Land and Sea

Random inspiration while binge watching Studio Ghibli films.

This might sound crazy but I’d never seen ANY Studio Ghibli films until this year. Sure, I’d seen snippets, but I didn’t grow up on the films or even have a desire to watch them. But since I love the animation medium so much I figured it was probably time to see this company and understand why everyone loves them so much. After watching a few, I have to say I get it. The films are GORGEOUS.

The stories seem a bit odd to me with elements that aren’t fully explained but then again they’re stories from a culture different than mine. It oddly felt good to watch them, like I was expanding my mind or something crazy like that to different forms of storytelling.

I’d have to say my favorite of the Studio Ghibli films is Ponyo. Now, I haven’t seen all of the films yet but Ponyo has the most coherent plot line. The story is cutesy, the art style amazing, and it has an adorable little love story. A lot of people compare it to The Little Mermaid which makes sense: a fish-type creature wanting to be human. Still a fun story with realistic characters and, I reiterate, just gorgeous to look at.

So, here’s Silverstream and Gallus in the roles of Ponyo and Sosuke respectively.

The background was edited by me (not created). I mixed a lot of different elements from the movie Ponyo and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I felt their styles blended quite well.