Considered the Walt Disney of Japan, Hayao Miyazaki is a living legend. Makes his feature film debut with Cagliostro Castle in 1979 he spearheaded some of the greatest animated films that have captured the imagination of millions. The Studio Ghibli author-animator has directed eleven masterpieces, including worldwide hits like Princess Mononoke (1997), My neighbor Totoro (1988), and Spiritually gone (2001).
In 2013, Miyazaki announced his retirement, but it seems that he is not done telling his beautiful stories. While Miyazaki is in production for a new animated movie, How do you live?let’s take a look at every film from the Oscar-winning Japanese animator.
11/11 Cagliostro Castle
Although his name is synonymous with Studio Ghibli, Miyazaki worked as an intermediary and handled principal animation at Toei Animation, A-Pro, and Tokyo Movie Shinsha before founding Studio Ghibli in 1985 with Isao Takahata and Toshio Suzuki. Produced by Tokyo Movie Shinsha, 1979 Cagliostro Castle was Miyazaki’s first full-length animated film.
Based on the long-running Monkey Punch manga franchise, this comedy follows the adventures of a James Bond-esque gentleman thief Arsène Lupine III. It is the most action-packed film in the career of the animator, who influenced the film Indiana Jones films by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas and the work of Pixar co-founder John Lasseter.
10/11 castle in the air
years 1986 castle in the air (Laputa: Castle in the sky) is the very first Studio Ghibli film. Set in the fictional late 1800s, Miyazaki’s epic fantasy follows an orphaned boy and a princess in search of the fabled sky kingdom of Laputa. castle in the air has been cited as one of the first modern steampunk classics and something of a bridging the gap between Miyazaki’s action anime Cagliostro Castle and the director’s emotionally deep subsequent films.
9/11 Pony
Miyazaki’s sweet take on Hans Christian Andersen’s The little Mermaidthe 2008 animated fantasy film Pony tells the story of a goldfish who dreams of becoming human. Soon, Ponyo transforms into a little girl to be with her five-year-old boyfriend. It may not be the animator’s best movie, but it’s a magical watercolor-style fairy tale that the whole family can enjoy.
8/11 Porco Rosso
Miyazaki’s father was the president of a company that manufactured parts for fighter jets (Miyazaki Airplane). So as a child living in Japan during World War II, little Hayao was drawn to aviation. His dreams of the sky lasted well into adulthood and found their place in the animator’s films. years 1992 Porco Rosso is a tribute to early aviation.
Porco Rosso follows Marco Pagot (known to the world as Porco Rosso), a former World War I pilot who transforms into an anthropomorphic pig and takes to the skies to fight sky pirates. Combining fantasy and real-world elements, Miyazaki made one of his weirdest and most imaginative films.
7/11 Howl’s moving castle
With a steampunk atmosphere that makes you think castle in the airyears 2004 Howl’s moving castle takes place in a world where both magic and technology coexist. Loosely based on the novel by English children’s author Diana Wynne Jones, Miyazaki’s film follows a young girl named Sophie who is turned into an old woman by a witch. Sophie’s only chance to break the spell lies with a troubled wizard named Howl.
There is also a bitter taste of war at the center of the plot. Despite exploring the theme of old age, with feminist elements and focus on love, Howl’s moving castleessentially a protest film against the war in Iraq.
6/11 Kiki’s delivery service
The director’s tendency to include strong female leads is deliberate. “They need a friend or a supporter, but never a savior. Any woman can be just as much a hero as any man,” said Miyazaki in 2013. A 13-year-old witch-in-training from 1989 Kiki’s delivery service is one of Miyazaki’s brave female protagonists.
In the movie, Kiki leaves the house with her talking black cat to become a real witch. It’s simply a magical story about a teenage girl discovering her place in the world.
5/11 Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
The success of Miyazaki’s second film, the 1984 post-apocalyptic masterpiece Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, gave the animator the clout and money to co-found Studio Ghibli a year later. Many of Miyazaki’s loved ones are sure that if the director had only made that anime movie, his legacy would have been the same.
The magnificent fantasy with an anti-war and environmental focus, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind revolves around a young peacemaker princess who tries to stop a kingdom from destroying the jungle and its creatures. It is the director’s meditation on living in harmony – a theme that would grow to define his later work and be further explored in Princess Mononoke.
4/11 Princess Mononoke
The director does not simplify his films for children. Miyazaki’s characters experience hope and joy as well as sadness and despair. The war epic Princess Mononoke is another multi-layered story with the fullest palette of emotions from the legendary Studio Ghibli filmmaker.
The 1997 animated film follows a young warrior from 13th century Japan, Ashitaka, and his involvement in a battle between the gods of a forest and humans. In this quest, Ashitaka falls for Wolf Girl, Princess Mononoke. Princess Mononoke has the soul of a romantic epic, but a central theme of the film is the clash between human civilization and nature.
3/11 The wind blows
2013 The wind blows is the director’s latest work. It is an animated historical drama about Jiro Horikoshi, the designer of many World War II Japanese fighter planes. Horikoshi’s beautifully designed planes eventually left blood on his hands. Miyazaki said he was inspired to make this heartbreaking film, which is both a love letter to aviation and an anti-war film, after reading Horikoshi’s quote, “All I wanted to do was make something beautiful.” The director admitted that it was the only one of his films that made him cry.
This emotional reaction is partly due to the fact that The wind blows is Miyazaki’s most personal film. Jiro and Nahoko’s prototypes were to some extent the animator’s father and mother.
2/11 My neighbor Totoro
My neighbor Totoro, the 1988 animated fantasy about a giant magical creature from the forest that eats acorns, and two little sisters, Satsuki and Mei, with an ailing mother, remains one of the most beautiful films ever made. Totoro is the kind of imaginary friend we all wanted. There’s a reason he’s become Studio Ghibli’s de facto mascot.
For some viewers, darkness bubbles under the film. However, Studio Ghibli has debunked fan theoriessaying, “Everyone, don’t worry. There is absolutely no truth or confirmation that Totoro is the God of Death or that Mei is dead in My neighbor TotoroSo the movie is really as cute and sweet as it seems.
1/11 Spiritually gone
years 2001 Spiritually gone tells the story of Chihiro, a ten-year-old girl who becomes trapped in the alternate, inside-out universe where her parents turn into pigs. There she must find a way to return home. Based on Japanese folklore and culture, Miyazaki focuses on a child’s journey of self-discovery.
Spiritually gone became the highest-grossing film in Japanese history (which is ironic for a film that fundamentally criticizes capitalism), and the first non-English and anime film to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. It is Alice in Wonderland for modern times, and Miyazaki’s best film.