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I am really glad that I have a chance to explore the life and work of director Hayao Miyazaki in the form of a B20 paper. For years I have been in love with his immaculate work in the field of animation but knew little of him beyond what I viewed on the screen. My fascination with Hayao Miyazaki, as before mentioned is based deeply in his work. My first taste into the delicious world of Miyazaki's work came to me while attending an Animate! Ohio State biweekly Japanese Animation (also known as Anime) fest. The film was Kiki's Delivery Service, the animated story of a thirteen year old witch who departs from her village of witches to find a town of her own where she will further her studies and become a full fledged witch. Since my first experience, and experience is the best way to describe a Miyazaki film, I have seen many more of his full length animated features including Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Laputa: Castle in the Sky, Porco Rosso (the Crimson Pig) as well as a few episodes from Future Boy Conan, a television series that Miyazaki directed. Other feature lengths that I have not yet had the privilege to watch is the classic My Neighbor Totoro, and the Japan box office smash Mononoke Hime. Miyazaki's animation, like most Japanese animation, is very stylized. However, Miyazaki's style is very distinguishable from other Anime Directors. There is something truly wholesome about Miyazaki's work. First of all, Miyazaki's character design is unique to his OWN genera. This genera, which is shared by his co-producer and colleague Isao Takahata, spawns from their company Studio Ghibli. Miyazaki and Studio Ghibi are renowned for their attention to detail, complexity of story, and a universally enjoyable experience for the audience. Films such as Laputa: Castle in the Sky can be appreciated on many levels. The richness of plot and ability to draw the viewer into the story, to care about the characters, makes a Miyazaki film appeal to adult audiences. Complex social issues and moral dilemmas make for profound viewing. The majority of Miyazaki's work also tries to appeal to children, presenting an optimistic lead character or two who may or may not overcome their obstacle but try vigilantly no matter what. The classic Miyazaki animation combines action adventure, a girl hero and a friend who's a boy, and slapstick and ironic comedy. The success of Miyazaki's latest film has drawn big attention from the United States and from Europe. Mononoke Hime has grossed more at the box office than any other film in Japan since ET. Disney will be distributing Mononoke Hime this summer in (I am told) two versions, a subtitled version and a dubbed version. Thankfully Miyazaki put a clause in the contract which will not allow Disney to edit or sensor this two hour plus film. Unlike previous Miyazaki works, Mononoke Hime contains graphic violence and although it is a fantasy its lessons are very much true to reality. This film is not intended for children but people in the United States associate cartoons with animation. Animation in Japan and most of the rest of the world is considered an art form, not child's entertainment. Perhaps this is why Miyazaki has such a strong dislike for Disney animations. He supposedly finds the character and story developments (and I agree) to be quite shallow and formulated. Here is a quote from a translation of an article that Miyazaki wrote. I find it to be a useful insight into his philosophy about his art. In my movies for children, I want to express before anything else the themes: 'The world is profound, manifold and beautiful' and 'You children are fortunate to have been born into this world. . . . Although the world's beset with lots of seemingly intractable problems, such as population explosion and environmental disruptions, making it difficult to entertain hope, it's nevertheless a wonderful thing to live.' This is more easily said than done. It's adults rather than children that are seeing their hopes dashed. So making movies also amounts to struggling with myself. But regrettably, others making animated cartoons seem to be different. They insist, 'This is the trend. . . . This is likely to be a hit . . .' I can't engage myself in such an inhuman task as making animated cartoons just to produce such things. To produce a decent animated cartoon requires anywhere from a year to a year and a half, and our private lives go out the window during this period. Of course, we could make cartoons while still taking our vacations, but that would be reflected in their quality. Works of art are created by those who are prepared to go the limit. We're not interested in anything else. Miyazaki's political views past and present are also very interesting and are reflected in his films. When Miyazaki was a boy he wanted to be a cartoonist. His family made parts for airplanes during the war so while others became poor his family prospered and Miyazaki felt bad about this. This may be why Miyazaki was such a supporter of Marxism during his earlier years. A testament to this is how he was reluctant to make Nausicaä (the main character in Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind) a Princess, believing that all should have equal status. However, as time passed, Miyazaki changed eventually hated the communist institution. Perhaps this shows through best in Porco Rosso, the story of "an Italian Air Force pilot who left the service due to the rise of fascism." (Ghiblink) After a long and fruitful career, Miyazaki is poised for retirement now that he has completed his masterpiece among masterpieces, Mononoke Hime (~spirit princess). He does however have (or is in the process of building) a new retirement studio. Be sure that he will be working on many animations for his own enjoyment… "He might do some "small" projects, since he said "I have been making movies which had to please 20 people out of 100. It has been very hard. But if I just have to please 2 out of 100, I can do a lot of things." (Ghiblink/Miyazaki) - an extraordinary Miyazaki web resource by Team Ghiblink at http://www.nausicaa.net/ Back to LiON's Basement |