Happy Birthday Hayao Miyazaki ! He is 83 years old today!
Hayao Miyazaki was born on the 5th of January 1941 in Tokyo City, Tokyo, Japan.
He is a Japanese animator, filmmaker, artist and co-founder of the animation studio Studio Ghibli he has attained international acclaim and a reputation as a masterful storyteller and is widely regarded as one of the most accomplished filmmakers in the history of animation anywhere in the world.
Miyazaki became interested in comic books and animation from an early age, he started working at Toei Animation studio in 1963 where he worked as an “in-between artist” and was later promoted to “Key Animator” before he left to join A-Pro studios in 1971 where he became a director then in 1973 he moved again to Nippon Animation it was while he was working for Nippon he began writing and illustrating the comic book series “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind “ (1982–1994), he also went on to directed the 1984 film adaptation that was produced by Topcraft.
Miyazaki co-founded Studio Ghibli in 1985. He has directed a string of some of the best Animated films ever made by humans. Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986), My Neighbor Totoro (1988), Kiki's Delivery Service (1989), and Porco Rosso (1992). These films had all met with critical and box office success in Japan. It was with his film Princess Mononoke (1997) Studio Ghibli became the first animation studio to win the “Japan Academy Prize for Picture of the Year” and briefly became the highest-grossing film in Japan which increased Ghibli and Miyazaki’s reputation within Japan. Princess Mononoke also enjoyed decent distribution and critical acclaim in the west.
But it was his next project “Spirited Away” (2001) absolutely rocketed Ghibli onto the world stage. First, it became the highest-grossing film in Japanese history and won 32 awards internationally including the Academy Award (Oscar) for Best Animated Feature! This does tend to garner attention and it helps that the film is an absolute masterpiece and is frequently ranked among the greatest films of the 21st century.
Miyazaki went on to direct Howl's Moving Castle (2004), Ponyo (2008), and The Wind Rises (2013) all three enjoyed critical and commercial success.
Following the release of The Wind Rises in 2013 Miyazaki announced his retirement from feature films but luckily for everyone he later announced he was coming out of retirement to write and direct his twelfth feature film The Boy and the Heron (2023).
Miyazaki just tells wonderful stories! He uses recurring themes in his work such as mankind's relationship with nature, technology's effects on society and the environment, and maintaining a peaceful ethic in an increasingly violent world. He is obviously a fan of the evolution of aviation which regularly features in his work. I am also a big fan of him regularly has his protagonists in his stories being strong and smart female characters and he tends to make his villains complex and morally ambiguous. Just fantastic stories beautifully told with truly magical visuals in fantastic worlds.
When it comes to highlights from his filmography I have to suggest everything! All his work!
The Boy and the Heron (2023) is out in cinemas when this is published.
But the rest of his wonderful filmography is available to watch on Netflix
Nausicaa of the valley of the wind (1984)
Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986)
My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)
Porco Rosso (1992)
Princess Mononoke (1997)
Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
Ponyo (2008)
The Wind Rises (2013)
