Grant Watson Fiction Machine Dec 7, 2023 8/10

Miyazaki is a fascinating person, and The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness pulls no punches in reflecting him at his worst as well as his best

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Carolyn Cox The Mary Sue Aug 2, 2017

If you think a documentary about Studio Ghibli might appeal to you, stop wasting your time with me and start streaming The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness.

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Joe Bendel Epoch Times Jun 13, 2016 3.5/5

A fitting coda to a great career.

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Amanda Waltz The Film Stage Feb 25, 2016 A-

[It] does the world a service by chronicling and preserving, in a most charming and understated way, Miyazaki-era Ghibli and the human element beneath its creative genius.

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Marty Mapes Movie Habit Jun 12, 2015 2.5/4

One last peek behind the curtain at the masterful Studio Ghibli

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Brian Gibson Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Alberta) May 25, 2015

Mami Sunada's documentary, while quite the insider's and fan's film, is also a deeply elegiac portrait of the labour and laboriousness, flecked with uncertainty and doubt, behind some of the finest art- and imagination-fuelled films of the past 30 years.

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J. R. Jones Chicago Reader Apr 30, 2015

For film buffs it's worthwhile viewing.

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Jessica Kiang The Playlist Jan 31, 2015 B+

If the magic of this magic kingdom is no longer concentrated in this particular pile of bricks and mortar on the outskirts of Tokyo, we can take heart in the fact that it's immortalized forever in every frame of every film that Ghibli ever made.

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John Beifuss Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) Jan 29, 2015 3.5/4

Miyazaki dispenses endlessly quotable observations. For example: 'Filmmaking only brings suffering... How do we know movies are even worthwhile? If you really think about it, is this not just some grand hobby?'

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Tasha Robinson The Dissolve Jan 26, 2015 3/5

Like Ghibli's features, Kingdom is a friendly, elegiac, approachable movie. But it lacks the studio's well-polished sense of energy and commitment.

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Jake Mulligan Movie Mezzanine Dec 30, 2014 A-

A work this vast...should not remain a footnote in the Ghibli canon.

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S. Jhoanna Robledo Common Sense Media Dec 12, 2014 3/5

Go behind the scenes at Studio Ghibli, see Miyazaki at work.

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Alee Karim Under the Radar Dec 5, 2014 4/10

Sunada-san's privileged access doesn't uncover enough serendipitous magic or compelling drama to justify the two-hour runtime.

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Brian Tallerico RogerEbert.com Nov 28, 2014 3/4

If you're not enraptured with the work of Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata and the rest of the artists at Ghibli, it may not be precisely what you're looking for, but Sanada captures something poetic about art and creativity ...

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Ben Kenigsberg New York Times Nov 28, 2014

This affectionate documentary is more of a bonbon for longtime fans than an entryway for a broader audience.

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Ethan Alter Film Journal International Nov 26, 2014

The director's striking choice not to showcase sequences from Miyazaki's filmography underlines her subject's general disinterest in being deified as an icon.

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Simon Abrams Village Voice Nov 25, 2014

Riveting behind-the-scenes documentary The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness offers some comfort for viewers facing a world without new feature films directed by anime legend Hayao Miyazaki.

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David Ehrlich AV Club Nov 25, 2014 A

What makes The Kingdom Of Dreams And Madness more than just a simple artifact, or a glorified DVD bonus feature, is the film's clear-eyed ability to see Ghibli through the eyes of the people who work there.

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Elizabeth Weitzman New York Daily News Nov 24, 2014 4/5

This seemingly ordinary biographical documentary about the retiring animation master unfolds, at a deceptively gentle pace, into a work of immense beauty.

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Elise Nakhnikian Slant Magazine Nov 24, 2014 2.5/4

The documentary is hesitant to show the great work that resulted from Hayao Miyazaki's "grand hobby," never including clips from the classics referred to throughout.

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