CinemaClown Gorō Miyazaki's sophomore effort finds the new director in better control of his craft and is a much improved feature that is brought to life with fine elegance, patience & composure. And while there are a few things that could've been better executed, it is a delightfully sweet & engaging movie for the most part.Set in Yokohama, Japan during the 1960s, the story of From Up on Poppy Hill follows a high school girl who one day meets a member of the school clubhouse and learns that their building is going to be demolished, following which she suggests renovating the dilapidated place in order to persuade the school's chairman to reconsider.Directed by Gorō Miyazaki, the film does benefit from Hayao Miyazaki's input in the screenplay, as its story has a more rigid structure, a better sense of where it is headed, and the arcs of two leads is wonderfully progressed. The characters are believable, their inner struggles are aptly portrayed and the high school ambiance evokes a nostalgic feel too.Production design team does a stellar job in recreating the 1960s scene while its lush camera-work adds more colours to the frames in order to intensify its vibrant tone. Editing is skilfully carried out for the most part although a couple of scenes did feel unnecessary. The background score further uplifts the entire experience and the voice actors do a fabulous job in their given roles.On an overall scale, From Up on Poppy Hill is by every means a sincerely crafted tale but it doesn't really bring anything new to the table. Its theme of long-lasting effect of war on future lives as well as the importance of preserving the past while heading into the future is effectively addressed but where it leaves the most lasting impression is in the gentleness of its narration & rich details of its period setting.

Kyle Cohen A simple coming of age story. The visuals, as always for Studio Ghibli, are amazing to look at. They certainly know how to create an immersive atmosphere. The characters and story are good, but don't stand out that much until the third act. That is when the emotions kick in. I don't know why but watching anime characters cry is a tough thing to get through! Maybe it's because the animation creates the emotion of sadness as if it were spilling out of the character. Anyways, it's extremely emotional and almost got me to tears. And that is the only sad point in the movie. The rest of it is extremely sweet and harmless. If you like Studio Ghibli and the trailer looks good to you, then you will probably enjoy this movie a lot.

Chris Freire This film is called From Up On Poppy Hill it's a weird name to me cause when I saw the movie it had nothing to do about a hill but it had something involving Poppy but I will explain that later. The movie's plot I won't explain cause this movie wasn't release in Most of The United States it was only in select theaters but I manage to find a nearby theater to watch it. After that it was great and I will explain things that is involve in the story. It's has to involve something about a difficult Romance,Parent Lost, and Saving something from being destroyed. The movie's not hard to follow but there are parts that can be difficult to find out and there is are few Twist in the movie that make it great I won't spoil it you have to watch the movie to understand.But the lesson I really love in the film which makes it strong It teaches how much family matters in life cause without it your on your own and how to survive to stand up for what you believe in some basic lessons that are done very well. Overall though it's a Fantastic well done anime film Parents and Kids will enjoy it and has great lessons to teach many. I recommend owning it on Blu-Ray and DVD

MartinHafer Goro Miyazaki odd Disney spent a lot for actors to do voices but gave film a very, very, very limited release boys in Latin Quarter are pretentious shall walk looking up--only song that cracked American Top 100 amazingly mundane for American audiences much more adult than past films brother and sister!!"Up From Poppy Hill" is a film set in Japan just before the Tokyo Olympics in 1964. I found the film very tedious and I think most Western audiences would feel this way. I assume it would probably play better in its native country, as nostalgia about 1960s Japan might induce some to see the film. As for me, it just seemed very slow and weak compared to other Studio Gibli efforts.The film concerns high school students. An old and tattered building named 'The Latin Quarter' near the school has been used as a meeting place for various clubs. However, the plan is to destroy it in order to make room for a venue for the upcoming Olympics. When the very nerdy kids who want to save the building try to mobilize the students, several girls join them in their crusade--and that is how Umi and Shun meet and slowly fall in love. Great? Maybe not, as later Shun thinks that Umi is his sister! What's next for them and The Latin Quarter? See the film...or not."Up on Poppy Hill" is a decent enough film--with really nice animation but an only moderately involving story. In many ways, it plays like a live action film and I wonder why it wasn't just made that way instead, as the film lacks cuteness, cute characters and the supernatural like most other Ghibli films.