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Studio Ghibli & Hayao Miyazaki

I was awestruck when I saw the first Hayao Miyazaki film. It was far removed from the animation and storytelling that I had grown up with. Whimsical and inspiring, adventurous and silly you can't help but to recognize the genius of the work from this studio. Some of it reads a little different, based no doubt on its cultural roots, but the sheer frolicsome, dangerous, adventurous, mysterious and awe-inspiring nature of this work makes it a must see for animation lovers and artists. 

Studio Ghibli, Inc. is a Japanese animation film studio. Several anime features created by Studio Ghibli have won awards including Castle in the Sky in 1986, My Neighbor Totoro in 1988, and Kiki's Delivery Service in 1989. In 2002, Spirited Away won an Oscar for Best Animated Feature, the first anime film to win an Academy Award.

The studio is headed by the acclaimed director Hayao Miyazaki along with his mentor Isao Takahata, and long-time producer Toshio Suzuki. Its origins date back to 1983, with the film Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind, which was popularized as a serialized manga after the original screenplay was rejected. The film was eventually produced and the film's success spurred the formation of Ghibli.

Hayao Miyazaki, born January 5, 1941 in Tokyo, Japan, is a prominent director of many popular animated feature films. He remained largely unknown to the West, outside of animation communities, until Miramax released his 1997 Princess Mononoke. By that time, his films had already enjoyed both commercial and critical success in Japan and Central Asia.

Princess Mononoke was the highest-grossing film of all time in Japan. His later film, Spirited Away, had that distinction as well, and was the first anime film to win an Academy Award. Howl's Moving Castle was also nominated but did not receive the award.

Miyazaki's films often incorporate common themes, such as humanity's relationship to nature and technology. The protagonists of his films are frequently strong, independent girls or young women.

Miyazaki's success has invited comparisons with American animator Walt Disney. In 2006, Time Magazine voted Miyazaki one of the most influential Asians of the past 60 years.