Welcome to 5 Favorites. Each week, I will put together a list of my 5 favorites (films, performances, whatever strikes my fancy) along with commentary on a given topic each week, usually in relation to a specific film releasing that week.
With the wide release of another anime film hoping to top the box office, I thought I’d look at anime, but since I’m not a huge fan, I went with the most obvious solution. I will look at the master of Japanese animation himself, Hayao Miyazaki. I first came to Miyazaki with his 1997 masterpiece Princess Mononoke and subsequently his 2001 Oscar winner Spirited Away. From there, I consumed everything he did and am now short only a couple of features in toto. This week, I look at my five favorite films directed by Miyazaki. Please note that several of these films have been released multiple times and with different dubbings. The first couple had Japanese versions and then two sets of English versions, which makes it difficult to highlight which actor one’s heard, though coming late to Miyazaki, most of the ones I saw were with the Disney re-dubbed versions.
My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
Unlike Walt Disney, to whom he has been favorably compared, Miyazaki’s films largely feature children in primary roles, exploring life through the innocence of their eyes. While his latter films were often about kids growing up, films like this one were just fantasies explored by young characters. His belief that childhood permits youngsters to see into the realms of spirits and mystical settings forms a core part of My Neighbor Totoro, which is about two sisters, Mei and Satsuki, whose mother has been in the hospital seeking treatment for an undisclosed illness. On the verge of coming home, their mother suffers a setback and has to delay returning to her family.
Mei sees a large spirit living in the hollow of an old camphor tree that she calls Totoro, a mispronunciation of the Japanese word for Troll. This benevolent creature serves as protector for the younger sister while her elder sibling isn’t able to see the spirit at first. A lovely animated fantasia, this film released in an era when hand-drawn animation was commonplace and computer generated animation was in its infancy. It showcased Miyazaki’s careful and reasoned hand as a brilliant animator with a stellar imagination. The situations and creatures in the film are adorable while tinged with hints of sadness, much like the life of a child.
No original review available.
Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)
Kiki’s Delivery Service was Miyazaki’s fifth film and was decidedly more adventurous than the fairly contained Totoro. It features a 13-year-old witch-in-training, the titular Kiki, who makes parcel deliveries on her flying broom alongside her talking black cat Jiji. After having met a compelling young inventor, Kiki loses her abilities, but is promised that once she finds her purpose, she will regain them. Miyazaki’s film is once again a visually resplendent animated effort. His skill in creating fresh worlds informed by Japanese culture and traditions make for fascinating settings in which we’re happy to dwell for a short time.
Here, he explores the notion of growing up and how sometimes is risks losing that which connects us to childlike pursuits. While the incident that reinvigorates her power isn’t one of childlike wonder, it is such a pure, unadulterated emotion that helps spark the return of her creative energy, it makes sense in the scope of Miyazaki’s world. When he tackles the ideas of becoming an adult, his desire to encourage the audience to retain their appreciation of childlike wonder is a core principle of his work. It’s also fascinating to grow up alongside these characters. Miyazaki clearly hasn’t let go of his youthful imagination and this film is another fine example of why that’s a great thing.
No original review available.
Princess Mononoke (1997)
The expansive world of Princess Mononoke is gorgeously constructed and richly detailed, an epic adventure awaits its young protagonist. Ashitaka is the last prince of a minor kingdom who must find the source for the corruption that has turned gods into monsters and threatened his homeland. As explores the natural environment in search of clues, he happens upon a young woman running wild in the forest atop her mystical mount. As she plunges headlong into a battle against an industrializing city, he takes a more measured approach, helping guide them both towards the hopeful future they want.
In the wake of the pro-environment ’80s, films about the preservation of pristine wildlands became less frequent, many filmmakers believing they had achieved a goal, but the insidiousness of our world’s polluters continued and films like this helped keep the conversation about ecological protection versus overzealous industrialization alive. Animation has the power to reach and endear itself to younger generations, meaning a film like this can have a lengthy impact on their development, which means being able to present weighty topics in a childlike package only cements its salience and this film is one of the best such efforts ever.
Spirited Away (2001)
Miyazaki’s follow up to Princess Mononoke was his first film to compete during the era of the Academy’s Best Animated Feature category. Spirit Away is another coming of age story about a young girl moving to a new city with her parents. When they stop at an abandoned carnival, they find themselves trapped in a spirit realm where her parents are turned into pigs and she must indenture herself to an inn’s proprietor in hopes of rescuing them.
For Western audiences, the fantastical elements of Miyazaki’s films are strange creations, mystical entities that represent real world entities. The Kami are revered incarnations of various natural elements, such as rivers, trees, and other entities. These are given beautiful and clever life through Miyazaki’s deft hand. As a master of artistic balance and vision, Miyazaki’s films often have several layers. The ecological element is given some attention alongside the act of coming of age and finding one’s way through a new and unfamiliar environment to come out on the other end stronger. Spirited Away distills every essence of Miyazaki’s craft into its purest and most delightful form.
No original review available.
The Wind Rises (2013)
In what was to be Miyazaki’s final film, the filmmaker finally did something he hadn’t done before, focus less on the coming of age aspect of his stories and explore what it’s like once you’ve come of age and life isn’t what you expected it be. All of the forewarnings and cautions of his prior films are put into practice as a young man who grew up dreaming of designing aircraft reaches the peak of his artistic development as World War II breaks out and the only way he can create that which he most desires is by building warplanes.
The film has a bittersweet element to it. Having to see the thing that you love used to murder and maim is a horrendous way for your childhood dreams to turn out into adulthood. The main character understands this dichotomy and while he laments having to create planes used for deadly aims, he has no choice. He cannot escape what is intended for his creations nor can he give up on all that makes up the core of his being. There are other elements to this story as well and there are plenty of dream sequences to allow Miyazaki to spread his own creative wings. It is a perfect encapsulation of a career in cinema and since it metaphorically meant Miyazaki’s shift into adulthood, it was the perfect film to go out on.
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