The Best of Studio Ghibli's Hayao Miyazaki

The man himself

(Source: Rolling Stone)

When writing about Hayao Miyazaki and his films, you could really overuse the words ‘cute’ and ‘weird'.  Hayao Miyazaki may just be the cutest old man ever. And his films are just as cute! From the outright adorable (My Neighbor Totoro, Ponyo) to the downright bizarre (Spirited Away, Porco Rosso), one of Japan’s most famous directors has smashed box office records whilst producing some of the sweetest and weirdest shit you’ll ever watch. With Studio Ghibli he’s created tens of films from the mid-eighties right up until last year, and of Miyazaki’s movies, here are seven of his best, in my humble opinion:



Spirited Away (2001)

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Spirited Away happens to be my favourite film of all time. I’ve watched it countless times since I was little and my undying love of this wonderfully far-fetched tale still remains. Translated from the Japanese ‘Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi’, it's something like the Japanese equivalent of Alice in Wonderland and it grossed $330 million worldwide, overtaking Cameron’s Titanic as the highest grossing film in Japanese history. Following the tale of Chihiro as she moves house, her family enter the spirit world where her parents are turned into pigs by the witch Yubaba. In turn, Chihiro has to work at Yubaba’s bathouse for the spirits (an odd and colourful bunch of creatures – Kamaji, Haku, No Face, Radish Spirit..) in order to break the curse. The film score by Joe Hisaishi & New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra is otherworldly and after one listen, the music will be forever intertwined with scenes from the film (‘The Sixth Station’ is literal bliss). The movie is as creepy as it is loveable, and the film is altogether a bit magical.



My Neighbor Totoro (1988)

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Probably Miyazaki’s most iconic cinematic creation, most people know the character (or at least the image) of the Totoro, soot sprites and the Catbus. Set in post-war rural Japan, sisters Satsuki and Mei Kusakabe become friendly with some delightfully charming forest spirits who reside near their new home. The cinematography is gorgeous, with every leaf and raindrop pored over. It simply ignites the imagination of children and adults alike.



Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)

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Adapted from the novel by Diana Wynne Jones, Miyazaki’s eighth feature film is all kinds of strange. The plot involves adolescent hat maker Sophie who is transformed into an old woman by the sinister-looking Witch of the Waste. Sophie’s only hope of breaking the curse is joining naïve young wizard Howl aboard his home, a moving castle complete with legs. In spite of the film’s unusual subject matter, the visuals are intricately formulated and it has a great moral: Sophie learns to live with her newfound elderliness, liberated from worry and self-consciousness.



Ponyo (2008)

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Initially titled Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, the English dub of this darling movie boasts some big names (Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Betty White, Liam Neeson). As offbeat as ever, Sōsuke befriends a goldfish, Ponyo, who wants to become a human girl. Ponyo is superbly childish and enchanting and vaguely reminiscent of The Little Mermaid. The film making is aesthetically pleasing, featuring a myriad of colour and it exemplifies Miyazaki’s knack for perfectly blending a complex plot with the endearingly strange world enjoyed by under-tens.



Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)

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I remember watching this with my sister when I was very small and wanting to be a broomstick-wielding witch more than ever (this desire had already begun to be conceived having watched Harry Potter and the Hex Girls in Scooby Doo). Also based on a novel, this time by Japanese author Eiko Kadono, thirteen year-old Kiki moves to a new town (is this a recurring theme here?) after training as a witch  and uses her ability to fly to earn a living - as the title suggests - making deliveries. Accompanied by her ever-cautious but loveable cat Jiji (you can find hundreds of Jiji plush toys on eBay), Miyazaki explores “the gulf between independence and reliance in teenage Japanese girls".



Princess Mononoke (1997)

Source: wikipedia.org

Honestly, I’m not even sure I would class this as a kids’ film. Even with the spooky title (‘mononoke’ means spirit or monster in Japanese), this epic fantasy features demons, lepers and prostitutes and is rather dark. Set in the historical Muromachi period, a young warrior raised by wolves fights for the forest gods against the destructive humans who threaten them. Juxtaposing the serene with the grey and unsettling, Miyazaki does what he does best in creating a great animated film to be taken seriously. And you know those little white ghost-like creatures you might have seen in anime? They’re called kodama, from Japanese myth, and Ghibli merchandise stores are full of their bobble-heads.



Porco Rosso (1992)

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Miyazaki’s eccentricity peaks in his 1992 film about an Italian World War I ex-fighter pilot who happens to be a famous pig that lives by the Adriatic Sea. In homage to early aviation, this strikingly crafted yet unusual film is as heart-warming as it is bizarre. For instance, the heroine Gina falls for the eponymous Porco the pig over a human man, and how many kids’ films include the Italian Fascist Party? Even still, it made Time Out’s Top 50 Animated Movie List and featured at the 1993 Annecy International Animated Film Festival. Only Miyazaki.