In celebration of Hayao Miyazaki’s new
film How Do You Live? scheduled
for release in 2020, in the coming months to a year I will be analyzing all of
the films of Hayao Miyazaki much in the same way I have done for Christopher
Nolan. Similarly, I will analyze each film in order of release; giving both
historical context and social analysis of Miyazaki’s work. I am limiting the
scope of my analysis to films directed by
Miyazaki instead of the whole Studio Ghibli cannon. I do this partly because
Miyazaki’s work is arguably the best of all of Studio Ghibli’s content[1]
and I want this miniseries to be a digestible as possible. So, please join me
in celebrating the legend that is Hayao Miyazaki
BACKGROUND
Hayao Miyazaki born in 1941 in
Bunkyo Japan, was always interested in animation and was a part of the “Children’s
Literature Research Club” while in college. According to Miyazaki, this was “the
closest thing to a comics club in [the late 1950’s][2].
He eventually graduated from Gakushuin University with a degree in political
science and economics in 1963. That same year, he began work as an in-between artist
at Toei Animation. During his time there, he worked on several animation
projects before leaving to found Studio Ghibli in 1985 with Tashiro Suzuki. Thus
began a career that lead him to be heralded as the “Japanese” Walt Disney (a
moniker he hates)[3]
and one of the greatest animation film directors in history.
One reason why Miyazaki is deserving
of such a title is that all of his work is painstakingly detailed and
articulate. He has such a specific vision, and determined drive to achieve it,
that he is often given the reputation to be difficult to work with and be
satisfied with any work (especially his own).[4]
Added to this, is Miyazaki’s assertion that hand drawn animation is superior to
CGI, that there is a clarity and a sharpness to hand drawn animation that he
believes cannot be replicated with CGI[5]
Thus, all of his animators draw everything by hand, from the backgrounds and sketches
to the final frames of the film.[6]
This makes Miyazaki unique, and an unfortunate relic.
TO RETIRE, OR NOT
TO RETIRE…
This sense of anachronism is
something that Miyazaki continues to grapple with and is the centerpiece of two
recent outstanding documentaries about him:
The Kingdom of
Dreams and Madness (2014)
Never-Ending Man:
Hayao Miyazaki (2018)
What
is one of the more startling revelations in these documentaries is the drive
determination, spirit and passion Miyazaki has for his work. Each of the
documentaries showcase the way in which he struggles with his passion to create. He often argues with himself feeling spent and worthless sometimes, and excited
and rejuvenated the next. This internal scuffle is probably the reason that he
has attempted to retire multiple times only to inevitably come out of
retirement to create something astoundingly brilliant.
Miyazaki has come out of self-imposed
retirement four times; each time there was a catalyst lead to more work. He was so intrigued by the use of 3-D model rendering that he came out of retirement to create 1997’s Princess Mononoke. In 2006,
a reporter proclaimed that Miyazaki’s son, Goro Miyazaki, has surpassed him as
a director with his film Tales of Earthsea.
Shortly after, Hayao Miyazaki came out of retirement again to give us Ponyo. The
most recent catalyst for his current film is publicly cited to be his
grandson; but in my heart of hearts I would like to think it was this:
Additionally, as a fan, it is difficult to
witness Miyazaki’s self-deprecation in these scenes in the way that he believes
that he has yet to create something truly amazing. While, I and the rest of the
world would disagree, many inventive and creative geniuses would say the same
thing about their own work; just as the parable states “we are our own worst
critics.”
SEEDS
OF SOCIAL ANALYSIS
Miyazaki’s work is ripe and rich for
sociological analysis. In the years he has been active, Miyazaki has incorporated
themes of feminism, environmentalism, consumption, and the dangers of
industrialization. Miyazaki is often seen as a feminist
alternative to the horrendously sexist films of the Disney princess
culture. Many authors before me have cited Miyazaki’s
work as an example of feminist
princess content. Additionally, the majority of Miyazaki’s work stresses
the importance
of the environment, a frequent plot point being the imbalance
that industrialized societies create with nature resulting in the
manifestation of mankind’s ultimate demise; unless the lesson is learned.
In Comparison, Miyazaki’s work is the
complete opposite of the sexist, corporatized, capitalist monolith that is Walt
Disney. Where they operate on stereotypes, he has nuance, where they are a
billion dollar company, he donates a lot of his money and work to a museum. Thus,
as a fan it is insulting to call him the “Japanese Walt Disney”, because they
are so diametrically different. In fact, it would be far more accurate to say
that he is the “Anti-Walt Disney.” In that their values, concepts and
motivations are contradictory. To that end, Miyazaki is a good Sociologist; and Sociologically, everyone should hate Disney.
If
you didn’t love Miyazaki enough by now, watch this:
CONCLUSION
The
films of Studio Ghibli are international treasures. They have been translated
into multiple languages around the globe and spawned their own museum. People
from one continent to another instantly recognize their characters and embrace
them as a part of popular culture. This is all due to the imagination of one man: Hayao
Miyazaki.[7]
It is that imagination that has kept him young[8]
evoking the colloquialism “You live as long as you have something to live for.” Sadly, a time will come when we will have no more Miyazaki films to look forward to, but not. Quite. Yet.
[1] Toshiro
Suzuki, One of the major Studio Ghibli producers and lifelong friend of
Miyazaki has stated that the reason that Studio Ghibli had to close its doors
in 2013 is because Miyazaki stopped making films.
[3] I
would liken him more to Stan Lee
[5]
Much in the same way that Christopher Nolan prefers to shoot on film rather than
digitally
[6]
Yes once they are all hand drawn they are digitally rendered like a lot films,
but this does not lose the spirit of what Miyazaki represents or what he is
attempting to preserve
[8] Even
mythologizing how he siphons off the youthfulness of younger animators
