I ran across Hayao Miyazaki in the mid-1980s in a comic book store. Manga (the Japanese word for comic book) was just starting to be translated into English and much of it was coming from a company called VIZ. What caught my eye in the store that day was the first issue of a series called Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind. Paging though the book, it was full of great art rendered in very calm, pastel colors - like a Japanese version of Moebius (I was interested to note in a 2005 interview, Miyazaki said he was "under the influence of Moebius" when he did Nausicaä). There was a sense of joy in the drawings that captivated me. I bought the book and continued to buy it as it was slowly translated over the next decade.
Meanwhile, life went on. I have a daughter and she insists on growing up. I got sick of watching retarded kid's videos so started looking for things to interest her (i.e. trick her into watching good things.) I ran across a review of the DVD release of The Castle In The Sky (aka Laputa: The Castle In the Sky) (1986) and it sounded pretty interesting so I went out and bought it. It was fantastic. I was blown away, especially by the way cool robots and believe me when I say: it takes a pretty darn cool robot to blow me away.
I did a little online research to find out more about the movie and low and behold, it was by the guy who made the comic I loved twenty years ago.
...more content to come...
The Castle of Cagliostro (1979). I think this was Miyazaki's first big screen film. It's sort of an anomaly in his body of work but is none the less a very enjoyable film. It's a Lupin III movie -- if you're not familiar with the name, Lupin III is a character from a hugely popular comic written by the wonderfully named Monkey Punch. There are many Lupin III films around, and this is Miyazaki's and for my money one of the better ones. Castle is a caper film - part Tintin, part James Bond, part To Catch A Thief. A master thief and generally likable rogue known as Lupin "The Wolf" gets accidentally involved in a forgery scheme and uncovers a conspiracy hundreds of years old. There's a hidden treasure, an evil Count, a girl that needs rescuing, a samurai swordsman, an intrepid and dogged Interpol cop, and lots of crazy action. If you're familiar with Speed Racer, this film is definitely of that type of anime - very exaggerated comic bits, lots of silly humor, and a sort of stiff animation style. It's not exactly a kids film (lots of damns, bastards, a couple son of a bitches), but it's a very entertaining 90 minutes. Supposedly it's one of Steven Speilberg's favorite films - and given that Lupin is a sort of Indiana Jones before there was such a thing as Indiana Jones, it's easy to see why.
Nausicaä Of The Valley Of Wind (1984) . The first "real" Miyazaki film and the birth of Studio Ghibli, the film studio that has produced all his work since. This film has all the standard Miyazaki elements: young heroine , social/ecological commentary, cool flying machines, unbelievably imaginative monsters, and a beautiful score courtesy of Joe Hisaishi. The story takes place thousands of years after a global nuclear war destroyed the planet. People live in small tribes and technology is very primitive. Nausicaä is a princess in the Valley of Wind, which is at the edge of a poisonous forest. She finds herself in the middle of a battle over a reconstructed monster from the great war who has the power to level mountains without breathing hard. There is a strong ecological message in the film and in some ways it reminds me of DUNE in its themes and even a bit in its story elements. Princess Nausicaä is a strong, smart and good hearted heroine and even though the story is pretty involved and complex, my seven year old can discuss the intrigue and details of the plots/wars much better than I would have believed possible. Maybe because Nausicaä is such a great character and therefore the film is watched weekly has something to do with that. The English language version has Patrick Stewart, Mark Hamill, Edward James Olmos, Uma Thurman, Chris Sarandon, and Alison Lohman as the title character. A great performance by my personal favorite animation voice actor Tress MacNeille as Obaba, the first of Miyazaki's wise and crafty old women.
Laputa: Castle In The Sky (1986). Probably the weakest of Miyazaki's major films, it's still better than any 90% of the animated movies you could think of. The story involves the search of the mysterious floating city of Laputa. The government wants it for its legendary arsenal. The pirates want it for its legendary treasure. The hero wants it because it will prove his Dad wasn't a nutter for believing it existed. The heroine wants it to answer a lot of questions she has about herself and her family. This film probably has the largest quantity of Miyazaki's amazing flying machines , not the least of which is Laputa itself. The English language version is flawed by a truly awful performance by Anna Paquin as the main character, which may be a lot of the reason this film doesn't work for me. On the plus side, another amazing old woman, this time the Queen of the Pirates played by Cloris Leachman in what might just be her greatest performance ever. Mark Hamill plays the bad guy, which is a nice touch.
My Neighbor Totoro (1988). This unassuming little picture just might be Miyazaki's masterpiece. His simplest work in terms of story, this leisurely paced film fills me with wonder each time I see it. The plot involves a young girl and her little sister, who move to the country with their father to be closer to the hospital where their sick mother is staying. The girls discover their house and the surrounding forest are full of magical creatures who are ruled by Totoro, a mononoke (magical spirit). Totoro doesn't really speak and looks like a giant hamster but is a simply wonderful, lovable character. The Catbus is another in a long line of mindbogglingly unique Miyazaki creatures - sort of a cross between the Cheshire Cat and the Knight Bus from HARRY POTTER. The rainy bus stop scene where the girls give Totoro their umbrella is one of the most charming scenes in animation. Be aware that there are two versions of this in English - the non-Disney version doesn't appear to have the amazing Joe Hisaishi score for some reason, so spring for the more expensive double disc version. If you have a little one, this is the film to start your collection with.
Kiki's Delivery Service (1989) . Kiki is a witch who is coming of age, meaning she must leave home and find a town to apprentice in, during which time she is supposed to discover her magic strength. Kiki and her hilarious cat Jiji (voiced by the late great Phil Hartman in his final role) set out on her broom and end up settling in a town by the sea. Not a lot of big events happen in the movie ; Kiki slowly discovers her magic talent is in helping people by delivering things on her broom. Along the way she makes a lot of friends and makes a lot of people happy. Kirstin Dunst voices Kiki and she's pretty good. Debbie Reynolds is the old lady this time and she's suitably wonderful. It's interesting to listen to the Japanese language track on this film (on all the films actually) as the voices in the original have very different qualities than the English language version. I'm not sure why they strayed so far from the originals as well dubbed films usually take pride in staying as close in character and spirit to the original as possible. This is another good one for the slightly younger folks; Kiki is an especially well wrought character and a very believable and charming 13 year old.
Porco Rosso (1992). This is a charming story about a pilot who is a pig. The transformation from many to porcine aviator is never clearly explained but it doesn't matter. Marco (the "red pig" of the title) a mercenary who captures air pirates, evades the Italian authorities and dogfights with a cocky American out to prove he's the best pilot in the world. Probably the least interesting to children but chock full of flight and planes, which are Miyazaki's passion. Overlooked by fans.
Princess Mononoke (1997). Another contender for the best Miyazaki (which is a bit like arguing over the best Da Vinci painting), this is probably the most complex and involved of his films. Another cautionary ecological tale, the story involves the destruction of the ancient forest Gods (who are all larger-than-normal talking animals ) by greedy and self-serving men (and women). The interesting thing about this film is the shading of the characters - none of them are good all the time or bad all the time. The so-called "bad guys" actually have a number of good qualities and the "good guys" often act rashly and out of emotion instead of emotion tempered with intellect. Good voice performances by Minnie Driver, Clair Danes, Gillian Anderson, Jada Pinket-Smith and Billy Bob Thornton (!?!). The English translation was done by Neil Gaiman based on a literal translation of the Japanese and from what I gather a number of hard core Miyazaki fans feel like this translation is far from being as effective as the original. I dunno, it seems pretty good to me. The opening segment of the possessed boar god attacking a town has another of Miyazaki's amazing creatures. This one has some bits of extreme violence (warriors decapitated by arrows, a guy's arm gets ripped off) so it's not so much for the little ones. It's a little complex anyway so hold off and give them something to look forward to as they get older.
Spirited Away (2001). The most famous of Miyazaki's films due to its Academy Award for best Animated feature. It is a truly odd take on the Alice in Wonderland story and has some of the most captivating creepiness of any movie ever made. A girl travels into a world which exists parallel to our own in order to rescue her parents, who have been turned into pigs. Along the way she becomes a servant at a bath house for gods and monsters. The film is a coming of age story as the main character goes from being a self-centered brat to a responsible thoughtful young woman. The incredibly weird No-Face is one of many wonderful fantasy creatures that inhabit this film. In terms of voice acting, Suzanne Pleshette is quite good as the odd twin old women and Davleigh Chase (best known as the voice of Lilo and for her performance as that creepy Samara girl in THE RING) is good as Chirio/San, the heroine of the story. This one is really jaw-dropping conceptually and I would say it is every inch the successor to ALICE IN WONDERLAND (the book, not the stupid Disney film) in terms of the wonderful quirky slightly scary world it features. Definitely a film to watch a few times as there is so much to take in.
Howl's Moving Castle (2005). Miyazaki turns his girl heroine M.O. on its head by having her bewitched and turned into an ancient crone. She ends up working for a wizard named Howl who has, of course, a moving castle. It's a sort-of technological Hut of Baba Yaga and is controlled by a small, cranky spirit voiced by Billy Crystal. Again the film is full of inventive and well rounded characters and mind-blowing visual images. I think some of this movie is digital animation but I could be wrong. I can see this working its way to becoming my favorite of his films.
Ponyo (2009). A magic little girl/water spirit .