Blu-ray/DVD Reviews: “Castle in the Sky,” “My Neighbor Totoro,” “Kiki’s Delivery Service,” and “Ponyo”

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His name is spoken in reverent tones by animation lovers, but as far as the wider American marketplace is concerned, Hayao Miyazaki barely exists; his 2009 release, Ponyo, probably played to fewer theaters than the asinine Fly Me to the Moon, and Ponyo received far and away the biggest U.S. push of any film in Miyazaki’s distinguished career.

Now that I’ve lamented Miyazaki’s low commercial profile in the States, this is the spot where I’d traditionally take a shot at Disney and its marquee-crowding, female psyche-twisting princesses — but empires aren’t always evil, and as a case in point, here’s a lovely, Disney-sponsored series of Miyazaki reissues, crowned with Ponyo‘s Blu-ray debut.

If you’ve never watched a Miyazaki film, it’s probably important to note that while not all of his movies are appropriate for young children, they’re all childlike in some way; he tends to favor young protagonists, for one thing, and then there’s the matter of his endlessly inventive cast of supporting creature characters. Watching a Miyazaki movie, you’re never sure whether you’re seeing the jaw-droppingly beautiful work of an unbridled genius or just the byproduct of an awful lot of drugs. Either way, they’re all enjoyable — all classics in their own way. Now, on top of getting Ponyo on Blu-ray, consumers can own expanded versions of Castle in the Sky (1986), My Neighbor Totoro (1988), and Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989). Continue reading →

CD Review: Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem, “Ranky Tanky”

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I’ll get right to the point: I love this album. A lot. I’d never heard Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem before Ranky Tanky arrived in my mailbox, but they’ve made themselves a fan for life, and I’m seeking out their albums for grown-ups as soon as I finish writing this review.

You know what to expect as soon as you lay eyes on the brightly colored, hand-drawn look of the album cover, and when you flip open the CD, those first impressions are reinforced with a picture of the band riding on a trolley and wielding acoustic guitars, fiddles, ukuleles, and wide open smiles. A few inches to the right, and you’re looking at liner notes that include instrumental credits for bottles, jawharp, kalimba, kazoo, harmonium, and some truly weird stuff, like balloon and veggie baster. You get the picture, right? This here’s a back porch kindie jamboree.

Which is all well and good, but all the fingerpicking and fiddling in the world can’t cover up for crummy songs; happily, Rani Arbo and Daisy Mayhem have lined up a towering stack of venerable standards (such as “The Green Grass Grows All Around”) and clever covers (The Meters’ “They All Ask’d for You,” John Gorka’s “Branching Out,” Tom Petty’s “Wildflowers,” Renee & Jeremy’s “It’s a Big World”) to go with more obviously kid-friendly fare (“If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out,” “Purple People Eater”). The arrangements are solid, the playing is impeccable, the production is clear and warm, and the vocals beam in like sunshine on a spring afternoon. What else can I say? I love this album, and I think you — and I guess more importantly, your kids — will love it too. But don’t just take my word for it — hear some samples here. (Then go buy the darn thing.)

CD Review: “Coal Train Railroad”

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The idea of “jazz for kids” might seem as condescending, and as fraught with cheeseball peril, as “science for kids” or VeggieTales or anything else that’s supposed to dumb down supposedly adult material for little brains. And honestly, unless you’re trying to teach your kids about harmolodics, you can pretty much play jazz for your kids without worrying that they won’t be able to appreciate it. Chances are you don’t know your major sixths from your minor sevenths, but you can still appreciate Kind of Blue, right? Right.

Still, it’s hard to argue with anyone who wants to build a jazz gateway for kids, especially when they give it a name as clever as the Coal Train Railroad (say it out loud), or when they kick off the album by asking “what makes that coal train go?” Running the jazz (and jazz-ish) spectrum from jump blues to torch ballads, Coal Train Railroad puts singer Katy Bowser’s supple vocals in front of a crack combo and some smart, easy-to-digest arrangements. Think of it as sort of a jazzy audio equivalent of Bugsy Malone; when she slows down the tempo, Bowser croons like Linda Ronstadt on her Nelson Riddle records, but instead of looking for someone to watch over her, she’s looking for a nap.

It’s fun, well-made stuff. And if it mostly just leaves you wanting to listen to some Brubeck, Jobim, or Ella, then I suppose that’s sort of the point, right?

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