Universal Non-Appeal.

I just watched a Japanese animated fantasy film called My Neighbour Tortoro. It was quite charming, with keenly observed characters, well crafted animation, and an engaging plot. They also retained the original soundtrack with subtitles, rather than damning it with dreadful dubbing as they often do.

For me, however, there was one problem. All the main (human) characters except ‘Granny’ looked more European than Japanese, something I also noticed in the last Japanese animation I watched. I assume this is done for commercial reasons, to make the characters more emotionally accessible to European and American audiences. I suppose it gives the film more universal appeal and makes it more lucrative.

That’s a shame. When I watch a film from another culture, it’s the culture I want to see. Can you imagine what Seven Samurai would look like if it had been made with a cast of European actors?