Whisper of the Heart - Reviews

Alt title: Mimi wo Sumaseba

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MsJones72's avatar
May 30, 2019

Best love story ever. Omg Ghibli Studios is amazing. This love story teaches that you need to finish school to become better and little wiser. I love this story but I love all of Ghiblis films. I would so recommend this film. I give it a 100 💯!!!

10/10 story
10/10 animation
10/10 sound
10/10 characters
10/10 overall
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JTurner82's avatar
Feb 6, 2020

Yoshifumi Kondo's first and only film for Studio Ghibli (he died a few years after it was completed), Whisper of the Heart, is an absolute delight. Gentle but not syrupy, this modern-day story about a girl and boy discovering that they have a lot in common is beautifully animated, compellingly characterized, and full of heart (pun intended).

Based on a graphic-novel by Aoi Hiragi with a script by Hayao Miyazaki, the movie centers on Shizuku Tsukishima, a somewhat absent-minded but sympathetic young High School student who would rather read books from the library rather than study for her school tests. Shizuku discovers that a certain Seiji Amasawa checks out the same books that she does, as detailed on the library checkout cards. When Shizuku first meets Seiji in person, she thinks he's a "stupid jerk" (he makes a somewhat snide remark about her supposedly "corny" writing abilities), but she soon discovers that he is a strangely gentle fellow who longs to become a violinist yet feels that his playing isn't as good as others say it is. Shizuku can relate to this, given that she doubts her talents as a writer. The story takes a dramatic turn when Shizuku discovers that Seiji will be temporarily leaving for Italy to train as a violinist. This inspires Shizuku to pursue her own talent, and she proceeds to write her first story.

At the surface, this would sound like a rather simple love story, but that's not all Whisper of the Heart has going for it. Miyazaki's screenplay ingeniously allows the viewers to identify with Shizuku as she expresses the following emotions: frustration, disappointment, fear, joy, and vulnerability. This is displayed not only in her growing relationship with Seiji, but with her daily interactions with her friends, family, and her inner thoughts. We even see Shizuku deal with humiliation (and even guilt) when a boy reveals he had a crush on her all along, yet she only considered him a friend. Sometimes certain movies can delve a little too much on these angst-ridden elements, but in Whisper of the Heart, this is handled in a way that is not so overbearing (or frustrating even) to the viewer.

The film also works in a subplot involving a captivating antique shop containing all kinds of sparkling treasures, including a charming statuette of a cat known as "Baron". The kindly owner, Mr. Nishi, is warm and supportive of Shizuku, especially when she decides to write her story based on the aforementioned "Baron" statue. He reminded me of Uncle Pom from Castle in the Sky, a similarly gentle old man who sadly only showed up for one scene; having this kind of character play an even bigger role in Whisper of the Heart is a delight.

Speaking of which, the scenes where Shizuku imagines her story are among the movie's most imaginatively animated moments. The film's artwork, typical of Ghibli, is top notch, but one particular sequence (one of the studio's first experiments with computer animation) is especially stunning. Here we see the Baron come alive and escort a fair young maiden (who strangely resembles Shizuku) across a graceful sky of floating islets. The character of the Baron is quite charismatic and one of the more memorable characters in the film; the only other notable feline we see is a pudgy furball known as Moon (aka Muta), who appears quite grumpy whenever Shizuku tries to talk to him.

Incidentally, both of these felines appeared in another Studio Ghibli production, The Cat Returns, a pleasant but merely forgettable family flick considered by many (myself included) as an inferior spin-off. Not that Hiroyuki Morita's film doesn't have any charm, but Whisper of the Heart has something that The Cat Returnsdidn't have, hence why it holds up better.

Interestingly, John Denver's immortal "Take Me Home, Country Roads" plays a crucial part in the story: the first half of the movie deals with Shizuku trying to translate the song into Japanese. This part of the story obviously gave Disney a lot of problems in terms of translation, hence why it was delayed from its English release for quite some time. Fortunately, their dub handles it in a way that remains true to the original intent, yet at the same time makes it easier for American audiences to connect with. Here Shizuku tries to write her own lyrics for the song, with each attempt improving as she learns to write from the heart. This approach works rather well, as I could sense little, if any, lost in the translation.

As much as I've heard people criticize Disney for the actors they've chosen to voice the characters in their dubs for Ghibli's works, I have practically enjoyed every one of their voice casts (save perhaps The Wind Rises). Whisper of the Heart is another one of my favorite dubs from them. As the insecure Shizuku, Brittany Snow speaks in a very expressive, believable way without being saccharine, and has an equally lovely singing voice. David Gallagher provides an excellent contrast to Snow through his understated yet effective turn as Seiji. (Amusingly, both are Kingdom Hearts veterans. Even if you do make the connection, nothing takes away from their performances.) Cary Elwes reprises his role as the debonair Baron from The Cat Returns. His performance was the highlight of that film, and it is a pleasure to hear him again here. The person who takes the prize for best acting in the dub, though, is Harold Gould, who brings just the right amount of warmth, poignancy, and compassion to the kindly Mr. Nishi. Of course there will always be fans who prefer the Japanese version, but for me, the dub gets my vote.

However you choose to see Whisper of the Heart, this is another winner from one of Japan's greatest animation studios. I never expected to love it as much as I did, and chances are you will too, if you allow yourself to be charmed by its warm heart.

8/10 story
10/10 animation
10/10 sound
10/10 characters
10/10 overall
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HypnoSpeaker's avatar
Feb 27, 2023

I'm gonna be honest, I don't understand why people rate this particular movie so highly. I mean, sure, it's studio ghibli, but i feel like that means that it would be held to higher standards. I came into the beginning of the film thinking it was going to be interesting, and left remembering none of the plot points. Nothing happened. Ghibli has proven they can do a movie where nothing happens with My neighbor totoro, but this movie was literally nothing. No plotpoints were ever wrapped up, there was a romance story that was inconsequential, the cat that was given so much notice throughout the movie didn't really have any sort of major plot point, the boy that went to italy was a mediocre character, and the main character's sister was even less than mediocre. The sister moved out and I just did not care at all because nothing important ever happened in this movie. I could not get attached to any of the characters, except for the old man that talked to the main character. Stuff just kind of happened without rhyme or reason in this show. It would work better as an episodic anime than a movie. Ghibli makes a lot of good movies but this is the first one i've seen that really fell flat for me.

3/10 story
9/10 animation
7/10 sound
4/10 characters
5/10 overall
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SophieByers's avatar
May 29, 2021

If it weren't for those false advertisements, I would have loved that film. Whisper of the Heart is a slice of life, drama, and romance film which are my favorite genres. However, the trailers and even the box art makes it look an adventure film with a young teenage girl and an anthropomorphic cat. 

8/10 story
7/10 animation
9/10 sound
8/10 characters
8/10 overall
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oyaoyaoya31's avatar
Nov 8, 2022

      PERSONAL FAVORITE

10/10 story
10/10 animation
?/10 sound
10/10 characters
10/10 overall
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