My favorite of his animations is the movie Spirited Away. I find it amazing how every scene is drawn with so much detail.
Mini Biography
Hayao Miyazaki is one of Japan's greatest animation
directors. The entertaining plots, compelling characters, and breathtaking
animation in his films have earned him international renown from critics as
well as public recognition within Japan. The Walt Disney Company's commitment
to introduce the films to the rest of the world will let more people appreciate
the high-quality works he has given the movie-going public.
Hayao Miyazaki was born in Tôkyô on January 5, 1941. He started his career in 1963 as an animator at the studio Toei Douga studio, and was subsequently involved in many early classics of Japanese animation. From the beginning, he commanded attention with his incredible drawing ability and the seemingly endless stream of movie ideas he proposed.
In 1971, he moved to the A Pro studio with Isao Takahata, then to Nippon Animation in 1973, where he was heavily involved in the World Masterpiece Theater TV animation series for the next five years. In 1978, he directed his first TV series, "Future Boy Conan" (1978) (Conan, The Boy in Future), then moved to Tôkyô Movie Shinsha in 1979 to direct his first movie, the classic Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro (1979). In 1984, he released Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984), based on the manga (comic) of the same title he had started two years before. The success of the film led to the establishment of a new animation studio, Studio Ghibli (Sutajio Jiburi), at which Miyazaki has since directed, written, and produced many other films with Takahata and, more recently, Toshio Suzuki. All of these films enjoyed critical and box office successes. In particular, Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke (1997) received the Japanese equivalent of the Academy Award for Best Film and was the highest-grossing (about USD$150 million) domestic film in Japan's history at the time of its release.
In addition to animation, Miyazaki also draws manga. His major work was the Nausicaä manga, an epic tale he worked on intermittently from 1982 to 1984 while he was busy making animated films. Another manga, Hikoutei Jidai, was later evolved into his 1992 film Porco Rosso (1992).
Miyazaki's latest film is Howl's Moving Castle (2004), based on the novel by Diana Wynne Jones. Even though he has said this would be at last film, a statement he has said before after the completion of some of his earlier films, one hopes that additions to his extraordinary body of work will continue to be produced as he remains alive.
Hayao Miyazaki was born in Tôkyô on January 5, 1941. He started his career in 1963 as an animator at the studio Toei Douga studio, and was subsequently involved in many early classics of Japanese animation. From the beginning, he commanded attention with his incredible drawing ability and the seemingly endless stream of movie ideas he proposed.
In 1971, he moved to the A Pro studio with Isao Takahata, then to Nippon Animation in 1973, where he was heavily involved in the World Masterpiece Theater TV animation series for the next five years. In 1978, he directed his first TV series, "Future Boy Conan" (1978) (Conan, The Boy in Future), then moved to Tôkyô Movie Shinsha in 1979 to direct his first movie, the classic Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro (1979). In 1984, he released Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984), based on the manga (comic) of the same title he had started two years before. The success of the film led to the establishment of a new animation studio, Studio Ghibli (Sutajio Jiburi), at which Miyazaki has since directed, written, and produced many other films with Takahata and, more recently, Toshio Suzuki. All of these films enjoyed critical and box office successes. In particular, Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke (1997) received the Japanese equivalent of the Academy Award for Best Film and was the highest-grossing (about USD$150 million) domestic film in Japan's history at the time of its release.
In addition to animation, Miyazaki also draws manga. His major work was the Nausicaä manga, an epic tale he worked on intermittently from 1982 to 1984 while he was busy making animated films. Another manga, Hikoutei Jidai, was later evolved into his 1992 film Porco Rosso (1992).
Miyazaki's latest film is Howl's Moving Castle (2004), based on the novel by Diana Wynne Jones. Even though he has said this would be at last film, a statement he has said before after the completion of some of his earlier films, one hopes that additions to his extraordinary body of work will continue to be produced as he remains alive.
Here are some of his quotes:
“When I think
about the way the
computer has taken over and eliminated a certain experience of life, that makes
me sad. When we were animating fire some staff said they had never seen wood
burning. I said, "Go watch!" It has disappeared from their daily
lives. Japanese baths used to be made by burning firewood. Now you press a
button. I don't think you can become an animator if you don't have any
experience.
I think 2-D animation disappeared from Disney because they
made so many uninteresting films. They became very conservative in the way they
created them. It's too bad. I thought 2-D and 3-D could coexist happily.
[on the future of hand-drawn animation] I'm actually not
that worried. I wouldn't give up on it completely. Once in a while there are
strange, rich people who like to invest in odd things. You're going to have
people in the corners of garages making cartoons to please themselves. And I'm
more interested in those people than I am in big business.
Do everything by hand, even when using the computer.
My process is thinking... thinking... and thinking. If you
have a better way, please let me know.”
A link to one of my favorites of his: SPIRITED AWAY www.youtube.com/watch?v=6az9wGfeSgMas
here is another link to his studio/work: http://wwwnausicaa.net/miyazaki/
here is another link to his studio/work: http://wwwnausicaa.net/miyazaki/
