“House Searching” (やどさがし, pronounced “Yadosagashi”), the 3rd Ghibli Museum short that I caught, was in a word – fun ! The story is simple enough – a spirited young girl name Fuki, in search of a new house, embarks on a journey into the unknown wilderness, and in her travels encounter a forest not only teeming with intriguing inhabitants, but very much alive in itself.
“House Searching” is somewhat unique among the Ghibli Shorts (or any anime for that matter) because the star of the show is not just the lively animation, but the whimsical sound effects as well; the vooming of speeding cars, the rustling of trees in the wind, all wonderfully mimicked by a voice actor behind a microphone. The sound effects are accompanied by colorful, animated Japanese Katakana characters (akin to the ones that appear in manga) that fl0w through the entire duration of the short.
The short also has a very distinct, simple look – vivid colors, but no cell shading ! These are rare to come by; the only other anime I know that doesn’t employ cell shading is Okiura Hiroyuki’s Jinroh.
The background art was painted with crayons to give it the look of a children’s picture book.
(below) Grubs scurry about for some ramen leftovers – the scene reminds me of the Makkurokurosuke in Spirited Away, during feeding time.
At first glance, “House Searching” might look like a simple film, both in its austere visual style and straight forward story, but as with many a Miyazaki film it carries an important, underlying message reminding us to respect and care for the natural environment, from which we have taken so much from. (below) Didn’t we see that forest deity enjoying a nice hot bath in Spirited Away ?
(above) The sound effects were voiced by Tamori-san, a very popular television show host and comedian.
The screenshots from the book really doesn’t do this animation justice – you have to watch the short to see just how amazing it is : below is a rare glimpse of some scenes from a YouTube clip :
Anyone saw “House Searching” during their trip to Ghibli Museum ? :]
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Ghibli Museum Anime Shorts Part II – Mei And The Kitten Bus
Ghibli Museum Anime Shorts Part I – The Day I Bought A Star
The View From Totoro’s Cat Bus – Ghibli Museum Exhibition
Ponyo on the Cliff Art Exhibition at the Ghibli Museum – Preview
Ghibli Museum Catalogue Book Review
March 12th, 2009 at 10:45 am
she bears a resemblance to pippi longstockings!
March 12th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
I’m not fond of the crayon-like style – the sound that the stream-creature makes is also quite unpleasant
I’m more interested in the realistic, detailed styles that they use for Mononoke, Spirited Away, and the new short “The Day I Bought A Star”
March 15th, 2009 at 3:38 am
tragic comedy – You’re absolutely right ! :]
olivia – Yes indeed, this short is quite different in style from the usual Miyazaki work, but I like it all the same ! :]
March 22nd, 2009 at 9:21 am
Haha ^^ nice, is there a section to follow the RSS feed
February 1st, 2011 at 3:26 pm
Ghibili has sure gone a long way to gain popularity
April 26th, 2015 at 1:27 am
this is one of 2 ghibli shorts i really want to see (the other being the water spider short). now that ghibli is being restructured im hoping theyll release the shorts on blu-ray.
April 26th, 2015 at 1:30 am
oh yeah given one of the comments above me, this short looks like miyazaki’s consolation prize of a finished pippi longstocking project
April 26th, 2015 at 4:45 pm
martin – Now that you mention it she does resemble Pipi. I too hope that the Ghibli Museum shops will eventually get released on video, but there has been no word so far. :\