Starring: Sarah Bolger, Anton Yelchin, Jamie Lee Curtis & Gillian Anderson
Directed by: Goro Miyazaki

Animated by: Studio Ghibli
Release Date: July 2011
Running Time: 92 mins

Synopsis: Yokohama, 1963. Japan is picking itself up from the devastation of World War II and preparing to host the Olympics. Against this backdrop of hope and change, a friendship begins to blossom between high school students Umi and Shun – but a buried secret from their past emerges to cast a shadow on the future and pull them apart.

[Note: this review contains major SPOILERS]

After the lukewarm reception to his Studio Ghibli debut, Tales from Earthsea, it would be five years until Goro Miyazaki would step back into the director’s chair – swapping out the high fantasy and dragons for a more personal tale of young love set in 1960s Japan. As the eldest son of famed animator and co-creator of Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki, it was inevitable that there would naturally be comparisons to his father’s work and while Tales from Earthsea lacked the same spark that the elder Miyazaki would imbue into films such as Princess Mononoke and Howl’s Moving Castle, it was enough to earn him a second chance to direct a feature film for the studio. Studio Ghibli has always had a diverse portfolio of stories ranging from the spiritual to the mundane, but at the core of each adventure is a focus on that transitory phase from childhood into adulthood. With his sophomore effort, From Up On Poppy Hill, the younger Miyazaki sought to bring that theme into greater focus than he did with his first film by choosing to adapt the 1980s manga, Coquelicot-zaka kara.

From the outset, From Up On Poppy Hill accurately captures the cosiness of a Studio Ghibli film as Goro Miyazaki focuses on establishing the atmosphere and ambience of 1960s Japan for the audience – a key trait in Studio Ghibli films as far back as My Neighbour Totoro. Each frame radiates nostalgia for a past era – one that I was never part of, but can experience vicariously through its depiction in this film. While some of the customs and cultural elements might not translate as well to an English audience – things like the flags and the clubhouse itself – I still found the film to be very emotive, and I suspect that the post-war Japan setting would resonate even more for Japanese audiences. The animation maintains the same high standard as other films from the Studio Ghibli catalogue, and I found myself marveling at the attention to detail in scenes set in the cluttered old clubhouse, or the busy streets of Tokyo. While the film itself is absent of any ‘magic’, it still manages to capture that distinctive aura inherent in a Studio Ghibli film, transporting its viewers to a whole new world – whether it be filled with forest spirits or ordinary school-children.

The film focuses on the relationship between Umi (Sarah Bolger) and Shun (Anton Yelchin), two high school students who grow closer when the pair work together to save an old school clubhouse from being shut down. Umi is usually focused on helping run the boarding house owned by his grandmother, but her involvement in restoring the clubhouse forces her to make time in her social calendar for fun and romance and not just her duties. She is a girl defined by responsibility, grief, and the unspoken pressure to hold her household together. Her world is small, structured, and shaped by routine, which makes her gradual opening‑up to Shun feel genuinely tender. The aging clubhouse at the heart of the film not only brings the two love interests together, but it is also an apt metaphor for Japanese tradition, and the decision to knock it down stems from the country’s desire to rebuild and modernize itself in the wake of the Second World War. Miyazaki gently weaves these themes into his story, underscoring his nostalgic trip down memory lane with an accurate depiction of the mood of post-war Japan. There are no real stakes or tension to the story – this is Studio Ghibli at its most cosy – telling an upbeat Bildungsroman story about growing up whilst effortlessly showcasing such evocative world-building and characters.

Everyone remembers their first major crush, whether it was requited or not, and the feelings that came with that experience; From Up On Poppy Hill invites its viewers to revisit those feelings through its depictions of a young romance between high-schoolers Umi and Shun. The shy awkwardness, furtive glances and slow bond between the two is eerily familiar to anyone who was ever an awkward teenager – which is pretty much all of us – and Miyazaki’s take on that feels like a universal truth. Unfortunately, the film veers off in an unexpected direction with a revelation that turns the fledging relationship on its head – spoiling the innocence and creating unnecessary melodrama. Midway through the film, Shun discovers that Umi’s father is actually the same father who gave him up for adoption when he was a baby – making the near-couple brother and sister. Understandably, this causes a lot of confused feelings for the pair, grappling with romantic feelings whilst coming to terms with a potential sibling relationship instead. Shun himself states, “this is like some bad melodrama”, acknowledging just how left-field the twist is.

The twist is very off-brand for a Studio Ghibli movie, and while there is a solution that ensures that every character does get their happy ending (thank goodness!), it feels shamelessly over-dramatic for what is meant to be a cosy ‘coming of age’ storyline. Obviously, this could be something that was in the original source material, but I do think Studio Ghibli could have removed this plot point and no-one would have complained – or if it was going to go down this route, it should have committed to it fully and made the whole ending about Umi coming to terms with the truth and accepting Shun as the brother she never had, thus filling the hole left by her father’s demise. As it is, the film ends with a forced chase sequence for the truth, which basically retcons the whole affair as a convoluted misunderstanding and allows our couple to recommence their budding romance, hopefully choosing not to mention “the week that they thought they were brother and sister” to their grandchildren. Without the twist, From Up On Poppy Hill is another gentle example of Studio Ghibli’s expressive storytelling, taking viewers to worlds they’ve never been to, but making them seem familiar and comfortable immediately. However, the inclusion of such a contentious plot twist ensures that the twist itself becomes the main talking point of the film, robbing the focus away from Goro Miyazaki’s best attempt yet at replicating his father’s work.

From Up On Poppy Hill bears all of the familiar hallmarks of a Studio Ghibli film, specifically the likes of Only Yesterday and Ocean Waves, which steered away from fantasy elements and focused more on the shared human experience of adolescence. While its 1960s Tokyo setting may be more culturally resonant with Japanese audiences, I still found it to be extremely enchanting – especially the sequence where Umi and her younger sister travelled throughout the chaotic floors of their school clubhouse. The animation is absolutely spectacular, as one would expect from the studio and whilst the story is extremely low-stakes compared to the likes of Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle, it maintains its nostalgic sea-side charm throughout. For the most part, Goro Miyazaki does a great job at capturing the essence of his father’s work – certainly better than the blandness of his debut film, Tales from Earthsea – although the inclusion of a “bad soap opera” twist midway through the film suggests that he still might not fully grasp what makes Studio Ghibli film tonally unique to other animation studios out there. In short, From Up On Poppy Hill is a solid sophomore effort from the younger Miyazaki, and the best way to describe it is that it’s a charming Studio Ghibli facsimile — gorgeous, nostalgic, and heartfelt — but still unmistakably a copy, not the master’s hand.

From Up On Poppy Hill is available on Blu-Ray and DVD from Amazon UK, as well as available to stream on Netflix.