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Big Fish and Begonia
(Sight & Sound, BFI) Towards the climax of the Chinese cartoon Big Fish and Begonia, there’s a watery apocalypse. Huge tubular waterfalls break through clouds and hammer down on the green fantasy realm where most of the film takes pl… -
Angel Beats
(SFX Magazine, Future Publishing – there are also further reflections on the series in an article I wrote for the MangaUK blog.) Oh, you’re awake. Lie there on the ground for a moment, and listen to me. Welcome to the Afterlife Battlefro… -
Kiki’s Delivery Service
My review of Kiki’s Delivery Service was posted on Anime News Network.
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Chatroom
(Sight & Sound, BFI) The recent The Social Network showed how online communities can express dysfunctional, destructive and self-destructive personalitie… -
Retrospective: The Company of Wolves
(SFX Magazine, Future Publishing) The sign on the soundstage door warns, “Wolves on set.” Within, the fairy-tale forest is darkened. This is a night scene, i… -
Man of Steel
(SFX Magazine, Future Publishing) Beginnings are important, especially for superheroes. But endings, arguably, matter more. A lot of viewers took against the…
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Article: Pinocchio
(Sight & Sound, BFI) [This article was written in 2009. Both interviewees – Dickie Jones, the voice of Disney’s Pinocchio, and puppeteer Bob Baker – died… -
Jungle Book (2016)
(Sight & Sound, BFI) Disney’s new version of The Jungle Book remakes a 49 year-old cartoon – the 1967 Jungle Book – using post-Avatar technology. Directe… -
Beowulf
(Sight & Sound, BFI) Denmark, AD 507. The ageing Norse King Hrothgar holds debauched revels in his drinking hall. These disturb a monstrous giant in the …
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My Neighbor Andrew Turned Out to Be the Real Totoro—A Trek Through the Sayama Woods
You have been doing a lot of research recently about Hayao Miyazaki’s film ‘My Neighbor Totoro.’ That’s right. Are you interested in where Director Miyazaki … -
I Boarded the Galaxy Express with a British Friend and Ended Up Debating the Soul of Leiji Matsumoto world.
We’ve been to the Leiji Matsumoto 50th anniversary exhibition in Roppongi, which Andrew wrote up as a report for Animation World Network, illustrated by Carl… -
From Heidi to Kaguya: Our Visit to the Takahata Exhibit
We recently went to the Isao Takahata Exhibition in Tokyo to report on it for Animation World Network (our report is here). As fans of Takahata’s work, we ha…