The Glassworker: A great anime film for those who've been missing Ghibli movies

On July 26, 2024, The Glassworker anime film, based on Ghibli movies artstyle, premiered in its home country of Pakistan after its official premiere during the 2024 Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 10, 2024. The film was its home country first handdrawn animated film animated by Mano Animation Studios.

The main man behind this animation film is its director Usman Riaz, who put 10 years of hardwork to prove to everyone that animation can be done anywhere as long as you have dedication and the ability to work hard. The film told the story of Vincent, the Glassworker's son, and Alliz, the Colonel's daughter, who were seperated through war and united through a supernatural being.

The film was amazing, considering how it was the first animation film put out from a country where the 'animation' didn't even exist for the world. The key highlights were its similarities to Ghibli music, its soothing music and everything else that made it a proper 'anime film.' It had some flaws, but it was a film that put a mark on its home country's history.

Disclaimer: This article contains potential spoilers from The Glassworker anime film and has the author's opinion.

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The Glassworker review: Did the movie mirror 10 years of hardwork?

Coming from a newly formed studio and people with only some experience in animation, which was not on a recognizable level, the movie portrayed the love and care it went through during its making.

Most of the staff members for the team were from Pakistan, but it also had foreign members like one of the storywriters, Moya O'Shea, producer Manuel Cristóbal, and music producer Carmine Diflorio. The blood, tears and sweat of each and every staff member could be seen during the movie, which added to the atmosphere.

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The Glassworker review: The good points

Vincent blowing air in the glass (Image via Mano Animation Studios)

If it were some animation movie from Japan, it would be fair to talk about the chemistry between characters, the story progression and many other things. However, as this movie was the step from a bunch of 'new' animators, it would be fair to keep things as simple as possible.

The movie is heavily inspired from Ghibli movies, as revealed by the movie's director during a recent interview. The 'after-taste' of Ghibli could be felt from each scene, one of which was the extra-detailing on some aspects. Where Ghibli movies are known for their detail in food animation, this movie focused on the glass-making process.

Vincent's childhood was majorly consisted of glassblowing with his father Oliver. The animation from the syncronization between Vincent pushing air through a pipe to the glass bulb expanding, the glassworking animation was detailed to the touch.

Moreover, the extra detail on the background of animation also added to the overall vision for the viewers, as bad animation in the background is noticeable.

Vincent as seen in the anime film (Image via Mano Animation Studios)

Another key aspect that made The Glassworker beautiful was the transition between scenes. From the scene where Vincent and Alliz walk through the forest to the same scene where Alliz's hair are tied, the transition in the movie is, in simple terms, smooth.

This aspect mostly turns out awkward because people understimate how hard it is to link two scenes based on what's happening in them. So, the animators deserve praise for paying attention to this detail.

Another detail most fans ignore in other animes but noticed in The Glassworker is its music. Joe Hisaishi's music from the early Ghibli movies could be the inspiraton behind The Glassworker, with the key emphasis being on Spirited Away's One Summer's Day and The Name of Life.

Alliz and her father as seen in the anime film (Image via Mano Animation Films)

However, as compared to Joe Hisaishi, The Glassworker had a subtly 'simple' music.' This could be the reason why fans appreciated it and why it complemented the simple story of the movie.

Lastly, the movie was also screened in both English and Urdu (national language of Pakistan). The English voice acting was phenomenal, and it could be felt that the voice actors were feeling their roles while voicing them. As voice acting is another key part of establishing cinema, this aspect made the The Glassworker 'special.'

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The Glassworker review: The points that needed to be worked on

Alliz as seen in the anime film (Image via Mano Animation Films)

The Urdu voice acting felt stiff, which affected the experience of the movie. The production team should look into more local talent for this aspect, as there are a lot of talented voice-over actors in the country that need praise. The sync between the voice and mouth movement also felt off, which is something Japanese animes nail in every series, let alone its movies.

Where the character designs gave the feeling of Ghibli movies, the overall design seemed a bit rough except for the parts where they were detailed. Demanding 'complex' character designed would be a long-throw, as this was the production team's first try, but this aspect needs to be worked on.

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The Glassworker ending: The storywriter's aim to leave the movie open-ended might have backfired

Alliz with her family (Image via Mano Animation Films)

Open-ended media projects have become common nowadays because every fan wants a different opinion. To satisfy this urge, such media projects became popular and have become common. However, the choice of The Glassworker production team to leave their movie open-ended might have backfired.

To leave a project on such an ending, character development is key. It helps the fandom come to a unanimous ending, other than the ones that are considered minority opinions.

As The Glassworker paid little attention to this aspect, there was no way to come with a simple ending, so fans mostly ignored what happened at the end.

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Final thoughts

The Glassworker is a decent anime project and the reason why it goes with a simple plotline could be to increase its target audience and not be limited to people used to watching Japanese animation every day. I enjoyed it because I didn't go in with any expectations, even though I was aware that it had taken inspiration from Ghibli movies.

That made the experience worthwhile and more exciting. It wouldn't do justice to compare this movie to modern standard anime because, as mentioned earlier, it's the first step Usman Riaz took in the world of anime. Eventually, the movie proved that animation requires hardwork and struggle, something The Glassworker's production team didn't hold back on.

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