Hayao Miyazaki's Sensory World

Author: Shen Lihui
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: Hayao Miyazaki's works are often whimsical, yet they carry profound meanings. These meanings stem from a deep dissatisfaction with reality. Miyazaki has once stated that Tokyo (Japan) is full of money-driven individuals who refuse to let go of the belief that "money can buy everything." For this reason, Miyazaki said, "I hope to once again use works with greater depth to save humanity's declining souls." Thus, each of Miyazaki's works, though different in theme, integrates thought-provoking messages about dreams, environmental protection, life, and survival. Miyazaki's dedication has not only resonated with people worldwide but has also elevated Japanese animation to global recognition. Even Disney, the animation powerhouse in the United States, sought to acquire the distribution rights to Miyazaki's animated films (excluding the Asian region). Miyazaki's contributions have made Japanese animation a household name worldwide, an achievement he is absolutely instrumental in.
In 1943, a young Japanese girl watched an animated film from China in a cinema and was deeply moved, determined to create her own animated world for Japan. Thus, history turned a new page, and this girl later became the father of the legendary Astro Boy—Osamu Tezuka. Today, we welcome another powerful wave—Hayao Miyazaki, the master of Japanese animation. His representative works include Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Nausica? of the Valley of the Wind, and Porco Rosso. Among them, Spirited Away broke the box office record by earning over 2.14 billion U.S. dollars within just eight months of its release. This film became the first animated movie to win the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival.