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Whisper of the Heart review – Studio Ghibli deep cut is pep talk on how to live the artistic life

Hayao Miyazaki-scripted 90s teen romance sees an aspiring writer drawn to a potential soulmate thanks to library books and a curmudgeonly cat While 2013’s The Wind Rises and 2023’s The Boy and the Heron saw Hayao Miyazaki break his wizard’s staff, artistically speaking, this lesser-known Studio Ghibli cut from 1995, based on his screenplay, shows he was dwelling on creative responsibilities from early on. Featuring a typical Ghibli protagonist on the brink of adulthood – aspiring schoolkid writer Shizuku (voiced by Yōko Honna) – this teen romance doubles up as an earnest pep talk on how to commit to the artistic life. It’s not quite as sophisticated, though, in its understanding of the interplay between imagination and reality as Miyazaki’s later masterpieces. It also features highly inventive use of that 2010s soundtrack favourite: John Denver’s Take Me Home, Country Roads . Shizuku sho

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Hayao Miyazaki-scripted 90s teen romance sees an aspiring writer drawn to a potential soulmate thanks to library books and a curmudgeonly cat While 2013’s The Wind Rises and 2023’s The Boy and the Heron saw Hayao Miyazaki break his wizard’s staff, artistically speaking, this lesser-known Studio Ghibli cut from 1995, based on his screenplay, shows he was dwelling on creative responsibilities from early on. Featuring a typical Ghibli protagonist on the brink of adulthood – aspiring schoolkid writer Shizuku (voiced by Yōko Honna) – this teen romance doubles up as an earnest pep talk on how to commit to the artistic life. It’s not quite as sophisticated, though, in its understanding of the interplay between imagination and reality as Miyazaki’s later masterpieces. It also features highly inventive use of that 2010s soundtrack favourite: John Denver’s Take Me Home, Country Roads . Shizuku sho

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According to The Guardian’s source item, Whisper of the Heart review – Studio Ghibli deep cut is pep talk on how to live the artistic life, Hayao Miyazaki-scripted 90s teen romance sees an aspiring writer drawn to a potential soulmate thanks to library books and a curmudgeonly cat While 2013’s The Wind Rises and 2023’s The Boy and the Heron saw Hayao Miyazaki break his wizard’s staff, artistically speaking, this lesser-known Studio Ghibli cut from 1995, based on his screenplay, shows he was dwelling on creative responsibilities from early on. Featuring a typical Ghibli protagonist on the brink of adulthood – aspiring schoolkid writer Shizuku (voiced by Yōko Honna) – this teen romance doubles up as an earnest pep talk on how to commit to the artistic life. It’s not quite as sophisticated, though, in its understanding of the interplay between imagination and reality as Miyazaki’s later masterpieces. It also features highly inventive use of that 2010s soundtrack favourite: John Denver’s Take Me Home, Country Roads . Shizuku sho

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Primary source: Whisper of the Heart review – Studio Ghibli deep cut is pep talk on how to live the artistic life via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.

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