Having directed and animated some of the most innovative and cherished stories of the last five decades, today, Studio Ghibli founder Hayao Miyazaki is undoubtably full of worldy wisdom. Classics like Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke have spawned 8-bit remixes and detailed supercuts, and during the production of his latest (and possibly final) film, The Wind Rises, we received an eye-opening glimpse into the “Walt Disney of Japan’s” creative process. His movies combine epic scale with subtle intimacy, childlike wonder with mature awareness of evil, and classic animation techniques with completely unique characters and stories. In celebration of his almost three-quarters of a century on Earth, we’ve gathered a few nuggets of insight Miyazaki has shared into his always distinctive creative process.
Howls Moving Castle, 2004, via
+ “My [creative] process is thinking, thinking and thinking—thinking about my stories for a long time,” he said with a wink, through a translator. “If you have a better way, please let me know.” via
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Spirited Away, 2001, via
+ “I try to fish out my own dreams by dangling a fishing line into my subconscious, but they don’t catch very well. When I get stuck on ideas, I have to dig down deep into my subconscious, past the surface of my mind that no longer seems helpful, to find some interesting way to resolve the drama in my films. But to get there, it’s very difficult for me. It’s a constant struggle.” via
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, 1984, via
+ “I look at [children] and try to see things as they do. If I can do that, I can create universal appeal. We get strength and encouragement from watching children. I consider it a blessing to be able to do that, and to make movies in this chaotic, testing world.” via
The Wind Rises, 2013, via
+ “Making films is all about—as soon as you’re finished—continually regretting what you’ve done. When we look at films we’ve made, all we can see are the flaws; we can’t even watch them in a normal way. I never feel like watching my own films again. So unless I start working on a new one, I’ll never be free from the curse of the last one. I’m serious. Unless I start working on the next film, the last one will be a drag on me for another two or three years.” From his book, Turning Point, via.
Ponyo, 2008, via
+ “I have learned to accept the fact that I can be useful only in an area in my immediate proximity—say within a 30-meter radius, or 100 meters at most, in a manner of speaking. I’ve got to accept my own limitations.” via
Princess Mononoke, 1997, via
+ “Speaking from my own experience, I would say you shouldn’t grow your studio too big. You need to make fewer films. I think my producer would agree. Making too many films puts you in a hectic situation. Try to stay modest.” via
+ “By the time I entered my 40s, I had already created what I wanted to create when I was a kid. In a way, I had already accomplished what I’d always wanted to do. After that, the biggest challenge was to find a good theme to make into a movie. It was like walking in a dark room. Not knowing where to go.” via
My Neighbor Totoro, 1988, via
+ “In my movies for children, I want to express before anything else the themes: ‘The world is profound, manifold and beautiful,’ and ‘You children are fortunate to have been born into this world… Although the world’s beset with lots of seemingly intractable problems, such as population explosion and environmental disruptions, making it difficult to entertain hope, it’s nevertheless a wonderful thing to live.’ This is more easily said than done. It’s adults rather than children that are seeing their hopes dashed. So making movies also amounts to struggling with myself.” via
Hayao Miyazaki working on THE WIND RISES (© 2013 dwango)
Wish Hayao Miyazaki a happy 74th on the Miyazaki News Twitter page.
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