Whisper of the Heart

The main focus of the film Whispers of the Heart is on Shizuku Tsukishima’s daily life juggling school, family, and her own desires. The story arc has her progress from a carefree child running late and laughing with her friends to a maturing adolescent with pressures and expectations weighing on her.
As a film to share with students, it provides a great spotlight on Japanese culture through the normal daily activities Shizuku participates in. Things appear familiar but with the flair of Japanese customs. Scenes of Shizuku’s classes and how they are organized, how lunch is handled, the matching uniforms of her school and so on provide natural windows into a different culture.
As a character Shizuku is the embodiment of a middle schooler, something that many students will be able to relate with. She handles situations with heckling classmates and eats lunch with a supportive peer group. She faces drama with a best friend that embarrasses and embraces her. She struggles with school and grades due to distractions of her own making. She has parents that are both supportive and stressful.
Yet she also has oddities that help her stand out from the supporting cast. Her obsessive hobby of reading bridges the many facets of her life, as well as acts plot progression. It fuels her overactive imagination and erodes her attention to reality. It leads to a surprise encounter that turns into a fated relationship. It impedes her ability to study for a large test that acts as a barrier throughout the film. Finally it sparks an interest to create her own written story that ties the plot threads into a satisfying conclusion for both Shizuku and the viewer.
As a small criticism it starts with a slow pace which can be cumbersome for younger audiences. The film follows a different path from other Studio Ghibli productions and strays from using magic, whimsy characters, and fantastical places (though there are a few short scenes where they still pop in). In lieu of that Studio Ghibli provides a coming of age story of a young girl fighting fears of inadequacy and finding compassion for herself through what she first views as deficiencies.

Whisper of the Heart is an animated Disney production which kids would enjoy. The story is about a schoolgirl named Shizuku follows her dreams by following her own curiosity of a cat which turns out to lead her to Seiji, a boy who is focused on following his own dreams. It turns out the cat, the Baron, turns out to be a magical cat which helps Shizuku listen to the whispers in her heart. This film also deals with schooling and the educational system in Japan through the decisions that the characters need to make at a fairly young age about their future. This movie would be useful to explain and identify some differences between the educational system of the United States and Japan. It also reiterates the importance of education in the Japanese society as compared to our own society. Furthemore, it identifies the importance of standardized testing in Japan in deciding which career path students are given the opportunity to follow. Although the testing results for the most part determine their next step with schooling, children in Japan need to consider what career path they will lead at a very young age after the equivalency of middle school in the United States. Also, not all career paths may not be available for all students even at an early age depending on their performance in school and the standardized testing. This film may be useful in relieving stress of American students that may be worried about taking state and federal standardized tests in the United States. Finally, it could be used to address boy-girl realtionships at this young adolescent age. I would recommend using this resource in an upper elementary or even middle school setting.