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Title: Disappointing
Review: I am a fan of Miyazaki's films and was unhappy with this recent release. Yes, it's for a younger age group, but kids are pretty sharp and I felt that the movie was dumbed down unnecessarily. The visuals are fantastic, but the story plods along, and after a while I was just waiting for it to be over. I never felt any connection to the characters and just plain didn't care what happened to them, which to me means the movie missed its mark. Also, some things happened that seemed totally nonsensical--for example, the mother drives with her son through flooding streets and a dangerous storm rather than follow the official's advice to evacuate. Why put your son in danger like that? Other things happened and I felt that there was no explanation given for them, leaving the story feeling choppy. I wouldn't bother to watch this movie; I felt that it skated on the reputation of an admired artist and didn't deserve the credit it received.
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