TSPDT

Key Production Country: Japan
Key Genres: Animation, Anime, Fantasy, Fantasy Adventure, Children's/Family, Adventure, Family-Oriented Adventure, Children's Fantasy, Drama
Key Collaborators: Joe Hisaishi (Composer), Takeshi Seyama (Editor), Atsushi Okui (Cinematographer), Toshio Suzuki (Producer), Yôji Takesighe (Production Designer), Sumi Shimamoto (Voice Actress), Ichiro Nagai (Voice Actor), Akio Otsuka (Voice Actor), Isao Takahata (Producer), Noboru Yoshida (Production Designer), Nizou Yamamoto (Production Designer), Kazuo Oga (Production Designer)

"Hayao Miyazaki is often called "The Japanese Walt Disney," but whether in style, substance, or sensibility, that myopic comparison ends beyond the two directors' shared vocation of animation. In common with many animators, Miyazaki began work on the sidelines, assisting in a series of animated TV shows and films, before his first feature, Arsene Lupin and the Castle of Cagliostro (1979)." - Joshua Klein (501 Movie Directors, 2007)

"Long acknowledged as Japan's preeminent animator and director, Hayao Miyazaki remained a cult figure to American devotees of "manga" (Japanese comic books) and "anime" (Japanese animated features) until the 1999 US release one of his undisputed masterworks, Princess Mononoke (1997). Acquired by Miramax and redubbed into English using a script by Neil Gaiman and the vocal talents of actors such as Claire Danes and Billy Crudup, Princess Mononoke introduced the richly crafted animation and superb storytelling to mainstream audiences." - Turner Classic Movies

"Hayao Miyazaki is regarded as one of the greatest creators of animated films, and his work certainly stands as some of the best the genre has to offer. Miyazaki began as a low-level animator for children's cartoons such as Gulliver's Space Travels, eventually becoming director and key animator on many films and series, including Future Boy Conan and The Castle of Cagliostro. He frequently collaborated with Isao Takahata, director of Grave of the Fireflies. Miyazaki and Takahata co-founded Ghibli Films, a name that would become synonymous with quality. - Jonathan E. Laxamana (Allmovie)

"There is little doubt about Hayao Miyazaki's status as Japan's premiere animator. After such devastating successes as Porco Rosso and Princess Mononoke, not even the lure of early retirement could keep the most famous founding father of Studio Ghibli from delivering what would become the most successful film of all time in Japan: Spirited Away." - Tom Mes (Midnight Eye, 2002)

"Over the last three decades, Miyazaki, and his company Studio Ghibli, have been behind some of the greatest masterpieces that animated film have ever seen, strange wonderful pictures that couldn't have come from anywhere or anyone else, and have broken out of love from just the hardcore anime fans to enchant audiences and cinephiles the world over. Western audiences have caught on more recently thanks to the patronage of Disney and Pixar chief John Lasseter, perhaps the only figure who can stand alongside Miyazaki in the animated world." - The Playlist Staff (Indiewire, 2014)

"Long acknowledged as the preeminent animator and director in Japan, Hayao Miyazaki remained a cult figure to American devotees of 'manga' (Japanese comic books) and 'anime' (Japanese animated features) until the 1999 US release of his undisputed masterwork Princess Mononoke (1997)… Without being preachy, Miyazaki posits a delicate balance between nature and industrial progress and shows the effects if that balance tips too far in favour of one over the other. While his message may not be for everyone, there was no denying the power of his images." - Ted Murphy (The Hollywood.com Guide to Film Directors, 2004)

"His films are rich with kinetic action set pieces, impressionistic pastoral beauty, and staggering sweeps above the clouds. The wind through the reeds, and sunlight reflected on a babbling brook: these moments, always in motion and punctuated by Joe Hisaishi’s indispensable music, only amplify the human element… One of his great strengths as an animator is the sense of scale in his frames. The visuals translate emotionally, and Miyazaki’s films are joyous and melancholy, intimate and immense." - Jeff Griffith-Perham (BAMPFA, 2024)

"I love his films. I study his films. I watch his films when I'm looking for inspiration." - John Lasseter

"If [hand-drawn animation] is a dying craft, we can't do anything about it. Civilization moves on. Where are all the fresco painters now? Where are the landscape artists? What are they doing now? The world is changing. I have been very fortunate to be able to do the same job for 40 years. That's rare in any era." - Hayao Miyazaki