For those who don't read Penny Arcade (are there any? if so, shame on you):

http://wonderfuldays.co.kr/english/

... "wow" is all I can say.

Wow this looks amazing !!!

Any idea of where I get it in the UK ??? I've found www.yesasia.com will export it to me, buy with the import tax will end up costing me big time

Cheers

Cris.

I really wish more American animation studios could survive in this space. Too many people here just see something like that, go "cartoon" and skip it.

Titan AE is a good example of this. Very beautiful film, but caused Fox to close the animation studios they created for this film. While the story wasn't perfect, it sucks that the poor sales for it ended up killing potential future animated movies.

And it's too bad none of the shows in the animation boom of the mid-'90s took a dramatic tack. Personally, I find it interesting in that direction that there's very little about King of the Hill that requires animation. It could just as easily be live-action, but they decided to animate it anyway.

I ordered mine from YesAsia.com since it was the only place that sold it almost 3 months ago.

That does look amazing. I'm curious, though. Is there no dialogue in the film? They showed an awful lot of clips in that trailer for there not to have been any dialogue.

- trs

I read a review that said the dialogue is Korean, so maybe they wanted an international-friendly trailer ... Apparently the story is actually really lame but it sure does look great ...

... meanig you have seen it? How is the film itself?

I'm not sure what you guys are seeing, but I'm not very impressed by that preview. I don't see anything paticularly stellar about the hand animation, and the rest is computer generated. I've been watching a hell of a lot of anime lately, and the film looks to be on par with the average animation quality of your typical anime show.

I don't know, maybe it's because I just watched "Spirited Away," which is just so far and away the best animated movie I've ever seen, that my barometer is a bit off. I might also just dislike the animation mix that they're using, or it could be the low quality of the video.

I do agree with America's view on animation. However, I think there are a lot of good things happening as well. Futurama did well despite Fox's extremely poor treatment of it, and that was some of the best animation on television. Samurai Jack is doing quite well, and that's good as well.

I couldn't agree more about King of the Hill. The animation is unnecessary, intentionally simple and boring, and the show isn't even very funny. I definitely get discouraged about American animation when I think about that show, but then I think about the good ones and it's OK again

Is there no dialogue in the film? They showed an awful lot of clips in that trailer for there not to have been any dialogue

But the lack of speach makes it more dramatic! And it is definitely in excess of drama.

I might also just dislike the animation mix that they're using

I actually have to agree with you there. I thought the computer animation did not match up well at all with the hand-drawn animation.

- trs

I couldn't agree more about King of the Hill. The animation is unnecessary, intentionally simple and boring, and the show isn't even very funny. I definitely get discouraged about American animation when I think about that show, but then I think about the good ones and it's OK again

Actually, I was paying it a compliment, at least as far as trying to expand the audience. The Simpsons is almost as adult-oriented, but it reads more like a parody of children's animation, as do most other adult-oriented cartoons. But KotH is a straight-up sitcom. I think that's important, and it's as important that it's successful.

I happen to think it's pretty funny, too.

Ah, I see. By "interesting" I suppose I could have taken it either way. I just happened to take it the way I thought of it

I watched several episodes, and I think I just found it boring.

Our culture does. My point is that the further you get away from that stereotype, the less convicing that stereotype becomes.

Surprisingly, it's not CG -- turns out most of it is miniatures, which I thought was pretty interesting (didn't find that out till a couple mins ago when I watched the behind-the-scenes).

While I admit it's not Spirited Away, which is great is every respect, the landscapes and backdrops in a lot of those scenes are really beautiful. Of course, now I know they are almost all miniature, but the artistry of those miniatures is pretty amazing too .. And knowing that, it's a pretty slick job of compositing different media together for an overall tonal effect.

"It just looks pretty"

ms

I downloaded the WMV high quality file and that just looks like CRAP. The BL DL of the full movie that I original watched it from looked great on a projector with a 110 inch screen. I was so impressed I bought the sound track and the DVD because I want this company to make more.

I will try to make a short clip of the good parts from the DVD over the weekend.

I enjoyed the movie, but the main reason I enjoyed it was I knew nothing about it the first time I watched it. Oh the DVD has English sub titles.

I am playing on watching it again once I can get a few friends over for a full day of movie watching.

That does make it a little more interesting.

And I'm not suprised if it's mostly due to the quality of the video file. It really is pretty bad.

I do agree with America's view on animation. However, I think there are a lot of good things happening as well. Futurama did well despite Fox's extremely poor treatment of it, and that was some of the best animation on television. Samurai Jack is doing quite well, and that's good as well.

But everything doing well fits into the standard mold of what most would consider a cartoon. Something funny. Or something childish. I want american animated shows like Cowboy Bebop, or movies like Princess Mononoke.

At least Anime DVDs are becoming popular enough to make anime cheeper now. And the Japaneese market dosen't seem to be slowing down the output of these shows.

The problem with anime from those of us on the fringes of it is that it at least seems as if most Anime geeks care not for the quality of any part of the anime, from the animation itself, to the cinematography, to the plot, to the characterization, to voice acting, or to seemingly any element of it. They seem happier about something genuinely quality, but only marginally so. They go into an almost equal frenzy when they see some 2 cel-per-second poorly characterized soap opera.

(Speaking of cps, the combination of animation styles as referenced above bothers me more in the way that the cel rates differ between the two elements than in the mix of styles.)

While this is more of an indictment of those anime geeks, it also makes it difficult for the rest of us to find something quality. When Akira gets only slightly more praise than Boring Salaryman #48 OCV, it turns the rest of us off, for if Boring Salaryman is seemingly amongst the best, why should I waste my time watching something that's likely going to be worse?

Well, perhaps if shows like Cowboy Bebop had a discernable plot, or made any sense, it would get more acceptance.

I shouldn't talk, though, since I've only begun to watch it. I haven't been too impressed so far, though. It may just be that it's not my type of anime show.

Here's another beauty:

http://www.sonyclassics.com/triplets/

damn .. way cooler than my post That video of it is awesome!

Is this for sale?

Nope, i think it's going to be released in theatres in New York and LA soon... not sure about nationwide release. I want to see it purely for the scenes of the waiter... sooo awesome.

I have just watched Spirited Away on DiGNAN17's recomendation. I'm blown away !!! What am amazing film !!!

I couldn't get hold of a copy of Wonderful Days so I downloaded it. Not that impressed really, sure it looks nice, but Spirited Away's story is on a level all of it's own. Well worth the money it cost me to import it.

Cheers

Cris.

Sorry, I didn't mean to back Wonderful Days, especially by comparing it to something like Spirited Away. I'll try it out as well if I get a chance.

Just found out it's coming to one of our local theaters ... Can't wait ...