Studio Ghibli's latest animated feature "From Up on Poppy Hill" by Goro Miyazaki, son of legendary animator Hayao Miyazaki, is a watchable film, though it lacks memorable moments. It is quite safe to say that this is no comparison to any works found on Miyazaki senior's Ghibli resume. Nevertheless, the film does show some improvements on Miyazaki junior's part as a second time director.

When the Japanese animation studio announced that Hayao Miyazaki's son Goro, a newcomer to the animation trade, would helm his first film "Tales from the Earthsea," it sounded as if the studio was unveiling its long hidden secret weapon. On all previous occasions, the studio had only offered directorial projects to its long-time, highly experienced animators. Miyazaki junior, in addition to his lineage, must possess some very special gifts. If not, there appears to be no logical explanation for the studio's bold decision.

Unfortunately, it seemed Goro was no legit protégé after all. "Tales from Earthsea" is widely considered to be the worst film released by Studio Ghibli to date. It carries no story or character depiction whatsoever. All it has is a Ghibli veneer in terms of its animation style. It is simply a waste of animation, voice and musical talent. Therefore, I strongly suspected that Goro got the job just because he is a Miyazaki.

This time around, the director seemed to have learned a lot from his first picture. Least of all, he tries to tell a story in "From Up on Poppy Hill," although without much depth. The film tells the tale of young high school love, set against the background of the run-up to the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games. It recreates the Japanese society from back in the days and portrays the then campus life of your average Japanese high school.

The film takes some twists and turns, centering on the relationship between the main characters and the students' endeavor to save an old campus building from being demolished. It tries to create some funny moments, but these more often than not turn out to be relatively awkward. The film, fairly slow-paced in rhythm and digressive in storytelling, fails to provide any unforgettable moments or scenes.

Judging from this picture, Miyazaki junior may have potential as an animation director. But he will need to go through a long period of apprenticeship to live up to the Ghibli standards set by his father and co-founder Isao Takahata. The road to success will be long and winding.

It is not exaggerated to say that Ghibli Studio is currently suffering a serious directorial talent shortage. Hayao Miyazaki, 71 and Isao Takahata, 77 will take a back seat soon. But there are no obvious successors to take on their positions as leading directors of the studio. For the past five years, it has been very worrying to see the decline in quality of Ghibli pictures.

Personally, I think that now the time may have come for the studio to gradually start adjusting its system if it seeks to maintain its status within the global film scene.

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