According to some, newly released South Korean animated feature film Lost in the Moonlight appears very familiar.
[Image via Insight]
Namely, the comparison that is being made is with the classic 2001 Studio Ghibli film Spirited Away — something even the mainstream Korean media is reporting.
[Images via CCToday]
The film’s director Kim Hyun-Joo is quoted by Choshun Online as saying that he believes these plagiarism allegations wouldn’t exist if people had seen the full movie first, instead of only the trailer. Perhaps he’s right!
Spirited Away is popular in South Korea, and Lost in the Moonlight’s YouTube trailer has been hit hard with dislikes.
Ouch.
Below are comparisons from the Korean media and English language site OneHallyu:
[Images via TheKukminDaily]
[Images via kmib]
[Images via YTN]
[Images via OneHallyu]
[Image via kmib]
[Images via kmib]
[Images via YTN]
Hrm. Yeah, seeing the full film would certainly help.
Comments
10 responses to “People Are Saying This Korean Animated Movie Looks Like Spirited Away”
I wonder if people long ago were whining that Street Sharks looked like Biker Mice From Mars, and that Biker Mice From Mars looks like BattleToads, only for someone to slam their hands on the desk and say they all look like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Boycotts flying everywhere.
Yep. At least in our neighbourhood. All of those were considered shitty knockoffs compared to tmnt by my friends, probably because we were shown the ninja turtle by older brothers. So when the cartoon came out it was like christmas for us young’uns. Then when all the rest arrived brand loyalty had its claws in deep and we mocked anyone who had street sharks or whatever (because kids are arseholes). Battletoads probably copped it the worst (probably because we all sucked at the game, tbh).
*shown the ninja turtles comic 1st* -sorry, im old and dont know how to edit comments.
Parts of it looked like Spirited Away, other looked like Princess Mononoke and others like Totoro. I’d say it either wears its obvious influences in its sleeve or is just as unoriginal as it is poorly animated and blandly designed.
TBH it looks ghibli styled, hence why things look like other ghibli movies
looks better than Spirited Away! Might have to watch this
Really? Honestly I think Spirited Away looks far better drawn. I will say art is subjective but Spirited Away looks fantastic to me.
Some of those pictures are reeeeeaaallllyy stretching the comparison and it’s only the contextualisation of the Spirited Away image that even makes you think it’s possibly copying it. It looks like a lot of things at various points, both Western and Eastern. Without seeing the entire movie I’d say it’s just inspiration and common cultural sources.
Common cultural sources. Couldn’t have said it better myself.
Little girl, dragon, lots of food… witch… well gee… not like this is the first or last film to do something like this. A cliche? Sure. But to say it is copying is extremely far fetched unless of course the story is similar to some extent.
Will just have to see and what the actual movie is about.
I think lots of animation studios are doing this, because they all sort of worship Ghibli.
The problem is most of them miss the point of the films entirely ( underlying morals and messages) and end up churning out the superficial things they liked about it.
I still don’t get why creators think by taking things they like without any sort of real risk taking or personal development to get there, to have something to say, that they are somehow going to make something that people will love as much as Studio Ghibli.
I’m not sort if it’s a generation thing, but mashing stuff together doesn’t make it good imo.