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Whisper of the Heart | 
| Director: Yoshifumi Kondo
Actors: Youko Honna, Kazuo Takahashi, Takashi Tachibana, Shigeru Muroi, Shigeru Tsuyuguchi
Studio: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Category: DVD
List Price: $29.99
Buy Used: $19.00
You Save: $10.99 (37%)
New (34) Used (16) from $19.00
Rating:  66 reviews
Sales Rank: 2691
Format: Ac-3, Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), Japanese (Original Language)
Rating: G (General Audience)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number Of Discs: 2
Running Time: 111 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 02535000
UPC: 786936175318
EAN: 0786936175318
ASIN: B000CDGVOO
Theatrical Release Date: 1995
Release Date: March 7, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: previous rental disc machined buffed before sale- guaranteed no scratches. There is an address sticker (info crossed out) on center of disc YOU can choose to remove or not! May be sticker residue on display box from removal of rental stickers. Display box may also shows some wear. Ships 1st class!!
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Based on a manga by Aoi Hiiragi, the gentle coming-of-age story Whisper of the Heart (1995) was scripted and storyboarded by Hayao Miyazaki, and directed by the late Yoshifumi Kondo. Shizuku Tsukishima is an absent-minded, insecure junior high school student who reads book after book of fairy tales, helps her friends, and does most of her chores, but remains dissatisfied. When she encounters a wonderfully supercilious cat on the train, she follows him and meets Seiji Amasawa, a student in her class who hopes to become a violin maker. Seiji's commitment to his dream helps Shizuku find her voice, literally and figuratively: she realizes she wants to become a writer. A statue of a cat in the antique store of Seiji's kindly grandfather inspires her first story, "Whisper of the Heart." Shizuku and Seiji exhibit believable strengths and flaws: their warm humanity contrasts markedly with the shabby superficiality of the characters in many American animated films. The lively performances of Brittany Snow and David Gallagher transcend the geographic limits of the story to make Shizuku and Seiji the kids the viewer wishes lived next door. Miyazaki's script suggests that a sense of magic can exist, even in everyday Tokyo. Whisper of the Heart was the only film Yoshifumi Kondo directed before his untimely death at age 47, but its understated charm stands as a monument to his talent. (Rated G, suitable for ages 10 and older: tobacco use) --Charles Solomon
Product Description
From the creators of the Academy Award(R)-winning SPIRITED AWAY (Best Animated Feature Film 2002) comes a tale based on the screenplay from the legendary animator Hayao Miyazaki. During summer vacation a schoolgirl named Shizuku who longs to discover her true talents observes an ordinary-looking cat riding by himself on the train. Intrigued she decides to follow him. This chance encounter leads her to the mysterious Seiji a boy who is determined to follow his dreams and The Baron a magical cat figurine who helps her listen to the whispers in her heart. Soon Shizuku's exciting adventures carry her far beyond the boundaries of her imagination. Featuring extraordinary storytelling enchanting animation and an all-star voice cast this 2-disc set will inspire dreams and warm hearts of all ages. System Requirements:Running Time 111Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: G UPC: 786936175318 Manufacturer No: 02535000
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| Customer Reviews: Read 61 more reviews...
 Good, but lacks the overt magical charm of other Ghibli movies. August 17, 2008
Skyclad (Michigan)
I don't know... this is a good movie, but a bit slow and
kiddy" for me. I love the dream sequences and Carey Elwes does a good job in the English dub, but this is no Spirited Away.
Great Movie! July 1, 2008
Dean Pardo
I loved this movie!
It's been tough finding quality movies lately that are okay for my kids to watch but the treasure trove of movies from Ghibli continues to impress.
We recently bought Porco Rosso as well and I loved it too!
A heartwarming tale with a wonderful cast. (Volume 1: Part 10) June 23, 2008
Underground Reborn (ny)
When you watch a Studio Ghibli film you expect certain things. A fantastic cast of characters, an origional story line and moments that tug at all human emotions. 'Whisper of Heart' directed by Yoshifumi Kondo brings it all out in a heartwaming coming of age story.
Shazuku is a young 14 year old who is growing up following motions of ordinary life. Though she craves to live in the worlds of magic and fairytales, she always keeps brining herself back down to earth thinking she can never be her own person. Then with all the worries about getting into high school and helping her friends as they develop intrests in boys, her dreams are further from her reach than ever. Then one day she notices the same name showing up in all the library books she checked out and wonders who this mystery boy is who shares all these same intrests as her. Not realizing it's him at first she meets Saiji a guy with big ambitions and trying to find his own way to become a professional violin maker. Their friendship blossoms into a beautiful story like Shazukus' fairy tales and soon she is able to follow her dreams with the help of some unlikly friends.
'Whisper of the Heart' is such a warm movie that shows the togetherness of family, friendship and love. It is a movie that will whisk you away and melt your heart as you see a young girl realize that there is a place for her in the big world. All she has to do is listen to her heart.
One of the best May 21, 2008
][Chance][
Looking for a good love story with no fantasy or fairy tail BS in it? Just down to Earth good clean story of girl meets boy and hates him at first. I really love this story. It's wonderful characters keep you interests high through the whole movie.
Not your typical Ghibli film April 27, 2008
Keonyn (Minnesota, USA)
This is a great, though somewhat different, Studio Ghibli film. Make no mistake about it, this is a teenage love story, there's very little fantasy and no real action to speak of. It is still a very well told and heartfelt film though, and definitely has Ghibli's impressive storytelling written all over it.
The film tends to be pretty slow paced, but actually feels more realistic as a result. It is this sense of realism that is the movies greatest strength I've found. The characters and their behavior, their lives and how they live, and just about everything else has a sense of realism that you don't often get from this genre. So many movies/shows in this genre seem to have some kind of hook, but this film doesn't rely on one. Yeah, you have the minor fantasy sequences, but those aren't really a hook so much as a result of Shizuku's imagination. You'll know what I mean when you view it if you haven't.
It's great to see the relationship form, and then to witness how it effects Shizuku's life and how they deal with the hurdles placed before them. This relationship is really the focus of the story, and it only benefits from the sense of realism I mentioned previously.
The dub is pretty well done, though Seiji's performances was hit or miss. Overall he did a good job, but there were a few scenes where the delivery was a bit lacking. Cary Elwes pulls off a perfect sounding Baron yet again, even though his role in this film is significantly less than in "The Cat Returns". Brittany Snow played a great Shizuku and pulls off the scenes with singing wonderfully; she has a great singing voice. The use of "Country Roads" was actually pretty well done I thought, and it didn't feel strange at all; I mean, after watching this film I actually have the song stuck in my head now.
Despite the films age I did not feel that it suffered from it. The animation was terrific and the imagery didn't really make it feel dated. The artwork was great and is a testament to Ghibli that they can animate a plain modern city and still manage to impress the audience with the visuals. Their eye for detail is also strongly presented in this film, as you see the characters act or move in a manner that is more realistic, but many other studios wouldn't bother animating. Ghiblis attention to subtle details is one of the things that sets them apart. Seeing these subtleties and movements in a more familiar setting only makes their appearance that much more noticeable.
In the end this is yet another Ghibli great. For fans of their more unique films, this might be a bit of a disappointment though. This isn't a fantasy film, or sci-fi, nor does it have any action or a vital life or death plot to it. It's a love story through and through, but it's also a very well told love story with impressive storytelling to back it up.
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