Hayao Miyazaki

Residency: Tokorozawa City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan Graduated: Gakushuin University (Department of Economics)

Introduction: Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, director, script/screenwriter, author, mangaka and co-founder of Studio Ghibli. He is the second of four brothers, and was born in the town of Akebono-cho, part of Tokyo's Bunkyou Ward. He is best known for his international fame as a masterful storyteller and as a maker of astonishing animated feature films, and he is widely regarded as one of the most accomplished filmmakers in the history of animation.

Miyazaki's works are characterized by the recurrence of themes such as humanity's relationship with nature and technology, the wholesomeness of natural and traditional patterns of living, the importance of art and craftsmanship, and the difficulty of maintaining a pacifist ethic in a violent world. The protagonists of his films are often strong girls or young women, and several of his films present morally ambiguous antagonists with redeeming qualities. Miyazaki's works have been highly praised and awarded; he was named a Person of Cultural Merit for outstanding cultural contributions in November 2012, and received the Academy Honorary Award for his impact on animation and cinema in November 2014, as well as having won two Oscars for Best Animated Feature, the only instances in which a non-English-language film has won the award. Miyazaki has frequently been cited as an inspiration for numerous animators, directors, and writers.

Biography: Miyazaki expressed interest in manga and animation from an early age, which led to him eventually joining Toei Animation in 1963. During his early years at Toei Animation he worked as an in-between artist and later collaborated with the director Isao Takahata. Some notable films Miyazaki contributed to at Toei include Doggie March and Gulliver's Travels Beyond the Moon. He provided key animation in other films at Toei, such as the Puss in Boots and Animal Treasure Island, before moving to animation studio A-Pro in 1971, where he would co-direct the movie Lupin the Third Part I alongside Isao Takahata. After moving to Zuiyou Eizou (later dubbed Nippon Animation) in 1973, Miyazaki worked as an animator on World Masterpiece Theater, and directed the television series Future Boy Conan. He joined Telecom Animation Film/Tokyo Movie Shinsa in 1979 to direct his first feature films, The Castle of Cagliostro in 1979 and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind in 1984, as well as the television series Sherlock Hound.

Miyazaki co-founded Studio Ghibli in 1985. He would go on to direct numerous of films with Ghibli, including Castle in the Sky (1986), My Neighbor Totoro (1988), Kiki's Delivery Service (1989), and Porco Rosso (1992). The films they made were met with critical and commercial success in Japan. His film Princess Mononoke was the first animated film to ever win the Japan Academy Prize for Picture of the Year, and it briefly became the highest-grossing film in Japan following its release in 1997, and its distribution to the Western world greatly increased Studio Ghibli's popularity and influence outside of Japan. His 2001 film Spirited Away became the highest-grossing film in Japanese history, winning the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 75th Academy Awards and is frequently ranked among the greatest films of the 2000s. Miyazaki's later films, Howl's Moving Castle (2004), Ponyo (2008), and The Wind Rises (2013) also enjoyed critical and commercial success.

Following the release of The Wind Rises, Miyazaki announced his retirement from feature films, though he returned again in 2016 to work on a new feature film, The Boy and The Heron (2023). The film received critical acclaim, becoming the first non-English-language film to win the Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature Film, and the second non-English-language film, after Spirited Away, to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature at the 96th Academy Awards. According to Studio Ghibli vice-president Junichi Nishioka and long-time colleague, Toshio Suzuki, Miyazaki is reportedly working on another feature film, contrary to rumours that The Boy and the Heron would be his last.