Hayao Miyazaki

Hayao Miyazaki – The Auteur of Anime

The auteur concept was introduced by a group of cinema enthusiasts who wrote for Cahier du Cinema in the 1950s as an art of personal expression. They believed that some directors should be recognized as artists, as the directors personal vision is reflected consistently across their body of work.

In the world of feature animation, it is almost impossible to be an auteur since it involves such a large scale production. But some directors coordinate the work of all the departments in production in a certain way that the animated feature has a recognizable style or stylistic signature – this is where an auteur comes into picture. This is exactly what Hayao Miyazaki does.

Hayao Miyazaki co-founded Studio Ghibli with fellow animation director Isao Takahata, where Miyazaki has primarily contributed to establishing a recognizable Ghibli style. As a result there is a Miyazaki look and feel and treatment of the animation and all of Ghibli films have been designed to have a certain feel and they address the viewers in a certain way and present the world in a certain way.

The Major Themes and Styles

Miyazaki’s vision is expressed throughout the movies through various motifs, themes character types and story arcs that keeps recurring. He address a range of topical issues and his body of work addresses issues related to loss of environment, the terrors of war, people’s attachment to worldly pleasures, innocence, loyalty, self-sacrifice, gratitude, courage and love.

Miyazaki movies are also characterized by the lack of evil or villainous characters and the prominence of feminism.

Feminism

Almost all of Miyazaki’s films are led by strong female protagonists that go against the gender roles common in animati...

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... are two young girls who can see the spirit world, unlike the adults, and in Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, a boy befriends a magical creature from the sea who is also a child. Kiki's Delivery Service and Spirited Away are both coming-of-age stories and they deal with growing up.

Anti-War Themes

Both Nausicaa and Princess Mononoke feature strong anti-war themes. Ending war which opens the world to a more peaceful time is a central theme in movies like Princess Mononoke, Naussica, Laputa Castle in the Sky and Howl’s Moving Castle. The protagonists in these movies are strongly against war and makes us understand why war is mindlessly and needlessly violent.

Hayao Miyazaki’s body of work reflects how commercial animation can be mesmerizing, inspiring and empowering even without the use of the usual formula for animation that we see in most commercial animated features.