Hayao Miyazaki writes his own films and frequently begins animating before the script is finished, which is close to unworkable in commercial animation and which he has done repeatedly, including on Spirited Away.
His scripts refuse the standard antagonist structure. Totoro has no villain, Princess Mononoke gives its apparent one a coherent environmental and economic argument, and Howl’s Moving Castle resolves through understanding instead of defeat.
He adapts loosely. Howl’s Moving Castle departs substantially from Diana Wynne Jones’s novel, and she reportedly approved of the changes.
Hayao MiyazakiNausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) rates 9 out of 10 on the rewatch scale. Miyazaki made it in about ten months for the equivalent of a million dollars, and its success paid for Studio Ghibli the following…
Hayao MiyazakiHayao Miyazaki's 1988 Studio Ghibli pastoral. Two girls discover forest spirits in rural Japan.
Hayao MiyazakiMiyazaki's 1997 environmental fantasy. Iron age Japan, forest gods, no clear villain.
Hayao MiyazakiA ten-year-old girl trapped in a bathhouse for spirits. First non-English Best Animated Feature Oscar winner.
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