Grounding a Romance in Memories
Grounding a Romance in Memories Give this article Umi and Shun in "From Up on Poppy Hill." Credit... Chizuru Takahashi/Tetsuro Sayama/GNDHDDT By Mekado Murphy March 7, 2013 Audiences familiar with the films of the Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli may be surprised to find no witches, forest spirits, wolf-goddesses or dragons in its latest production. “From Up on Poppy Hill” follows a more reality-based narrative — a budding romance between high school students, Umi (voiced by Sarah Bolger in the English-language version) and Shun (Anton Yelchin) — reflecting a place and time in Japanese history: the port city of Yokohama in 1963, as preparations for the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo are under way. “Poppy Hill” is the second feature directed by Goro Miyazaki, the son of the Studio Ghibli co-founder and filmmakerHayao Miyazaki. And it is their most creative collaboration. The elder Mr. Miyazaki, with Keiko Niwa, adapted the screenplay from a 1980 graphic novel. Despite a story...