Best Films from Hayao Miyazaki

By Eline Alexandre-Bertrand and Thalea Maurer, 2nde BFI students

On the 5th January was the 84th birthday of Hayao Miyazaki, the famous Japanese animator, filmmaker and mangaka.

Hayao Miyazaki was born in 1941 in Tokyo. He is a legendary Japanese animator, director, and co-founder of Studio Ghibli. Known for his visually stunning and thematically rich films, he is celebrated for his hand-drawn animation, imaginative storytelling, and exploration of themes like environmentalism and human nature. Despite having retired multiple times, he continues to influence the animation world with his timeless creations.

“Castle in the Sky” is the first movie released by the Ghibli Studios, in 1986 . The film recounts the adventures of Sheeta and Pazu in search of the legendary floating castle, Laputa. The film deals with themes such as magic, technology and the consequences of human greed. It blends action, fantasy, and heartwarming moments. It is a beautiful movie showcasing Miyazaki’s signature themes of environmentalism and the power of friendship.

 

My Neighbor Totoro is a heartwarming animated film from Studio Ghibli released in 1988. The story follows two sisters, Satsuki and Mei, who move to the countryside with their father to get closer to the hospital where their mother is treated. They meet magical creatures, including Totoro, a friendly and cute forest spirit. Totoro and his friends offer comfort and help to the girls. With its charming animation and memorable characters, the film captures the innocence of childhood and the power of nature. It’s a timeless classic that appeals to audiences of all ages.

Released in 2010, this animated film wasn’t directed by Miyazaki but by Hiromasa Yonebayashi. However Miyazaki is the scenarist of the film. The story, based on the novel The Borrowers by Mary Norton, follows a tiny girl named Arrietty who lives secretly under the floorboards of a house with her family. Their lives are disrupted when Sho, a human boy suffering from heart disease, discovers her existence. This leads to a series of heartwarming and adventurous events as Arrietty learns about the world above while struggling to protect her family from being discovered. The film explores the themes of friendship, courage, and the fragility of life.

« The Wind Rises », released in 2013, tells the fictitious story of Jiro Horikoshi, a Japanese aeronautical engineer who designed the famous A6M Zero fighter used by the Japanese navy during the Second World War. The story also describes his love relationship with Nahoko Satui and the life challenges in Japan in the 20s and 30s. The story addresses the themes of dream, passion and also culpability. The movie is a beautiful work that mixes the fictive story with historical events and deep feelings.  

Released in 1997, the movie tells the story of Ashitaka, the last prince of the Emishi, who is cursed after killing a boar god turned demon, Nago. To lift this curse, Ashitaka sets off on a quest to the west, where he discovers a conflict between humans and forest spirits, including San, known as Princess Mononoke. San is a human raised by wolves, who fights to protect the forest from the destruction caused by humans. The movie explores the relation between humans and nature. It is considered as one of Miyazaki’s major works and marked a turning point in Japanese animation thanks to its profound themes and visual quality.

The film follows Chihiro Ogino, a young girl who, while moving in with her parents, finds herself in a spiritual world. Her parents are turned into pigs by the witch Yubaba. To save her parents and return to the human world, Chihiro must work in Yubaba’s bathhouse, where she encounters various spirits and creatures from Japanese mythology. The story addresses such important themes as personal growth and identity. The film has been a huge success and is considered as the masterpiece of Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. 

Ponyo was released in 2008 and is a lovely film directed by Hayao Miyazaki. The movie follows the story of a young fish-girl, Ponyo, who wishes to become a human after discovering the world above the sea. The hand-drawn animations are vibrant and create a magical atmosphere within which the characters go through hardships. Ponyo is a delightful, family-friendly tale filled with creativity and imagination.

“The Boy and the Heron” is the most recent film of Hayao Miyazaki – if not his last – released in 2023. It tells the story of Mahito Maki, a 12 year old boy whose mother died in a hospital fire during a war. Later, his father brought them to the countryside with his new-step mother, Natsuko. This is where Mahito meets a mysterious heron and explores a fantastic tower. This film mixes grief, self-discovery and imagination to tell a moving story.

“Howl’s Moving Castle” is an animated movie from 2004 based on the novel by Diana Wynne Jones. The story revolves around Sophie, a young woman who gets transfigured under mysterious circumstances into an elderly lady by a curse. As she searches for a way to break the curse, she meets Howl, an enigmatic wizard. His castle is a magical and mechanical building that roams across the land and the two characters will form an unlikely bond throughout the film. This movie takes place in a fantasy setting and offers elegant animations.

“Kiki’s Delivery Service” was released in 1989 by Studio Ghibli and is based on the novel by Eiko Kadono. The protagonist, Kiki, is a young witch who reached the age of 13. Following a tradition of her kind, she must go on a journey of independence and find a place for herself in the world. Accompanied by her broomstick and her talking cat named Jiji, she will need to prove her worth and face all the struggles that now face her.

“Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind” is a film directed in 1984 by Hayao Miyazaki. The story is based on his own manga and tells the story of a post-apocalyptic world where humans survive within a toxic jungle called the “Sea of Decay”. In this distant future we might come to face, most of the Earth has been consumed by this jungle and is filled with dangerous creatures and a poisoned air. The protagonist is Nausicaa, a courageous princess who is dedicated to trying to understand her environment and create understanding and cooperation between the two existing kingdoms.