mean careful like cautious. I mean careful like full of care. And I did not expect that and I am so grateful for it. Yeah, looking back, it's just so precious and so tender and like I'm so fortunate to have had the crew with me that I had to make this film.  Isabel: That's so lovely. What are you most excited about upon completing your film?  Cami: I'm just excited to share it with the world. I'm so proud of it. It is truly, and I'm not just saying this because it's my baby, but it is very beautiful and it is very special. For a lot of us, one of the first times that we've been able to be in charge of our own departments or to make the decisions that we wanna make and tell things, do things, show things the way that we think they should be done. And so it's kind of significant for many of us to have this film come out and to be received. What I want people to take away from it is an appreciation and a gratitude for everything that has had to happen for us to be where we are now. And I also really want people to take away the unconditional love that has occurred for us to be in the country that we have and to be the people that we are. Every single person is where they are. doesn't matter if you're in America or anywhere else, like we are all here because of the sacrifices that were made by the people who came before us. And those were all made out of unconditional love. And that's like, I want people to come away from this film remembering that our country is built on the unconditional love and sacrifice from people who came before us. And then wanting to give that unconditional love and sacrifice to everybody who's gonna come after us. Isabel: Such an amazing message. And I know that there's still lots to do and you still have a lot to celebrate with your upcoming film and with the festival circuit with Paper Daughter. But looking ahead, do you have any plans of what you want to do after the short film?  Cami: Yeah, I would love to bring it into a feature. There was so much that we had to cut out to make this film. On one hand, I'm glad that we cut out what we did because I think the film as it is, is like so tight and so like airtight and good and perfect and sparse in a really nice way, but we don't even get to delve into life before Angel Island. It begins and ends on the island, and I would love to explore the stories that brought this all about and the stories that come after. So bringing this up into a feature version and getting that in front of people would be amazing. And I have a couple other short film and feature film and script ideas that I would like to start working on as well. I've kind of really, I'm really grooving on the like Asian early Chinese American history. um So most of them are going to be set in California and focus on like Chinese immigrants and their role in the founding of America. um I'm really excited for the like, after all the film festivals, I really want this film to end up in classrooms. And I even just the other day like I have a friend who's a third and fourth grade teacher and she showed it to her class and then the students asked me questions about Angel Island and about animation. if this can play any part in helping to spread the story of Angel Island and the people that immigrated through there, like that's all that I could ever want from this. So I'm really excited for that.  Isabel: That's wonderful. I'll put your website, social media and seed and spark page for Paper Daughter up on kpfa.org so our listeners can learn more about this stop motion film and get updates for how they can watch it. I can't wait to see it when it comes out. And Cami, thank you so much for joining me on Apex Express today.  Cami: Of course, thank you so much for having me. It was a great, great time talking with you.  Isabel: You just heard Cami Kwan talk about her film Paper Daughter. On Apex Express tonight, we have two more special guests who made magical realism short films. Next up is Dorothy Xiao, who made the film Only in This World. She's a Los Angeles-based award-winning filmmaker who likes to create grounded family dramas with a hint of fantasy.  Hi, Dorothy. Welcome to APEX Express.  Dorothy: Hi. Thanks for having me!  Isabel: Of course! Thank you for coming here. My first question for you is actually quite broad. How do you identify and what communities are you a part of?  Dorothy: Oh, that is a good question. I think in a broader sense. I would say, obviously, I identify as an Asian American. um But I think, like, for me, because I grew up in the 626 or the San Gabriel Valley, I grew up with a lot of people who looked like me. So I think I didn't truly identify as being Asian or had awareness of my identity until later on when I went to college. And then I took Asian American Studies classes and I was like, oh, wow, I'm Asian. Or like, what does it mean to be Asian? You know, like, I think I, at that time, prior to recognizing and understanding what it meant, and also even to be a minority, because at that, like I said, growing up in 626, even going to UCLA, where I'm surrounded by a lot of Asians, I never really felt like a minority. But I think it was really after graduating where I, depending on the spaces that I would enter into, especially in the film industry, I was learning like, oh, yeah, I am a minority and this is what it feels like. And prior to that, I think I just identified as being a daughter of immigrants. And that still is very strongly the case just because I grew up listening to so many stories that my parents would tell me, like coming from China, growing up like they grew up in China during a completely different time. I can't even imagine what it would be like living in the way that they did, you know, during the Cultural Revolution, under communism, in an intense way where they were starving, all this political stuff. But yeah, a second gen or for a lot of people, first generation, daughter of immigrants, of parents who decided that they wanted to make a better life for their kids out here in the States. I think that I want to stand by me saying that I don't feel like I am, I don't really want to identify as only just single categories all the time, just because within each community, could be, you could have nuances, right? Because I am a woman, but I'm also like a woman who doesn't want children, you know, and there was just so many different things of how I identify. So hard for me to categorize myself like that. But they are, there are tidbits of different communities. Like I still identify, identify as Asian American. I identify as a daughter of immigrants. I identify as a female filmmaker and yeah. And a business owner, I guess. Yeah.  Isabel: Right. Yes. Thank you for that nuanced answer. You know, it's so fascinating because I was reading about your work and you have worked in animal research administration and an afterschool program and even web development for nonprofits. How did you get into writing and directing?  Dorothy: Yeah. So after graduating college, I was definitely in a place where many, I'm sure, fresh grads understand what we call the quarter life crisis, where we don't know what we wanna do with our lives. And I was working at UCLA because that was the only job that I could get out of college for an animal research administration office. And really, I worked for them as a student. So I was like, well, it makes sense to have that be my full-time job, because you're in a place where you don't have skills. So how do you get a job if you don't have skills? That weird silly catch-22 situation. So I studied psychology in undergrad because my goal was to become a therapist. I wanted to work with Asian and Asian immigrant communities to help them with mental health because there's such a stigma attached to it. And being somebody who found mental health really important and also found that it was a really great way to understand myself. I wanted to work with, I guess, the people of my community. But at that time, I realized that there's still a stigma attached to mental health and it's really hard to get people to even go to therapy. Like living with my parents, it's really difficult. I cannot ever convince them to go. um And so I had pivoted into, or at least I discovered this filmmaking competition and ended up just like making a film for fun with a couple of friends, random people that um were not in film at all. And I had a lot of fun and I realized that we could actually create stories talking about things that are very similar to mental health or could provide that catharsis and validation that you could probably get in a session, in a therapy session. And it's not clinical at all. It's not as clinical. So, you know, on all those different jobs that you mentioned, they're all day jobs, know, animal research administration and then working for an after school program. That was me still trying to figure out how to be a filmmaker on my weekends. I still needed a day job. I didn't have the luxury of going to film school. So I would work at different places that gave me the flexibility of having a day job. But then also I had free time during the weekend to just make films with my friends, make friends films with people like my mom, who was one of my first actors earlier on. Love my mom. She did not do the greatest in my film, but I love her for being there for me. But yeah, like the different organizations or just jobs that I worked for were all really good in terms of providing me management skills and also communication skills because I worked in different industries, you know, and so at the end of the day, it all culminated in me at my current place. Like I am a freelance filmmaker and I also run my own video production company. So um becoming a writer, I mean, being a writer director is my main identity as a filmmaker. However, I don't think you could be a good writer-director if you don't have life experience. And having all those different jobs that I've had provided me with a lot of varied life experience and I interacted with a lot of different people, many different personalities.  Isabel: Yeah, no, I love that. So you grew up in Alhambra, which I'm familiar with because I too grew up in the San Gabriel Valley. How would you say that growing up in Alhambra has shaped you as an artist?  Dorothy: Alhambra is really special, I feel like, because in the San Gabriel Valley, there are many cities like this. You have Chinese people who can actually get by without ever having to learn English. And the same goes for Latin communities as well. And, you know, I have aunts and uncles who lived in Alhambra for years and never learned how to speak English. So I think it's like, what's so special about it, it feels like a safe space for a lot of immigrant communities. And then my parents being immigrants from China. living in Alhambra was a place where they could feel safe and feel connected to the people that they left behind in another country. And so being a child of immigrants, a daughter of like an Asian American, like a Chinese American growing up in Alhambra, I definitely felt like I grew up with a lot of people who were similar to me. know, we were like a lot of times the first American born children of our families even, and it was, we had to essentially understand what it meant to be Asian versus American and all of that.  But I think like being in Alhambra, I never felt like I wasn't seen, or at least I never felt like I was a minority. I think I mentioned this earlier, in that growing up in Alhambra, you do see a lot of people who look like you. And I have a lot of friends in the film industry who have moved out to California because they grew up in towns where they were like one, the only person, the only Asian person in their school or whatever. And I didn't have that experience. So for me, it was really special just being able to have a whole group of friends where there's a bunch of Asians. And we all spoke different languages. Like I had a lot of friends who were Cantonese speakers, but I'm a Mandarin speaker, but it was just really cool. It was like going to your friends' places and then you have aunties. So it's almost like having more family. You could feel like you have more aunts and uncles that will feed you all the time because that is the way they show love, right?  Isabel: Oh, certainly. I think there's so many stories in multicultural places like Alhambra. And speaking of which, you did in your film Only in This World. It's about an empty nester who has to face her ex-husband's mistress in order to summon her daughter back from the afterlife, which is featured in the 2025 Silicon Valley Asian Pacific Film Festival in Sunnyvale. Congratulations on such a beautiful film. I will say that I am a huge fan of magical realism, and Only in This World has some magical elements to it. So I'd love to get to know, how did you come up with this specific plot and characters that make up this film? Dorothy: Yeah, and thank you for wanting to talk about this one. It's a special story to me just because it is, I think it's the first film that I've made where I just decided to incorporate elements of where I grew up. And so Only in This World is inspired by my mom and her Tai Chi group at our local park, so Alhambra Park. My mom would go to do Tai Chi every morning for years. And in Alhambra, actually, as I mentioned, because there are so many immigrant communities, many of the immigrant communities tend to stay together with the people who speak their language. So Chinese people usually stick together with the Chinese speakers, Spanish speakers stick together with the Spanish speakers. You don't see a lot of mingling or intersectionality. But one of the special things that I saw with my mom's Tai Chi group was that they were not just Chinese people or Asian people, but there were Latino people in their group as well. And so even though they couldn't speak the same language, they would show up and still do Tai Chi every morning because it was a matter of doing something together. And so I love that a lot. And I wanted to tell a story about just older women who are finding friendship because I think that's really important in older age and in these groups because you see that a lot of the people in these Tai Chi groups are even the ones, not just Tai Chi groups, but there are dancers in the park, you know, like you'll see them in the mornings, not just in Alhambra, but in Monterey Park, all the different parks, open spaces, they'll have little dance groups.  A lot of the people who are part of those groups happen to be seniors, and I think it's just because they don't have work, they don't have children, they're lonely. And so…I think it's really important to be aware that where friendship or loneliness is actually an epidemic in the senior community. And it's really important to providing good quality of life is to just have them have that connection with other people. And seeing that in my mom, because my mom is getting older, having her be part of that community was what kept her happier. And so, yeah, and also my mother-in-law is Colombian. And she's done Tai Chi before as well with her group in Rosemead. And so I just was like, well, I'm part of a multicultural family. I want to tell a multicultural family story. Yeah, in terms of the magical realism element, I thought a lot about just how my family, if our house has ever burned down, the things that they would take out are our photos, the print four by six, like, you know, just the print photos because they're just so precious to them. There's something about hard copy pictures that is so special that digital photos just can't take over. Like there is an actual energy to how a photo is made or even like back then when we used to use film, there's energy that's required to actually create photos. And so, you know, I wanted that to be the power that powers this magical scanner where energy is taken from the picture and then you have the ability to bring someone you love back from the afterlife. And I really love grounded magical realism because I think it just makes difficult things a lot easier to understand when you add a little bit of magic to it, a little bit of fantasy.  Isabel: Yeah, magical realism is such a special genre. What part of the production process that you find the most profound?  Dorothy: I think it was just really my gratitude in how much my family came together for me and also just like the people of this team, know, like there were, I think one major situation that I can think of that I always think is really funny was, um so we filmed at my mother-in-law's house and my husband, Diego, was also working on set with me. He is not in the film industry. He's a software engineer manager. He's like in tech, but he is one of my biggest supporters. And so…when we were like, yeah, can we film at your mom's house? He was like, okay. But he had to end up being the, quote unquote, location manager, right? Because the house was his responsibility. And then, and he was also my PA and he was also DIT. Like he would be the one dumping footage. He did everything. He was amazing. And then ah one day we found out that his neighbor was actually doing construction and they were hammering. It was like drilling stuff and making new windows. They were doing new windows. And we were just like, oh, like, how do we get them to, like, not make noise? And so, and they don't speak English. And so we were like, oh crap, you know. So like, unfortunately, my producers and I don't speak Spanish, like we're all just English speaking. And then I did have Latinos working on my set, but they, you know, they had other jobs. I wasn't going to make them translate and do all that other stuff. So then Diego so kindly went over and talked to them and was like, essentially we set up. They were totally cool about it. They were like, yeah, okay, you're making a film. then whenever you're rolling sound, we'll just like prevent, like not hammer. And then so Diego is sitting outside with a walkie and talking to the first AD and other people inside the house, because we're all filming inside. don't know what's going outside. And then so like, we would be rolling, rolling. And then um the workers, I think his name was Armando, are like…whenever we cut, Diego would hear it through the walkie and he'd be like, Armando, okay, you're good to go. You can drill. Armando would drill. And then when we're going, and we'd be like, I'm going for another take. And then Diego would be like, Armando, please stop. So it was so nice of them to be willing to accommodate to us. Because you hear a lot of horror stories of LA productions where neighbors see you're filming something and they'll purposely turn on the radio to make it really loud and you have to pay them off and whatever. And in this case, it wasn't it was more like, hey, like, you know, we're making a movie and they were so supportive and they're like, yeah, totally. This is so cool. We will definitely pause our work, our actual work and let you roll down during the brief period. So we're really grateful. We definitely brought them donuts the next day to thank them. But that was just something that I was like, oh yeah, like I don't think I could have pulled that off if I didn't have Diego or if the fact, if it wasn't for the fact that these were the neighbors, know, that we were filming at someone's house and the neighbors already had a relationship with the people who lived here.  Isabel: Wow, that's really adaptable. And I'm so glad that went well for you. Dorothy, you've directed 13 films by now. Have you ever seen one of your films resonate with an audience member that you've interacted with in the past?  Dorothy: So there was this one short I had done a couple years ago called Tarot and it came at a time when I was struggling with the idea of whether or not I wanted to have kids and many of my friends are off having their first or second kids, you know, and so I never really wanted to be a mom, but then I have a partner who I can see being a great father, so I'm more open to the idea of being a mother, but it was still something I was conflicted about. And so I put this all into a short film, just my feelings of how my identity would change if I were to become a mom, because I've read so much about that. I found a Reddit thread one day where people were just talking about how being a mother is hard. And they openly stated how much they hated it. And it's okay to feel that way. And I wanted to put those feelings into this film to just put it out there like, hey, like if you don't like being a mom, even though you love your kid, you could still hate having that identity and be lost about, and it's okay to be lost or not sure about who you are. And so it was a really short film and it ended kind of open ended. It was like five minute film, so it didn't have like a full ending, but it was an open ended ending. And then afterwards I had a bunch of people come up. I had people who were parents, not just mothers, like even, or like fathers who had just had their first kid who were coming up and telling me like, oh, I totally identify. I understand that struggle of learning about who your new identity is after you've had a kid. And then I had people who were child free who were coming to me and saying like, yeah, this is a similar feeling that I've had about whether or not I should have any kids. Because, you know, as women, we have a biological clock that ticks. And that's something I feel frustrated about sometimes where it's really because of my body that I feel pressured to have a kid versus wanting to have one because I want one. And so that was a story I wanted to, or just something I wanted to put into a film. Yeah, and I also had another person come up and tell me that they were like, this was something I felt, but I never really openly talked about. And so I resonated a lot with this and it just helped basically articulate or helped me identify like, oh, I totally feel this way. And so that was really validating to me as a filmmaker because my goal is to reach others who don't feel comfortable talking about certain things that they tend to hide because I have a lot of those types of thoughts that I might feel ashamed or embarrassed to share. But then I put it into a story and then it makes it more digestible and it's like, or it's more, it's entertaining. But then like the core message is still there. And so people watch it and if they feel that they can connect to it, then I've done my job because I have resonated with somebody and I've made them feel seen. And that's ultimately what I wanted to do when I wanted to be a therapist was I just wanted to make people feel seen. I wanted to make them feel connected to other people and less lonely because that's something that I also have struggled with. Yeah, so filmmaking is my way of putting something small out there that I feel and then finding other people who feel the same way as me. And then we can feel validated together. Isabel: Ah yes, that is the power of film, and Dorothy's work can be viewed on her website, which I'll be linking on kpfa.org, as well as her social media, so you can get new updates on what she is working on. Dorothy, thank you so much for joining me on APEX Express today!  Dorothy: Thank you! Thank you for having me, it was so great to meet you!  Isabel: That was Dorothy Xiao, our second guest for tonight's edition of Apex Express, featuring magical realism AAPI filmmakers. Now time for our final guest of the night, Rachel Leyco, who is a queer, award-winning Filipina-American filmmaker, writer, actress, and activist. We'll be talking about her upcoming short film, Milk & Honey.  Hi Rachel, it's such an honor to have you here on APEX Express. Rachel: Hi, thank you so much for having me.  Isabel: How do you identify and what communities do you consider yourself a part of?  Rachel: Yeah, I identify as a queer Filipina-American. Isabel: So we're here to talk about your short film, Milk & Honey, which is about an ambitious Filipina nurse who leaves her family behind in the Philippines to chase the American dream in the 1990s and facing conflicts and hardships along the way. How did you come up with this specific 90s immigration story?  Rachel: Yeah. So Milk and Honey is inspired by my mom's immigrant story. you know, that's really her true story of coming to America in the early 1990s as a very young Filipina nurse while, and also a young mother and leaving behind her daughter, which was me at the time. um you know, following her journey in the film though fictionalized, a lot of the moments are true and there's a lot of exploration of assimilation, cultural barriers, loneliness and the emotional cost of pursuing the American dream.  Isabel: Yeah, when I read that synopsis, I immediately thought of this short film could totally be something that's feature length. How did you sort of this story to something that is like under 15 minutes long?  Rachel: Yeah, so I wrote the short film script first. And actually, you know, this is a proof of concept short film for the feature film. I actually wrote the feature film script after I wrote the short because there was just so much more I wanted to explore with the characters and the story. It definitely couldn't fit into a short film, though I have that short film version. But there was just so much richness to my mom's story that I wanted to explore, so I expanded into a feature. So I do have that feature film version, which I hope to make one day. Isabel: And you mentioned that this film is inspired by your mom's story. Is there any other sort of research that you did into this story that really helped you write? Rachel: Yeah, one of the main reasons I wanted to write the story, I mean, there's many reasons, but one is because there, if you ask the average American or the general public, they won't really know why there are so many Filipino nurses in the healthcare system. Because if you walk into any hospital, you'll see a Filipino nurse, more than one for sure. ah so I was really curious about the history. ah Having my mom as a nurse, my sister's also a nurse, I have a lot of healthcare workers around me. I grew up with that. I, you know, growing up, I also didn't really know or learn Filipino American history because it's not taught in schools. And I, you know, I took AP US history and didn't learn anything about, you know, my culture and our history. It's, not in the books at all. And it wasn't until like my early twenties that I was really curious about my roots and my upbringing and what it means to be Filipino-American specifically. And so um I really went into like a deep dive of just researching Filipino-American history. And specifically last year, I had been wanting to tell a story about a Filipino nurse because of my proximity to it with my mother. And you know, myself being an artist, being a filmmaker in the industry, there's so many medical shows out there, like, know, Grey's Anatomy, that's been long running, but very, very few, and rarely do we see Filipino nurses at the forefront and at the center of those stories. um You know, rarely are they series regulars. You know, sometimes they'll feature a Filipino nurse for like one episode or two and, you know, a recurring or a side character, but Filipino nurses are never the main character, never the series regular. And so that was another big driving force for why I wanted to make this story. And, you know, really making my mom's character the center of it. And so as far as like research, too, I definitely interviewed my mom and I asked her to just tell me her her entire story and specifically why she even wanted to move to the United States because she could have stayed in the Philippines or she could have moved somewhere else. um she saw a newspaper or her friend actually at the time when she was in a nursing school, a friend of hers saw an ad in the newspaper that America was sponsoring nurses. And so she had it in her mind already like, oh, yeah, I've heard of America. I've heard of the United States that it's, you know, there's better opportunities for me there. And at the time she had just had me. And so she had, you she's a young mother. She's trying to take care of her baby, her newborn. And so, you know, she had her eyes set on moving to the United States and that's kind of how her journey happened. And on top of that, I also did my own research on you know, our history, I watched this really amazing documentary um by Vox. It's on YouTube. It's all about why there are so many Filipino nurses in America. And it really just ties back to U.S. colonization. And after World War II, was so many, there was big nursing shortage in the United States. you know, white Americans did not want to, you know, fill that role. So they turn to Filipino women to fill the gap.  Isabel: Yeah, was there something special about the production process that looking back, you would want to replicate in the future or that really speaks to you?  Rachel: Absolutely. um Yeah, mean, definitely this experience and a lot of the people that I brought on to this project, I want to continue to make films with them and continue to make art with them because um I'm just so proud of the team that we put together. Everyone was so passionate and they knew how important the story was. They also had their own special connection to the material that they brought so much heart and passion into the film. that really comes through in the project. so like a lot of the people I brought onto this film, I want to continue to make art with them forever. That's one thing that I'm really, really grateful for, because I got to work with some really awesome people that I had never worked before or I had been wanting to work with. And so it was such a great opportunity that was given to me to be able to connect with such amazing and talented AAPI creatives in my circle.  Isabel: Yeah, I saw on your Instagram page for the film that you shot this film in both Los Angeles and Austin, Texas. Have you ever done a production where you had to sort juggle two different sets in two very different locations? And how was that entire process?  Rachel: Yeah, that was really, it was really fun. It was my first time being able to film in two different cities, let alone like two different states, really. A lot of my past projects have just been, you know, shooting it with the resources that I had that were available to me. You know, usually like my past short film, Thank You for Breaking My Heart, that I did last year, we shot all of it in one location, which was of course like, know, that is something that's really impressive in and of itself, of course. But, you know, because of the bigger budget that we had for Milk and Honey, I really wanted to challenge myself with this. And I really advocated for filming a part of the film in Texas because it is set in Texas. I was raised there. That's where my mom was placed when she, because how the process goes is, you know, she applied for the nursing sponsorship and then they placed them in certain areas. And so she was placed in El Paso, Texas at the time. And so that's where I also grew up. So I set the film there and I really advocated for filming in Texas because I wanted the film to have that feeling of the environment and atmosphere of Texas. um And so we shot some exteriors there for like this really fun Texas montage where you can really like feel that the character is there in, you know, in that heat, the Texas heat. So that was really, that was really fun. And I, you know, we shot, we shot two days in LA and we shot half a day in Austin, Texas. And we hired a second unit in Texas, because, you know, again, like, even though we had a really good budget, was still, you know, it was still pretty small. So I wasn't able to, you know, fly my LA crew over there. um So what we did was we just hired a second unit crew in Austin, Texas, and they were amazing. And most of them were queer, non-binary filmmakers. And it was just such a fun, intimate crew that you know, we just breezed by and had such a great time shooting that.  Isabel: That's wonderful. As a director, what inspires you and what are some of your filmmaking influences?  Rachel: Yeah, I mean, I'm constantly inspired by, you know, new films, filmmakers that I've seen, em particularly for Milk and Honey. I um so the film is, you know, this grounded drama, but there are a lot of moments of magical realism that I mix into it. love magical realism. love one of my favorite movies is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. It's such a beautiful film, also very grounded, but it's filled with all of this, you know, magical realism, surrealism. And so I infused that into, you know, Milk and Honey, which was really fun and a challenge to execute. But yeah, and some other filmmakers and creatives that I'm inspired by are Ava Duvernay. think her work is just incredible and also just an incredible artist overall. I love the kind of work that she does because it comes from such a deep place. And I love that she can combine art with politics and social justice as well. Isabel: I also love that you said in your one of your project funding descriptions that you use your art as your act of revolution, which is so relevant given that, you know, in our current state of, you know, our administration is silencing and suppressing voices of our immigrant communities. And how do we as filmmakers, as artists, what does that revolution and representation mean to you as a filmmaker and artist?  Rachel: I truly believe that that art is our act of revolution and just merely creating the art is that act in and of itself. We don't have to do more than that as from, in my opinion, as an artist, because the mere fact of us existing as artists, existing, myself existing and creating the work and having the work exists out there and putting it out. The most powerful thing that an artist can do is to make their art and share it with the world. And after that, just let it go, you know, forget about how it's going to be received. Forget about like, you know, the critics and, and, and the, you know, self doubt you may have and all of those things, because yeah, it's going to come. I think especially in the landscape of, like you said, of where we're at right now with our current administration and you know, just who knows what's going to happen in the next few years, but also in the face of like AI and technology and all of that, I think all we can really do as artists is to, in order for us to change the system is we have to be the change, right? And in order for us to be that change is just to continue to tell our stories and stay authentic to ourselves. Because I think that's also what a lot of people out there are really craving right now. People are craving authentic, real stories by people that we really don't get to see or hear their stories very often. And so um that for me is something that fuels me and my artistry every day.  Isabel: Very well said and a great reminder to all of us artists out there to keep making our art. What do you hope for audiences to take away when they watch your film?  Rachel: What I hope for audiences to get out of watching the film, well, one, at the core of it is a mother-daughter story. And I also did it to honor my mother and her sacrifices and her story. So I hope that, one, audiences will, you know, maybe reflect on their relationship with their mother and… um think of ways to honor their mother and their family and their ancestry as well. And another thing is to really think about what the American dream means to you, because that was another driving force for me with the film is it's called Milk & Honey because a lot of immigrants coined Milk & Honey as America's milk and honey as this like land of abundance, land of opportunity and you know, this is a, this is a place for creating a better life for ourselves. But I, for me, as I've grown up and as an adult now, really looking at like, well, what does the American dream mean to me? Is that still true to me? Do I still think the U S is a place where I can, where I can build a better life? Is it a place of abundance and something in the film, a big theme in the film is where Cherry's character scrutinizes that dream and thinks for herself, like, is the American dream worth it? And what does the American dream actually mean to me? What is the definition of that? So I think that's a big thing I would love audiences to also take away from it, you know, asking themselves that question. Isabel: That's a great thought to end on. I'll be including Rachel's social media and website on kpfa.org as usual so you can see if Milk and Honey will be screening in a film festival near your city during its festival run. Well, Rachel, thank you so much for joining me on APEX Express today. Thanks so much for having me. I really enjoyed it. Please check our website kpfa.org to find out more about magical realism in AAPI stories and the guests we spoke to. We thank all of you listeners out there. Keep resisting. Keep organizing. Keep creating and sharing your visions with the world. Your voices are important. APEX Express is produced by Miko Lee, Jalena Keane-Lee, Preeti Mangala Shekar, Anuj Vaidya, Swati Rayasam, Cheryl Truong, and Isabel Li. Tonight's show was produced by me, Isabel Li. Thanks to the team at KPFA for their support. Have a great night. The post APEX Express – 1.08.26 – Magical Realism and AAPI Short Films appeared first on KPFA.

Chelsea and Wade discuss Wade's favorite Hayao Miyazaki film Howl's Moving Castle.Don't forget to like, follow, or subscribe, and leave us a review! Let us know what you'd like us to cover next!  Follow us here!Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/poddemastered/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PodDemasteredBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/poddemastered.bsky.socialYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@poddemasteredHave any topic requests, questions, or general comments? Send us an email at demasteredpodcast@gmail.com.Music: Switch Me On by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

Recording live from Koenji, Japan, Dave sits down with Shawn — better known as Japan Book Hunter — for a deep dive into Japan's unique underground book culture, rare book collecting, and the obsession that drives collectors down endless rabbit holes. From underground bookstores to forgotten print runs, this conversation explores what makes Japanese books so special — and so hard to find.They discuss a shared love of AKIRA and Hayao Miyazaki, and the endless rabbit holes of collecting and the influence of Japanese visual culture on collectors worldwide. If you're interested in rare books, Japanese art, anime history, or the psychology of collecting, this episode is packed with stories and hard-earned wisdom.Check out JPH on Youtube and visit his website to snag something for yourself www.japanbookhunter.com

Spirited Away: Episode 376 - This week on Normies Like Us, we finally step through the tunnel and into the bathhouse as we cover Hayao Miyazaki's beloved animated masterpiece, Spirited Away. For many, it's a childhood classic; for others, it's their first trip into the wonderfully strange world of Studio Ghibli. Either way, we're watching it with fresh eyes and very normal expectations. Grab your herbal tokens, don't forget your real name, and join us as Normies Like Us gets swept away. Insta: @NormiesLikeUs https://www.instagram.com/normieslikeus/ @jacob https://www.instagram.com/jacob/ @MikeHasInsta https://www.instagram.com/mikehasinsta/ https://letterboxd.com/BabblingBrooksy/ https://letterboxd.com/hobbes72/ https://letterboxd.com/mikejromans/

This is a recap of the top 10 posts on Hacker News on December 13, 2025. This podcast was generated by wondercraft.ai (00:30): Apple has locked my Apple ID, and I have no recourse. A plea for helpOriginal post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46252114&utm_source=wondercraft_ai(01:50): VPN location claims don't match real traffic exitsOriginal post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46257339&utm_source=wondercraft_ai(03:10): Ask HN: How can I get better at using AI for programming?Original post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46255285&utm_source=wondercraft_ai(04:31): Google removes Sci-Hub domains from U.S. search results due to dated court orderOriginal post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46251684&utm_source=wondercraft_ai(05:51): I tried Gleam for Advent of CodeOriginal post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46255991&utm_source=wondercraft_ai(07:11): Computer animator and Amiga fanatic Dick van Dyke turns 100Original post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46252993&utm_source=wondercraft_ai(08:32): 1300 Still Images from the Animated Films of Hayao Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli (2023)Original post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46251582&utm_source=wondercraft_ai(09:52): Why Twilio Segment moved from microservices back to a monolithOriginal post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46257714&utm_source=wondercraft_ai(11:13): YouTube's CEO limits his kids' social media use – other tech bosses do the sameOriginal post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46253985&utm_source=wondercraft_ai(12:33): LG TV's new software update installed MS Copilot, which cannot be deletedOriginal post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46255335&utm_source=wondercraft_aiThis is a third-party project, independent from HN and YC. Text and audio generated using AI, by wondercraft.ai. Create your own studio quality podcast with text as the only input in seconds at app.wondercraft.ai. Issues or feedback? We'd love to hear from you: team@wondercraft.ai

While Lawson's voice recovers, enjoy a full episode from our patreon, wherein Joe from the Spirit Hunters helps him & Hannah understand what happened with this Ursula K. Le Guin adaptation, directed by Hayao Miyazaki's son, Goro. To listen to us review the GOOD Miyazaki films, support us at patreon.com/bospod

We're taking a break this week to celebrate Thanksgiving, but we wanted to leave you with something, so we're unlocking one of our Patreon exclusive episodes so you can hear what you're missing if you're not already a subscriber. For Movie Blind Spots, we each picked a movie we've been meaning to see but haven't gotten around to yet and finally checked them off the list. This time around, Dan is talking about the Hayao Miyazaki classic, Princess Mononoke, Mark watches the 2020 Best Picture Winner, Parasite, and Anthony watches the contemporary horror film, Barbarian.Want to get in on the fun and subscribe to the Patreon? Join us over at patreon.com/TCTAMPod and subscribe for just $1. Find us on Bluesky, Instagram, and Threads @TCTAMPod and on TikTok @theycalledthisamovie.Our theme music was written and performed by Dave Katusa. He can be found on Instagram @dkat_productions.

We are proud to announce our NEW Christmas Podcast A Very Shining Christmas! The podcast drops Black Friday at the Stroke of Midnight! Click this link to stay up to date on pre-order information! https://reviewinghistory.bandcamp.com/follow_me We also have limited edition Christmas merch available! https://www.reviewinghistorypod.com/merch We just wanted to create something beautiful instead, we created this podcast! Join us as we get animated and learn all about the creation of the Japanese WW2 fighter plane the zero. This week we're talking all about 2013's The Wind Rises, which was directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Let's create something beautiful! We are proud to announce our NEW Patreon is available: https://www.patreon.com/reviewinghistory LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE PLEASE! Please give us a rating and a review on ApplePodcasts or Spotify. It helps potential sponsors find the show! Sign up for @Riversidefm: www.riverside.fm/?via=reviewi... Sign up for @BetterHelp: betterhelp.com/reviewinghistory Email Us: Reviewinghistorypod@gmail.com Follow Us: www.facebook.com/reviewinghistory twitter.com/rviewhistorypod letterboxd.com/antg4836/ letterboxd.com/spfats/ letterboxd.com/BrianRuppert/ letterboxd.com/brianruppert/list…eviewing-history/ twitter.com/Brianruppert #comedy #history #podcast #comedypodcast #historypodcast #tellemstevedave #tesd #ww2 #pacifictheater #japan #nippon #ghibli #anime #planes #movie #cinema #moviereview #filmcriticisms #thewindrises

He wrote the definitive history of Indian wrestling. His longform reportage has taken him into strange territories. He embedded himself with the Delhi police and has now come out with his first crime novel. Rudraneil Sengupta joins Amit Varma in episode 429 of The Seen and the Unseen to talk about he throws himself into both his life and his work. (FOR FULL LINKED SHOW NOTES, GO TO SEENUNSEEN.IN.) Also check out: 1. Rudraneil Sengupta on Instagram, Twitter, Mint and Amazon. 2. The Beast Within -- Rudraneil Sengupta. 3. Enter the Dangal -- Rudraneil Sengupta. 4. The Girl From Haryana -- Amit Varma's feature story on Sakshi Malik (2016). 5. Aadha Gaon — Rahi Masoom Raza. 6. Amitava Kumar Finds the Breath of Life — Episode 265 of The Seen and the Unseen. 7. From Cairo to Delhi With Max Rodenbeck — Episode 281 of The Seen and the Unseen. 8. Kind of Blue -- Miles Davis. 9. Wall-E -- Andrew Stanton. 10. The Complete Adventures of Feluda (Volume 1) (Volume 2) -- Satyajit Ray. 11. The Adventures Of Kakababu -- Sunil Gangopadhyay. 12. More Adventures Of Kakababu -- Sunil Gangopadhyay. 13. Sandesh. 14. Paar -- Goutam Ghose. 15. Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? -- Philip K Dick. 16. Philip K Dick and Ursula K Le Guin on Amazon. 17. Sandman -- Neil Gaimon. 18. Persepolis -- Marjane Satrapi. 19. The Buddha -- Osamu Tezuka. 20. The Solitary Writer Meets the Impossible Man -- Episode 428 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Narayani Basu). 21. A Man For All Seasons: The Life Of KM Panikkar — Narayani Basu. 22. Understanding India Through Its Languages — Episode 232 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Peggy Mohan). 23. Wanderers, Kings, Merchants: The Story of India through Its Languages — Peggy Mohan. 24. Frank Zappa, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Muddy Waters and Django Reinhardt on Spotify. 25. Satyaki Banerjee and Paban Das Baul on Spotify. 26. The Indianness of Indian Food — Episode 95 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vikram Doctor). 27. The Refreshing Audacity of Vinay Singhal — Episode 291 of The Seen and the Unseen. 28. Stage.in. 29. Tom Waits, Mark Strand and Mary Oliver. 30. The Golden Age of Murder -- Martin Edwards. 31. Roseanna -- Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö. 32. Ian Rankin (of Inspector Rebus fame) on Amazon. 33. Six Four -- Hideo Yokoyama. 34. Raag Darbari -- Shrilal Shukla (translated by Gillian Wright). 35. Saans -- Neena Gupta. 36. Anne Tyler on Amazon. 37. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas -- Hunter S Thompson. 38. The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved -- Hunter S Thompson. 39. The Life and Times of Gurcharan Das -- Episode 425 of The Seen and the Unseen. 40. Meet Suyash Dixit, the man who would be king -- Rudraneil Sengupta. 41. The Autopsy Report -- Rudraneil Sengupta. 42. Court -- Chaitanya Tamhane. 43. The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind -- Gustave Le Bon. 44. Invisible Man -- Ralph Ellison. 45. The Is-Ought Problem and the Naturalistic Fallacy. 46. V for Vendetta -- Alan Moore and David Lloyd. 47. Murder in Mahim -- Jerry Pinto. 48. The Life and Times of Jerry Pinto — Episode 314 of The Seen and the Unseen. 49. Hayao Miyazaki, Satyajit Ray and Martin Beck. 50. Disgrace -- JM Coetzee. 51. Moby Dick -- Herman Melville. 52. Julian Lage and Bill Frisell on Spotify. This episode is sponsored by CTQ Compounds. Check out The Daily Reader and FutureStack. Use the code UNSEEN for Rs 2500 off. Amit Varma and Ajay Shah have launched a new course called Life Lessons, which aims to be a launchpad towards learning essential life skills all of you need. For more details, and to sign up, click here. Amit and Ajay also bring out a weekly YouTube show, Everything is Everything. Have you watched it yet? You must! And have you read Amit's newsletter? Subscribe right away to The India Uncut Newsletter! It's free! Also check out Amit's online course, The Art of Clear Writing. Episode art: ‘Delhi' by Simahina.