6th October 2005, 10:28 AM
First of all, the dubbing has nothing to do with the companies that made the anime, that's entirely on the shoulders of American companies.
Speed Racer and Lupin are TV series which mean production values are lower and they came out in the 60's and 70's. Little Nemo I haven't seen, but My Neighbor Totoro looks good though slighlty below American production at the time. You DO have to take into account that animated Japanese movies cost about $15-$20 million [Spirited Away cost $17 million] while animated American movies cost between $25-$140 million [Treasure Planet being the most costly I could find, and Beauty and the Beats being the least]. So, Japanese anime will not be able to match American animation is you look purely at the technical aspects [use of still shots, frame-rate, ect.], but I've seen Japanese animes that have come really close.
If you only look at what's on the surface [i.e. what's most popular] I can see why you'd think that. But if you look deeper into what's not so popular you'll find that's not always the case. Watch either of the three Patlabor movies [though the first has a few cartoony moments], Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade, Ghost in the Shell 1 and 2, Milennium Actress, Haibane Renmei, Texhnolyze, any of the Mobile Suit Gundam series [not Gundam Wing or G Gundam] or any movies by Hayao Miyazaki [in particular Princess Mononoke, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, and Porco Rosso].
Quote:by standards of quality, your typical Speed Racers and Lupins and Little Nemos and My Neighbor Totoro's don't hold up to what Disney can produce.
Speed Racer and Lupin are TV series which mean production values are lower and they came out in the 60's and 70's. Little Nemo I haven't seen, but My Neighbor Totoro looks good though slighlty below American production at the time. You DO have to take into account that animated Japanese movies cost about $15-$20 million [Spirited Away cost $17 million] while animated American movies cost between $25-$140 million [Treasure Planet being the most costly I could find, and Beauty and the Beats being the least]. So, Japanese anime will not be able to match American animation is you look purely at the technical aspects [use of still shots, frame-rate, ect.], but I've seen Japanese animes that have come really close.
Quote:they appear all together thoroughly cartoon-like
If you only look at what's on the surface [i.e. what's most popular] I can see why you'd think that. But if you look deeper into what's not so popular you'll find that's not always the case. Watch either of the three Patlabor movies [though the first has a few cartoony moments], Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade, Ghost in the Shell 1 and 2, Milennium Actress, Haibane Renmei, Texhnolyze, any of the Mobile Suit Gundam series [not Gundam Wing or G Gundam] or any movies by Hayao Miyazaki [in particular Princess Mononoke, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, and Porco Rosso].
Sometimes you get the scorpion.