Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli

A Master Animator

Focus

A presentation by Andrea Joyce

Miyazaki – A Short History

• Hayao Miyazaki was born January 5, 1941 in Tokyo, Japan

• His first experiences of drawing were of aeroplanes at the aviation company owned by his uncle and where his father worked as a director. Aviation is often a recurring theme in his work.

• In 1958 while Miyazaki was at High School he saw the film Hakujaden (The tale of the White Serpent), one of the first feature-length colour anime films and so began his fascination with animation.

• Miyazaki worked as an in-between artist for a Japanese animation company and for the next 20 years he was involved in a variety of projects before founding his own animation studio.

Studio Ghibli – A Short History• Officially founded in 1985 by Miyazaki, his mentor Isao Takahata, and the

long-time producer Toshio Suzuki.

• Due to a disasterous incident with dubbing, editing and general Americanization The company is well-known for its strict "no-edits" policy in licensing their films abroad. This has stemmed from the disastrous dubbing of Miyazaki's Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind when the film was released in the United States as Warriors of the Wind. The film was heavily edited and Americanized, with significant portions cut and the plot rewritten. The "no cuts" policy was highlighted when Miramax co-chairman Harvey Weinstein suggested editing Princess Mononoke to make it more marketable. In response, a Studio Ghibli producer sent an authentic katana with a simple message: "No cuts".

• Has a long list of films that have been successful abroad. Spirited Away received many awards, including the second Oscar ever awarded for Best Animated Feature in 2002, the first anime film to win an Academy Award, and the only winner of that award to be traditionally animated or win among five nominees (in every other year there were three nominees). Howl’s Moving Castle was also nominated for an Academy Award in 2004.