Studio Ghibli films are a bubbling and haunting projection of life. Complete with exquisite writing, animation and musical scores, the Japanese studio has a unique artistic identity that has pushed the bounds of animation. Watching a Ghibli film feels like drinking tea by a fireplace and just by looking at a frame from any Ghibli film, you can almost feel a breeze sailing through the screen and over your skin. Many of Studio Ghibli’s most beloved films have been directed by Hayao Miyazaki, a master in the play between fantasy and reality.
The first of Miyazaki’s films I ever watched was one of his most well known, “My Neighbor Totoro.” The film’s portrayal of adventure and friendship through absolutely delightful scenery makes it a childhood classic. Equally as dazzling, although substantially weirder, is Miyazaki’s “Spirited Away,” which tells the story of a young girl wandering through a feverish new world trying to save her parents’ souls. After my first viewing of this film as an 8-year-old, I appreciated the animation, but only began to truly understand the strangeness of it all and appreciate the beauty of the film as I got older. It features a humongous baby, a spider-esque old man, bouncing heads and a dragon disguised as a human–yet, it all works incredibly well.
Miyazaki’s skill for worldbuilding is what gives his films such a universal appeal. Every element of his work is crafted so perfectly that it can be appreciated by any audience. Anyone can marvel at Miyazaki’s hand drawn animation. Even more, his stories, however strange or complex they may be, have the rare ability to touch a different part of your soul as you move through life. The protagonists of his stories are often children and as they make discoveries about the world and about themselves, viewers are able to connect with them at every bend.
It’s clear that Miyazaki’s experiences, particularly as a witness of World War II as a young boy in Japan, have influenced this quality of his work. Miyazaki transcends the basic directorial job of simply communicating a plotline, and thrives in telling unique stories that pull from his own life without making the mistake of awkwardly inserting himself. It is what marks him as a brilliant storyteller. Often, his characters face the destructive path of human conflict and its consequences in the natural world, as victims, perpetrators or both. Through this, they also discover the tricky balance of their own morals. Miyazaki intertwines these themes with those of idealism and whimsy, and together they create striking images of what the world could look like at the extremes of war and peace, as well as everything in between. This contrast lies at the heart of each of his films as well as among the range of them, from playful ones like “Ponyo” and “Kiki’s Delivery Service” to heavier pieces like “Princess Mononoke” and his latest and final film, “The Boy and The Heron.”
While watching, one can only become entangled in these relationships. Miyazaki films can feel like an escape from the harshness of reality, and at the same time, a confrontation of its very complexities.