Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli: A History

Hayao Miyazaki: born in Tokyo on January 5, 1941. he was amazing at drawing 1963 he began his career as an animator in the studio Toei Douga. Through this studio he was involved in many early classics of japanese animation. Some included:

The Adventures of Horus, Prince of the Sun  

Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves

Animal Treasure Island

He worked after this in different studios eventually directing an animated television series called Conan, The Boy in Future and his first movie Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro. But these are of course his lesser known works. None of them even held a candle to what he would come to do in his future.

In 1982 he released a manga( japanese comic) called “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind”. Not two years later, it became his second movie.

And so it began. The movie budget was originally 10,743,440 dollars but within a year it made 14,571,236 in box offices and 11,216,035 in rentals. Infact the movie did so well, it led to the creation of his own studio.

The name? Studio Ghibli

Let me first start by trying to explain to you how good these movies actually are. yah know Disney? Yeah our Disney, American Disney? Well they saw his movies and called him the Disney of japan. Infact they were threatened that he could take over, they tried to buy the company. Think in terms of Pixar. Just like with Pixar, Disney thought Ghibli was so good that they wanted to buy it and make sure they were no longer a threat.

Now, yall know Disney is a big company. They have a lot of power Now, yall know Disney is a big company. They have a lot of power. Yah know what Miyazaki said? Nope. He said no to Disney. He didn’t want the movies he made to become corporate. He wanted to retain the love and integrity he had for animation, to continue spreading good messages to kids and adults alike

Disney didn’t give up though Disney didn’t give up though. They were so desperate to put their name on his works that they ended up buying rights to release it as them presenting it. So it went like this “ Disney presents, a Studio Ghibli film, and then the name of the film. But whats all the fuss about?

Well he has the name, the skill, the studio and the money Well he has the name, the skill, the studio and the money. I mean people were begging for another Miyazaki film.

So here's just a few visual examples of some of the best movies he has made ( in my opinion)

Laputa : Castle in the Sky

Miyazaki is always praised for his amazing use of light to create depth and set a mood that no one else can achieve.

Howls Moving Castle

The best way to show how Miyazaki pays attention to detail is shown in the movie Howls Moving Castle

Spirited Away

This is a good representation of how he uses color and lighting to show passage of time and mood

Link to train scene skip to 2:17 https://vimeo.com/91985775 Infact speaking in passage of time and mood, this is the best representaion of how he uses light and colors. It also happens to be my favorite scene in all of his movies ever, and believe me, there are a lot. The thing about the scene is that no one says anything. Its just music and action.