Animation can provide a filmmaker with the ability to capture a world outside our own. They even get to do it in a stylistic, fantasy setting.

Hayao Miyazaki, in particular, is praised for his well-crafted works such as “Spirited Away” and “Princess Mononoke.”

But how can animation benefit from being used to create a realistic world depicting ordinary life? In “From Up On Poppy Hill,” directed by

Miyazaki’s son, Goro, it shows that animation can be used to help invigorate the mundane with vivid imagery and compelling characters.

The film takes place before the 1964 Tokyo Olympics in the coastal town of Yokohama, Japan. That’s where Umi (Sarah Bolger) lives with her family at a boarding house.

When pressures to recreate Japan as a modern society inspires plans to tear down an ancient clubhouse at Umi’s school, club members led by journalism student Shun (Anton Yelchin) propose renovating it to keep their clubhouse and preserve their school’s history.

Along the way, Shun and Umi discover their own heritage through both their passion for boats as well as their family history in a peculiar love story.

Goro shows that through this film, he is able to follow in his father’s footsteps as his direction and Studio Ghibli – the Japanese animation film studio also responsible for films such as “Ponyo” – has pieced together a film that manages to retain the magic of Studio Ghibli’s previous films through its sentimentality.

The artwork and animation that makes up the film is impressive, with the backdrop of each scene feeling as if the characters are living in intricate landscape paintings popping with vivid colors and attention to detail.

This love for classic animation is also channeled through its story, co-written by Hayao Miyazaki, that encapsulates the need to preserve history and learn about ourselves rather than forget about our flaws.

While the setting keeps the charm that Ghibli presents, the story is sadly not all about exploring the past.

Much of the film alternates between the renovation of the clubhouse and the love story between Shun & Umi. However, due to the nature of how the two are brought together and their desire to learn more about themselves, their development is frozen at a standstill.

By the time they realize that they are in love, the story wraps up. There isn’t any room for the two to be together and we are never given the feeling that these two kids are head-over-heels in love with each other.

“From Up On Poppy Hill” is a peculiar animated film that shows off how beautiful reality can look with the art of Studio Ghibli.

While the romance leaves a lot to be desired, the students’ efforts towards reinvigorating their school’s clubhouse shows off a charming camaraderie amongst the students as well as leaving us with the message to value our heritage even while we move forward into the present.

Final Grade: B-

From Up On Poppy Hill is now playing at the Living Room Theater weekends at 12:10 p.m., 2:45 p.m., 4:50 p.m., 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. and weekdays at 4:50 p.m., 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.