reilly.roxane - 2016-01-14 08:05:58

its good but only one time watch..watch it if u hv nothing else 2 see

reymundo.wunsch - 2015-09-16 16:32:35

The English language adaptation of this film is very well done.  It adds extra depth to the character dialogue which wasn't there in the original Japanese language version. Don't get me wrong, the Japanese language version was good in its own right, but I would highly recommend watching the dubbed version of this one.

mable.lakin - 2014-10-12 03:55:35

Story
The plot itself is very simple. There is only one main twist and it isn't saved for the end. It becomes an intricate part of the plot. The plot is very entertaining, it isn't as complex as witches that own bathhouses or castles in the sky and it's a bit underwhelming, but it is still very entertaining. The love story works and it's very cute. Even though Western audiences might not know where Japan was during the time period of the movie, it is still very easy to jump into. 8/10

Animation

The animation is breath takingly beautiful. The set pieces are beautiful to look at. From a dirty old clubhouse, to the house of poppy hill, to the brightly lit town in the middle of the night, there is a lot to admire and look at. Character designs are distinguishable between the main and supporting characters. Some of the background characters look very similar to each other and this is especially noticeable between the female background characters, it's very noticeable but it isn't as bad as you might think. Characters movement looks very realistic. However, all of this is to be expected of Studio Ghibli. 10/10

Sound

The soundtrack is very diverse, ranging from songs that are solely instrumental to tracks with some singing. However, it is all very well done. If it were available in the States I would have a copy of the movie's soundtrack, no doubt about it. The dub is mediocre, which is disappointing. Characters dialogue and their mouth movements sometimes don't match up. Also, this dub's main flaw is poor writing. Minor and comic-relief characters say really stupid and unfunny things. A nice thing about the dub is that there is always talking even if two characters aren't necessarily talking to each other. However, this is where the writers slacked off. Strangely enough, the voice acting is really good, even if the script is pretty bad. I would give the sound a 10/10 but a mediocre dub gets in the way. 9/10

Character

Shun and Umi are very relatable characters. They show a lot of development for an hour and a half movie, which is really surprising. The other supporting characters don't get as much development, which is okay, because the movie is supported by two really strong leads. 9/10

Enjoyment: 9/10

Overall

From Up on Poppy Hill is a really good movie, and one of my favorite Ghibli films, even though it is a relatively new one and Hayao Miyazaki didn't direct. It has a beautiful story and beautiful animation as well. At this point in time From Up on Poppy Hill is licensed by GK Kids and is available for purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD. Unfortunately, it is not available for legal streaming online. 9/10

nova63 - 2014-09-19 13:35:33

This movie, though not having the fantasy element Studio Ghibli is really good at, is a really charming movie that everybody enjoys

piper.heathcote - 2013-12-19 02:30:40

While the movie is a pleasant one, and I am glad I saw it, I feel no need to see it again. I would recommend this movie for Studio Gibli fans, as well as fans who like slice-of-life stories, romance, or eye-candy. Because, being a Gibli film, it is gorgeous.

The story is a simple one but I do have one problem with the romance, which I will address later, as it is a slight spoiler. While it does feel a little clunky (I can't pin down where or why it does, though), it is still nice, fun watch, especially before bed when you want to relax. It's certainly a step-up for the director in question, though that's almost a given, seeing as his last film is considered one of the two truly bad Gibli films (Tales from Earthsea). And while the film is not brilliant, it is by no means bad, either. It's just simple and rather unambitious, but it held my attention perfectly well.

The music was surprising, as it is mostly sung, whistled, or has an upbeat, jingle-ly sound to it, which is unusual for a Gibli film. It fits in with the mood and story, though.

The film does have a nice appreciation for history, family, and simple things like old buildings, which don't have many people advocating for them ("Save that old building" doesn't have the same ring to it as "Save the Whales"), but are important. It's something that isn't common in most media, and an interesting little touch to the movie. Besides the romance, the main plot of the movie mostly revolves around saving and old wooden clubhouse, and the students efforts to do so.

Overall, From up On Poppy Hill is a beautifully-animated, simple little story that will be perfectly rewarding for those who enjoy slice-of-life, but doesn't have much for those wanting something more exciting. For anime fans who do enjoy slice-of-life, though, this is a good movie to see. It may not be the best ever, but it's worth a watch.

Okay, now to the SPOILER part of the review: There is a moment, after the two main characters have fallen for each other, and have both realized this, that they think they are actually long-separated brother and sister, and, therefore, can't fall in love. At this point the clubhouse has been saved and the movie has to have some kind of stakes for the climax of the film, so throwing the romance into jeopardy makes sense. However, this plot is introduced; the characters begin to agonize over it, and then it's resolved. Quickly. They don't talk about it, and while the implications of what seems to be a terrible situation are implied, and the audience feels for the characters in their plight, it's just kind of brought up and dismissed as "Oh, never mind!" If this plot point was going to create the needed tension in the movie, it needed to have been introduced earlier on, or been scrapped for another plot point, because the handling of this one was much too rushed and not really even discussed by the characters. It doesn't ruin the film, but it does detract from it.

heidi.kirlin - 2013-12-03 22:49:45

Ok Time for my first review ever lol. I saw there was no reviews yet so I wanted to share my thoughts.

I had read a bit about the movie before I watched it and I didn't know what to expect because the story sounded kinda lame but it was a new Studio Ghibli movie so I had to watch it. Im not going to write what the movie is about because I dont feel that's necessary.

The movie is beautiful as every Studio Ghibli movie is. The animation is just enyojable to watch really. It's a clear 10 on animation. The sound as well is really nice and fits well to the movie. Should also point out that I watched the dubbed version and I think it was very good.

The things I didnt think was amazing was the story and characters. I think the story wasn't any special, though the great thing about the movie is that I don't think it matters that much. The characters are great and it has good humour. So you just kinda sits there watching it and just enjoys it, without caring to much about it not having an epic story. It's just an easy going movie with some weird stuff and some awesome and funny stuff as every Ghibli movie. So comparing it to other Ghibli movies I think this one is lacking in the story. I think it's has too much going on that you don't feel the story is following a straight line. It's like it has several stories in one movie.

Overall a feelgood movie you enyoj watching while you watch it and afterwards you think, hm the story was kinda lame, but then realises that it didn't matter that much. Overall a good movie worthy of the Studio Ghibli seal but maybe not re-watchable as some others are in my opinion.

Also, please give me tips of what I can do better. I also took a shot at not dividing it into catergories and tried to make it a coherent text. I skipped talking about the story because you can read that anywhere and I also didn't want to accidentally spoil anything.