The Oriental Animation World of Hayao Miyazaki

By Daniela Hernández (undergraduate Figri student, level 3 English)

Have you ever seen an oriental cartoon? If so, you are sure to know the great master of Japanese animation, Hayao Miyazaki, and if not, then I will tell you about him and his magnificent work.

First of all, Hayao Miyazaki was born in Tokyo on January 5^th, 1941, and he became strongly influenced by Osamu Tezuka, “the father of manga”, with whom Miyazaki became obsessed. He was also influenced by his family environment due to the work of his father who directed a business which made rudders for war planes, and because of this he developed a fascination for aviation and war literature. These topics would later appear in his movies with the inclusion of flying gadgetry and the pacifism that he promotes. On the other hand, we can see the admiration that he felt for his mother, who was a woman with a strong personality. This also became a distinctive sign of his movies: decisive women with a strong personality. 

Although his work consists of movies that seem targeted to young audiences, they have a thematic background encouraged to create awareness of current problems such as the necessity to take care of the environment. In addition, they offer interesting stories where magic and romanticism are mixed.

ß His first movie is entitled Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984), which discusses the topic of the war and of the environmental damage that man will cause to the earth if he does not become responsible.

Other movies he has created are My Neighbor Totoro (1988), Kiki's Delivery Service (1989) and Princess Mononoke (1997).

There are also those films that are part of the most brilliant stretch of his career, like Spirited Away (which won the Oscar for best animated movie 2002), Howl's Moving Castle (2004) or Ponyo (2008).

If you find this information interesting, you can find both reviews and the movies themselves on the Internet. Snap out and discover a new alternative and vision of cinema animated by the hand of this great master.