Hayao Miyazaki
Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator and filmmaker, co-founder of Studio Ghibli, widely regarded as one of the greatest figures in animation history.
His hand-drawn films—*Spirited Away*, *My Neighbor Totoro*, *Princess Mononoke*—are known for lush visuals, complex heroines, and themes of environmentalism and pacifism. *Spirited Away* won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2003.
Japanese animation powerhouse
- Totoro
- Spirited AwayTaken by supernatural beings
- Princess Mononoke
- Kiki's Delivery Service
One who leads
- auteurDirector with total control
- screenwriterAuthor of film scripts
- producerOne who makes things
- co-founderJoint venture originator
Oscar · Academy Award · retrospective · retirement · feature film · documentary · premiere · festival
Japanese comic medium
- animeJapanese cartoon art form
- ShintoJapanese animistic tradition
- TokyoJapan's capital city
- bathhousePublic washing facility
yokai · tanuki · kami · postwar Japan · countryside · tatami · shoji · Japanese folklore
Created manually, not digitally
- watercolorTranslucent paint medium
- storyboardPlanned visual sequence drawings
- keyframeFixed animation reference point
- celTransparent sheet for cartoons
background art · character design · layout · pencil test · animatic · frame-by-frame · inbetweening · sketch
Advocacy for nature protection
- pacifismAntiwar moral stance
- flightAerial journey by aircraft
- childhoodLife's earliest phase
- natureInherent quality or disposition
feminism · anti-war · industrialization · folklore · coming-of-age · nostalgia · wonder · transformation
Studio Ghibli
Japanese animation powerhouse
- Spirited AwayTaken by supernatural beings
- forest spiritsMythical woodland entities
Totoro · Princess Mononoke · Kiki's Delivery Service · Ponyo · My Neighbor Totoro
director
One who leads
- auteurDirector with total control
- screenwriterAuthor of film scripts
- producerOne who makes things
co-founder · Oscar · Academy Award · retrospective · retirement · feature film · documentary · premiere · festival · box-office
manga
Japanese comic medium
bathhouse · yokai · tanuki · kami · postwar Japan · countryside · tatami · shoji · Japanese folklore
hand-drawn
Created manually, not digitally
- watercolorTranslucent paint medium
- storyboardPlanned visual sequence drawings
- keyframeFixed animation reference point
cel · background art · character design · layout · pencil test · animatic · frame-by-frame · inbetweening · sketch · movement
environmentalism
Advocacy for nature protection
nature · feminism · anti-war · industrialization · folklore · coming-of-age · nostalgia · wonder · transformation · coexistence
- Japanese ArtistsTaiga, Yoshida, Watanabe, Yoko Ono
- Japanese celebritiesShohei Ohtani, Naomi Osaka, Ken Watanabe, Akira Kurosawa, Haruki Murakami
- Japanese DirectorsAkira Kurosawa
- animationanimation, animator, animators, cartoon, cartoons
- Japanese culturesamurai, kabuki, sumo, origami, tea ceremony
- filmmakersSteven Spielberg, Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola
Hayao MiyazakiWalt Disney