It's time for another of these blog entries, and I've decided to give homage to another artist whose work has inspired me from the time I was young: Hayao Miyazaki. Well known as the writer and director of films such as Howl's Moving Castle, Spirited Away, and Princess Mononoke, Miyazaki's work may not seem to fall under the umbrella of "fine art." The success of his films, both in Japan and abroad has earned him comparisons to Walt Disney, whose success in producing family-friendly animation helped build an empire. Despite these comparisons, Miyazaki's works display greater emotional and psychological depth than any Disney film. I have been impressed by Miyazaki's beatifully hand-drawn animation and painted scenery since my first exposure to his work, the film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. This film showed me that animation didn't have to be the "kid stuff" my parents so frequently complained about. It had everything: awesome scenery, epic adventure, environmentalism... and a strong female lead. That really caught my attention. Generally, females in film aren't very strong or leader-ly. They end up being dependent on the men to save them no matter how capable they seem, or the film is about their quest to "get the guy." This film didn't fall into either of these holes.
I was so impressed that I sought out the rest of Miyazaki's films, and I have not yet been disappointed by his work. From a literary perspective, the stories in his films are exceptional for the depth of feeling behind each characters actions. In most of his films, there is no "bad guy" whose purpose in the story is simply to be evil. The antagonists in his films are often ambiguous, revealing a moral grey area that the protagonist has to navigate. This is best illustrated in Spirited Away, which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 75th Academy Awards.
Chihiro, the main character, encounters many scary beings during her time in the bath house of the spirits, but learns that not all of them are out to get her. Some of the scariest ones end up helping her in the end. Her adventures in the spirit world follow the classic coming-of-age model, as she learns to have confidence in herself and her actions. All these story details are well and good, but this is supposed to be an art blog! What about the art?? One characteristic of Miyazaki's films that appeals to me is his use of watercolors. Landscapes and environments are bright and beautifully painted. Equally impressive is Miyazaki's dedication to traditional hand-drawn animation. Since many of the most popular animated films of this era are completely computer-animated, it's heartening to me as a lover of beautiful animation to know that purists like Miyazaki can succeed and even thrive.
