Frustrating.
Fails to really use the premise for comedy, social satire or anything else in a way that works. They reference cancel culture, but I don't think "guy does literally nothing wrong, everyone hates him and ruins his life" is an interesting or useful way to explore that, just takes all the nuance out of the analogy.
Spectacular stuff, one of the most beautiful animated films I've seen, an incredible score too and without dialogue it tells a great story about adapting to a changing world and builds some memorable characters with only the minimal amount of anthropomorphism. Just incredible.
Miyazaki's more magic-based films often leave me cold, but man I really hoped I'd like this. Sure, its creative and nice to look at, but I find it so hard to care about these characters or the magic world. I spent so much of the film unsure of what they were trying to do, what they wanted or how I ought to feel about any of it. I really feel like a philistine for not enjoying something like this, I know it must be good and I'm just missing the point. If anyone can explain I'd appreciate it.
