COWBOY BEBOP: THE MOVIE

GENRE:  Foreign/ Animation/ Crime/ Action
MADE:  2001
CAST:  Beau Billingslea, Melissa Fahn, Nicholas Guest
DIRECTOR:  Shinichiro Watanabe, Hiroyuki Okiura
WRITER:  Keiko Nobumoto, Hajime Yatate

PLOT:  When a fatal virus is released by an unknown terrorist Cowboy Bebop and his crew of bounty hunters take on the responsibility to catch the terrorist.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  Howl's Moving Castle, Aeon Flux, The X-Men, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within

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GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES

GENRE:  Foriegn Animation/ Drama/ War
MADE:  1988
CAST:  Tsutomu Tatsumi, Ayano Shiraishi, Akemi Yamaguchi
DIRECTOR:  Isao Takahata
WRITER:  Akiyuki Nosaka, Isao Takahata

PLOT:  Set during WWII a young man and his little sister tries to survive homeless in the countryside.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  Persepolis, Nine, Howl's Moving Castle

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KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE

GENRE:  Foreign Animation/ Family/ Adventure/ Fantasy
MADE:  1989
CAST:  Kirsten Dunst, Minami Takayama, Rei Sakuma
DIRECTOR:  Hayao Miyazaki
WRITER:  Eiko Kadono, Hayao Miyazaki

PLOT:  A young witch leaves home and begins a delivery service.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  Ponyo, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle

SCORE:

THE ILLUSIONIST

GENRE:  Foreign animation/ Comedy
MADE:  2010
CAST:  Jean-Claude Donda, Eilidh Rankin, Duncan MacNeil
DIRECTOR:  Sylvain Chomet
WRITER:  Sylvain Chomet, Jacques Tati

PLOT:  A magician by the title "The Illusionist" is part of an ever-disappearing art in entertainment, as he struggles to find work he meet a young girl by the name of Alice, and the adventure begins.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  The Triplets Of Belleville, The Old Lady And The Pigeons, Howl's Moving Castle

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THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE

GENRE:  Foreign/Animation/Adventure/Comedy
MADE:  2003
CAST:  Michele Caucheteux, Jean-Claude Donda, Michel Robin
DIRECTOR:  Silvain Chomet
WRITER:  Silvain Chomet

PLOT:  A grandmother and her dog Bruno set off to rescue her kidnapped grandson during the Tour De France by mobsters.  On the way she meets an old song & dance trio by the name "Belleville Sisters" who team up with the grandmother to get the grandson back.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  Spirited Away, The Illusionist, The Old Lady And The Pigeons

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HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE

GENRE:  Foreign animation/Adventure/Romance/Family
MADE:  2004
CAST:  Chieko Baisho, Takuya Kimura, Tatsuya Gashuin
DIRECTOR:  Hayao Miyazaki
WRITER:  Hayao Miyazaki, Dianna Wynn Jones

PLOT:  A humble young girl working at a hat store is transformed into an old grandma, the curse put on by an evil witch who is jealous by Howl's fondness for the girl.  A story set in a land where witches and people live, the young girl must go on a voyage to find a way to lift the curse.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Kiki's Delivery Service

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PONYO

GENRE:  Japanese animation
MADE:  2008
CAST:  Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Liam Neeson, Tina Fey, Noah Cyrus
DIRECTOR:  Hayao Miyazaki
WRITER:  Hayao Miyazaki

PLOT:  When a young boy rescues a goldfish trapped in a jar in his small home town in a Japanese fishing village, the weather takes a turn for the worse.  Magical things begin to happen as the goldfish is the daughter of a powerful wizard and sea goddess.  Sosuke and Ponyo, the goldfish go on an unexpected journey saving the world by restoring the balance and making Ponyo's wish to be human come true.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  Howl's Moving Castle, Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro

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NOTE:  Another of Miyazaki's animations that I absolutely love.  The animation, of course, is unique and beautiful to look at and of course the story is nothing less than great.  Touches lightly on environmental awareness regarding pollution in our oceans but not to the extent that it is annoying.  I thought the film was great and is a must watch for kids and adults too.

SPIRITED AWAY

GENRE:  Japanese Animation/Fantasy
MADE:  2001
CAST:  Daveigh Chase, Suzanne Pleshette, Miyu Irino
DIRECTOR:  Hayao Miyazaki
WRITER:  Hayao Miyazaki

PLOT:  In the middle of a travel to a family's new home, the mother, father and daughter get lost on their way and encounter a mystical and magical place where the parents are turned into pigs.  The daughter escapes by working at the bathhouse servicing spirits where she must find a way to get her and her parents out of the magical world.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  Howl's Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke, Kiki's Delivery Service

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