Whisper Of The Heart
Whisper Of The Heart
Whisper Of The Heart is a 1995 Japanese animated film from Studio Ghibli, and directed by Yoshifumi Kondo. Kondo was set to be the successor to Hayao Miyazaki, however sadly this would be the last and only film he would direct before his death in 1998. Originally released in Japan in 1995, it was also the first Japanese film to used Dolby surround sound. The film was distributed by Toho, and later re-released in the USA through a deal that Studio Ghibli had with Walt Disney for their US releases, which also featured American voice actors doing the English language dub. The version I am reviewing is the English dub that Disney released, and the Bluray version that I have is the GKIDS reissue (for Studio Ghibli Films I prefer the GKIDS versions for their packaging and extra features).
Whisper of the Heart is a film adaptation of the manga Mimi o Sumaseba created by Aoi Hiiragi. The original film release is called Mimi o Sumaseba, which translates to If You Listen Closely, but was switched to Whisper Of The Heart for the English language release. The film has a spin off with The Cat Returns, which features the characters of the cat Baron, as well as the cat Muta. Then Muta and the Crow from Cat Returns would make an appearance in The Secret World of Arrietty. So if the cat on the cover art for the film looks like the cat from The Cat Returns, that is by no accident, and incidentally Cary Elwes plays Baron in both films.
Whisper of the Heart stars (focusing on the English language cast, because that is the version that I watched): Brittany Snow as Shizuku Tsukishima, Jean Smart plays Shizuku's mother Asako Tsukishima, James Sikking plays Shizuku's father Seiya Tsukishima, and Courtney Thorne-Smith plays Shizuku's bossy older sister Shiho Tsukishima. Her best friend at school is Yuko Harada, played by Ashley Tisdale, and Yuko's crush Sugimura is played by Martin Spanjers. David Gallagher plays Seiji Amasawa who Shizuku falls in love with, and his grandfather Shiro Nishi who inspires Shizuku to believe in herself is played by Harold Gould. Cary Elwes appears as Baron Humbert von Gikkingen an anthropomorphic cat statue that is the hero of the story that Shizuku writes.
The story of the film plays out slowly, more like an anime series, slowly building the story, rather than the fast build that goes from scene to scene as most films do. It really did feel more like watching an anime series than it did a film, and it felt like we took all of the time in the world to experience the story, though the film also doesn't suffer from being long, or feeling overly long, it is really an amazing feat of storytelling. The story is a coming of age love story about a group of middle school kids who are preparing for the high school entrance exams (a concept that seems foreign to US viewers, as we just go from middle school to high school, but in Japan you are tested to see which high school you are placed in, based on your abilities). The main character Shizuku spends all of her time reading books for fun, and doesn't really take her studies seriously. She starts noticing that in every book that she checks out from the library the books had been last checked out by Seiji Amasawa, and she ends up crossing paths with him and they build a friendship, and she wants to tell him that she has a crush on him, but is struggling with it, and when she finds out that he will be going to France to be an apprentice violin maker, she decides that since she feels like she isn't good enough for him (and with encouragement from his grandfather) that she will focus on her skill of writing and write the book the she has in her mind, and spends their time apart writing. The film has a beautiful and heartwarming story that honestly brought me to tears, for how sweet the story is.
The animation is beautiful and artistically done, the quality that I expect from Studio Ghibli. The story is well done, and masterfully told, and it is both sweet and inspiring. The English Language voice actors were all great, and successfully conveyed the emotions of the characters, and brought the film to life quite well. This might actually rank among one of my favourite Studio Ghibli films, this is a love story that I feel really touches on the real and relatable emotions of falling for someone, and feeling that you aren't good enough for them. Another masterpiece by Studio Ghibli, and if you have yet to watch it, I highly recommend checking it out. Also I just wanted to mention I love the beautiful version of John Denver's Country Roads that is featured in the film.
Whisper of the Heart is a film adaptation of the manga Mimi o Sumaseba created by Aoi Hiiragi. The original film release is called Mimi o Sumaseba, which translates to If You Listen Closely, but was switched to Whisper Of The Heart for the English language release. The film has a spin off with The Cat Returns, which features the characters of the cat Baron, as well as the cat Muta. Then Muta and the Crow from Cat Returns would make an appearance in The Secret World of Arrietty. So if the cat on the cover art for the film looks like the cat from The Cat Returns, that is by no accident, and incidentally Cary Elwes plays Baron in both films.
Whisper of the Heart stars (focusing on the English language cast, because that is the version that I watched): Brittany Snow as Shizuku Tsukishima, Jean Smart plays Shizuku's mother Asako Tsukishima, James Sikking plays Shizuku's father Seiya Tsukishima, and Courtney Thorne-Smith plays Shizuku's bossy older sister Shiho Tsukishima. Her best friend at school is Yuko Harada, played by Ashley Tisdale, and Yuko's crush Sugimura is played by Martin Spanjers. David Gallagher plays Seiji Amasawa who Shizuku falls in love with, and his grandfather Shiro Nishi who inspires Shizuku to believe in herself is played by Harold Gould. Cary Elwes appears as Baron Humbert von Gikkingen an anthropomorphic cat statue that is the hero of the story that Shizuku writes.
The story of the film plays out slowly, more like an anime series, slowly building the story, rather than the fast build that goes from scene to scene as most films do. It really did feel more like watching an anime series than it did a film, and it felt like we took all of the time in the world to experience the story, though the film also doesn't suffer from being long, or feeling overly long, it is really an amazing feat of storytelling. The story is a coming of age love story about a group of middle school kids who are preparing for the high school entrance exams (a concept that seems foreign to US viewers, as we just go from middle school to high school, but in Japan you are tested to see which high school you are placed in, based on your abilities). The main character Shizuku spends all of her time reading books for fun, and doesn't really take her studies seriously. She starts noticing that in every book that she checks out from the library the books had been last checked out by Seiji Amasawa, and she ends up crossing paths with him and they build a friendship, and she wants to tell him that she has a crush on him, but is struggling with it, and when she finds out that he will be going to France to be an apprentice violin maker, she decides that since she feels like she isn't good enough for him (and with encouragement from his grandfather) that she will focus on her skill of writing and write the book the she has in her mind, and spends their time apart writing. The film has a beautiful and heartwarming story that honestly brought me to tears, for how sweet the story is.
The animation is beautiful and artistically done, the quality that I expect from Studio Ghibli. The story is well done, and masterfully told, and it is both sweet and inspiring. The English Language voice actors were all great, and successfully conveyed the emotions of the characters, and brought the film to life quite well. This might actually rank among one of my favourite Studio Ghibli films, this is a love story that I feel really touches on the real and relatable emotions of falling for someone, and feeling that you aren't good enough for them. Another masterpiece by Studio Ghibli, and if you have yet to watch it, I highly recommend checking it out. Also I just wanted to mention I love the beautiful version of John Denver's Country Roads that is featured in the film.
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