Top Ten Anime Movies For Children.

These are the movies I would recommend to just about any family with children.  The only two 

you want to take a look beforehand at is Princess Mononoke and Metropolis because they are

 PG-13.  But the rest range from G to PG and I would have no problem showing my kids no

 matter what age they were.


1. Girl who leapt through time.
Just a very well told movie and a movie with a strong theme.  In my mind it is G rated and the 

worst thing in the movie is a boy teased another boy about jacking off.  It is not complicated, 

not too dark (unless you start to add stuff to your mind), fun music, and really fleshed out 

relationships.

 2. Spirited away.
My favorite Miyazaki film.  This takes story telling to a completely new level.  It is fantasy and 

more like the dream of a young girl.  But this movie has captivated me in a whole different way 

than other fantasies.  This story is not obvious and you have to keep your eyes open for every 

turn.  I love this movie.


3. Princess Mononoke.
Might be too much of very young children.  An arm gets shot off, boars die, humans die. 

Definitely worth of a PG-13 rating.  But it is on this list because this generation is used to this 

sort of thing (they don't see it as real life).  But I still waited until my child was in kindergarten 

before they saw it.  The overall message of “lets preserve Earth” is strong and you get to know 

the characters in depth (which does not happen often in animation in general.


4. Castle in the Sky.
My third favorite movie from Miyazaki.  It is a non-stop action movie that does not get dull. 

Like the matrix, this is one movie I can watch any time.  The animation is not there which is 

why it only gets up to the 4th spot.  But the story and action that keeps it at the top of my lists. 

It is exciting, entertaining,engaging, just a lot of fun.  And I mean FUN.


5. Nausica.
My forth favorite movie from Miyazaki.  While it is older, the story is a great story.  Totally 

kid friendly and exciting.  But may frighten very young children, but it was never an issue 

with either of my children.  I would also have no problem showing this to any child that 

would come to my house.


6. Metropolis.
I love this film because they address the inequalities of a general society.  And the only 

real violence in the film is either not seen or it is robots being ravaged.  Pretty safe but 

conservatives parents should preview this film.


7. Ponyo.
A good children's movie from Miyazaki that I really like.  It is non-violent and teaches a 

strong message.  The voice talent in this film is outstanding.  The story is entertaining but 

not perfect.  They really could have don't more to engage the older audience.


8. Howl's moving castle.
Might be a little too much for very young children.  But those older than 6 can appreciate, as 

can an adult.  Good movie with a very interesting theme.  A little dark in parts but absolutely 

essential in getting the meaning across.  The story is well written and entertaining.  And just 

enough darkness to please the sadistic parent.


9. The Cat Returns.
A really fun and beautiful movie.  It is totally geared for kids and parents won't mind watching 

it (or hearing it over and over again).  It is fantasy and takes full advantage of the world that only 

animation can create..


10. Kiki's delivery service.
A cute movie that delivers.  While the animation is not as good as other Anime, it is a very 

straight forward movie that follows the 3 act process.  Just don't expect your frontal lobes to 

be wowed.  

Top 10 movies that explore the human condition

Top 10 movies that explore the human condition

This list is something really important to me. I like to find movies that are commentaries on humans and humanity. Movies that express who we are as a culture and as an individual. The questions frequently asked is what is a human, what is life, what is a soul, what drives us to succeed, what fears do we have, how do we overcome them, what are morals and ethics, etc.

Ghost in the Shell . This movie had plenty of action and was fast paced, but it question what is a soul and what is life. The movie is far deeper than most people realize.

Blade Runner is an incredible movie. While a little slow it asks some very important question? What is life? Is it morally right to destroy life?  A movie that makes you think. The second movie on my list is

Star Trek II . It was centered around emotion. It is an emotional movie even though it had plenty of action.  And I love action. Kirk's emotions were the central point and the emotions of the other main characters centered around Kirk.

The girl who leap through time just wowed me the first time I saw it.  This girl found a piece of technology that allowed her to to move about in time.  So if she didn't like a test score, she could leap back and retake it.  It has many light situations and a couple of very dark scenarios.  The big thing this movie addresses is the morals and ethics of changing the rules (morality and ethics).

Edward Scissor Hands is an incredible movie. Every character is a stereo type in society. Johnny Depp plays the role perfectly. It is about a young man that is an outcast, a loner (something I easily relate to). The writer asks how society views him. Is it right or wrong for society to treat him this way? This is close to my heart because I was a loner, and in some ways still am (but as a teacher I can be an actor behind a mask). And many of the things he does are a perfect reflection of who I am. I think most people will relate to Edward because most people in this society feel alone at some time.  It is also a story about how an outcast is trying to fit in, but it is impossible because of trust from othersÖand his disability. Society does not help out these kind of people.

The sixth movie on this list is Ghost in the Shell:Innocence Very disturbing and captivating at the same time. It asked two questions; "what is reality?" and where is your moral line drawn?  The two main characters were also opposites of each other. A cyborg built like a tank and a fully human (and vulnerable) detective. It has fun exploring these two opposing personalities and makes for a very entertaining movie.  But ultimately it is left up to the viewer to answer these two questions stated above.

Ground Hog Day.  I had to put this in here because it has so many different takes on human morality. The main character explored his options.  He did some bad things and some nice things.  It wasn't until the end that his good actions released him from his imprisonment.


I really responded to Rambo 1.  A broken man is wrongly harassed.  His brain snaps and he becomes a lethal weapon.  Kind of like the ex-LAPD officer in the news recently.  So this scenario can happen.  It's called post traumatic stress disorder, but in the extreme. 


Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society is another movie that asks moral and ethical questions.  I can't tell you what it is because it will spoil the movie, but it does ask the question of "how far can a company/government" go when trying to control a society for the common good.


Metropolis. The Anime called Metropolis is the one I am referring to.  The really really old movie of the same name has similar themes, but man is it boring.  This movie flows well and is very entertaining.  It addresses the separation of our classes.  But it does it through robots and humans in a multi-level city.

Top 10 Anime Movies For Adults

Anime films for adults.


These are my top ten adult anime movies designed with adults in mind. Not for children. I'll have another post for children's Anime.

Anime like dragon ball Z and the Last Air Bender cartoons are anime, but definitely not designed for adults. In fact I loathe Dragon Ball Z. But the movies on this list are great animated movies that are designed specifically for adults. Not children. At the time Akira came out, most adults thought cartoons and animation was for children. It was in japan that cartoons for adults started to take place. It was also designed for teens which helped diversify the audience. But they had not reached the level that would make a true movie junkie happy. It wasn't until Akira came that the world started to take notice.



Ghost in the shell (movie 1)
This is one of my favorite movies of all time. Not just my favorite Anime movie, it is one of my favorite movies of all time. It is a great movie and worth owning on Blu-Ray. The movie is fast paced and thoughtfully written. The animation is beautiful.  The story is very clean.  I love this movie. It does have nudity and plenty of violence, with blood and heads being blown off. 

Akira
This is the movie that opened the flood gates to anime. It was a big budget film and it stole the hearts and minds of many of us movie fanatics. Keep in mind that this movie does have nudity, assault on people (both assault a female in one raw scene and exploding people), lots of violence, and some pretty gross stuff (well at least gross to some people). I won't show this to my son until he's around 16 and mature enough to handle the mature content.
This movie also made an incredible change in how these Anime movies were made. This was a big budget movie. It had a true composer, early computer animation, and life like speech and body movements. Things that have not been seen in any feature film before then.


Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
This is much more disturbing that the first film. You won't know why until the end of the film. And no I'm not going to spoil it for you.  But like the first, it has nudity and violence. But man is the violence fun. And like the first movie, this movie forces you to think. It is another very deep movie that you will not completely understand the first couple of times you see it. A very well written and deep movie, with a very mature theme.

Ninja Scroll
This and decency do not go together. While it is a very well regarded anime movie in terms of the adult content (and it is a fun movie with lots of action), it does have some off putting adult content. Nudity, an implied rape sequence, a clearly viewed sex scene, and lots and lots of blood. This is right up there with the bloodiest Anime movies out there. It is also more detailed in it's gore when compared to movies like Fist of the North Star. (Check that movie out if you want to see some old school Anime.) I have no intention of letting my son see this until adulthood, and even then.....

Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
A great movie. While it does not have the nudity that the other Vampire Hunter movie had, it does have plenty of blood and violence. A very well done and fun movie. I'll probably let my son see it when he's 13 or 14. If I think he's mature enough and stops being scared of the zombies in time splitters.

Appleseed Ex Machina
A fun and entertaining movie.  It takes place in the future when machines take on human form…and function.  There is plenty of violence for any action junkie.  The story is well written and told well.  The pace is good.  The animation is absolutely beautiful.  A good movie for adults as well as teens.

Paprika
This is an awesome PG-13 movie. This is the movie that spurred the phrase, while American animators are playing in the sand box, Japanese animators are flying to the moon. It does have some sexual innuendoes and mature themes. I probably won't watch it with my children until they reach adulthood. Plus I don't see the average teenager grasping the key concepts of this film. And the beginning can be a bit boring for some. But not for me.

Ghost in the shell stand alone complex
This film follows the cartoon and not the films. It is its own universe. A great movie that makes you really think, and think hard. But not as good as the first two. This movie has plenty of violence for the violent movie fan. It is much more youth friendly than the other two in the other universe, but does require a good mind to grasp the message. And I recommend you see the 2 season cartoons first.

Perfect Blue
This is a distrubing movie. Another movie like Paprika that keeps falling in and out of reality. One scene you think is a mutually agreed upon sex act, later you find that that was not what really happened. It really disturbed me and I just can't recommend it for anyone other than the most mature and liberal individuals.

Straight Jacket
I recommend this one because of the shear amount of violence and blood.  A very bloody movie.  It also dispatches adults and kids alike.  It does not discriminate.  I really love this movie because it takes violence to a whole new level.

©Alan Lake's Kitchen 2013