Whisper of the Heart

Written by Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle) and directed by Yoshifumi Kondo, 1995's Whisper of the Heart follows teenage schoolgirl Shizuku on her summer vacation. In a Lewis Carroll-worthy lapse from reality, Shizuku pursues a cat riding on a train, which leads her to Seiji, a teenage boy with a talent for building violins. To Shizuku's surprise, Seiji becomes the first object of her affection. What is genuinely winning here is how sweet and sincere the young love story plays out: the protagonists act and sound like real teenagers, not an adult's idealized version of how teens should behave. Shizuku herself is a full-textured and truly memorable creation—a girl who is slowly and awkwardly making the journey from girlhood to adulthood during the course of a first romance. Although the film's fantasy elements sometimes seem at odds with the richness of the love story, Whisper of the Heart is a wonderful anime that should appeal to a wide audience. Rated G, and presented in a dual-language double-disc set, DVD extras include the option to view the entire film using just the original storyboards (on the second disc), and a “Behind the Microphone” featurette on voice cast members (including Courtney Thorne-Smith and Cary Elwes). Highly recommended. Aud: P. (P. Hall)[DVD and Blu-ray/DVD Combo Review—Jan. 23, 2018—Shout! Factory, 111 min., G, DVD: $19.98, Blu-ray/DVD Combo: $29.95—Making its latest appearance on DVD and Blu-ray, 1995's Whisper of the Heart features a fine transfer and a DTS-HD 5.1 soundtrack. Extras include feature-length storyboards (111 min.), “Four Masterpieces of Naohisa Inoue: From Start to Finish” with the fantasy artist (35 min.), a “Behind-the-Microphone” segment (8 min.), background artwork from “The Baron's Story” (5 min.), and a booklet. Bottom line: an excellent edition of this wonderful Studio Ghibli anime classic.]