Will be really interesting to see how this is gonna be received here in the west. It's a weird one. Couldn't help myself to actually feel disappointed after the credits rolled, and a lot of people in the audience felt the same way. It's super vague, the story jumps constantly, new ideas and (seemingly) new plotlines are constantly opened but never resolved. It's confusing. And because of this, I just never really cared about any of the characters. Which is something that usually never happens to me in a Ghibli film...no emotional attachement whatsoever. After sleeping over it and reading some reviews and interepretations from Japan, I can accept and respect the film much more now. It's a supposedly final goodbye from Miyazaki, a potpourrie of his ideas and visions, a micro-history of Ghibli itself. It's fine. But it's not for me and probably a lot of other people. But that's okay.

I could not stay awake or fall asleep. Son 11 and daughter 19 who are both Gibli fans and have seen all of the movies did not like it. I did not like it much either but in its defense I prefer the action Gibli like Nononoke or Nausica rather than the artsier ones like Spirited, Castle etc.

A little boy who lost his mother in a fire is tormented by Danny De Vito disguised as a heron. The original title is taken from a Japanese novel from the thirties, but the film's plot is actually a loose adaptation of John Connolly's "The Book of Lost Things." Needless to say, we’re embarking on another journey into a fantastic world full of references and metaphors that only Miyazaki understands without caring about his audience. We’re asked to find our own interpretation, and personally, I saw it more as a tribute to the works that inspired Miyazaki over the years rather than mere references to his own films, as if he is pointing out that each generation’s narrative and cultural baggage are a product of the previous, in a continuous passing of the torch.

The first part, laid-back and contemplative, oddly left a stronger impression on me, aided by the beautiful music and landscapes. However, once the magical journey began, I found the whole thing extremely cloying and narratively disjointed. Certainly, there are various fascinating sceneries and memorable moments, but the whole picture failed to convince me. In short, my basic review of most of Ghibli’s films.

Why did the mean parakeet [spoiler]destroy the world?[/spoiler] ):

I don’t feel like I’m stupid, I enjoy cerebral movies, nonlinear plot lines, metaphors, and references. This movie felt like a portmanteau of unfulfilled ideas with no clear message. Is it about grief? Kind of but not really. Is it about moving on? Kind of but not really. Rejecting destiny? Kind of but not really.

There’s no clear theme, message, goal or plot. I asked the stranger next to me in the theater if she got it as soon as the credits rolled and she said no.

I think this will be a controversial movie. The story is about grief and can only be understood if you take it as an allegory. If you try to understand it at face value, you will be confused and disappointed, like some of the commenters here. By the way, this is kind of storytelling is not that far fetched from Ghibli movies, but this is certainly not as easy to consume as Totoro, for example. As someone who lost two parents a year ago, this was highly emotional for me and it made a lot of sense.

There are ratings before the release? Damn the time travelers are busy.

Interesting to read the polarizing response, especially since that’s how I feel about it, personally polarized whether I enjoyed this or not.

Both my partner and I had the exact same feeling about it on the drive home, it certainly feels like there’s a bigger allegory or metaphor happening, but whatever it was is completely lost on us. For a timeline bending multiverse fantasy world, it could have had a more obvious narrative, but in the end felt like just a highlight real of imaginative animation (which is great as expected).

Also first half of the film could have either a.) been cut in half or b.) been time used for better world building in the tower. The first part of the movie is so drawn out I was concerned I wouldn’t even make it awake through the whole movie with the rate it was pacing.

I definitely understood it all, that’s for sure

Feel like this didn’t connect for me as much as it did everyone else. I thought that the animation was gorgeous. I ended up seeing the English dub and I thought it was OK. Some audio performances were noticeably bad at times. Robert Patterson was really good though and I can’t believe it was him. I thought that the film was just a little confusing to me and I struggled to grasp all the grandiose ideology that was going on, it also felt a little boring at times but not to a point where I was taking out of it. Maybe on a rewatch will help it click more.