Heroines, Spirits and Pigs: Hayao Miyazaki’s Historical Impact on Cinema

After Bong Joon Ho won the ‘Best Picture’ Oscar for Parasite in 2020, many thought this was a turning point for world cinema; world cinema was no longer secondary to that of Hollywood and Western filmmakers. However, even after Parasite became the first Foreign-Language film to win the award, in many aspects world cinema still needs to cater towards their Western counterparts to be seen as successful. Whether this be done through dubbing, the culture presented and the involvement of Western ideals, many in the West seem to turn their nose up at something they are not familiar with. However, someone who has rebelled against all of these expectations and saturated their work in Japanese culture, folklore and language is Hayao Miyazaki. Miyazaki, along with his animation studio, Studio Ghibli, has created some of the most unique, thought-provoking animations of our time. This is why Miyazaki has made a historical impact on not just cinema but filmmaking as a whole.

Miyazaki has always been fond and interested in the field of animation. Born in 1941, Miyazaki is from Bunkyō, Tokyo. Not long after, his passion for animation led him to work at Toei Animation in 1963 as an artist. He directed his first feature film, The Castle of Cagliostro, just sixteen years later in 1979 where he would then co-found Studio Ghibli in 1985. Miyazaki’s work and unique story- telling would make the studio become one of the most famous and well-known in the world. His numerous films such as Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989) and the ever-so-famous My Neighbour Totoro (1988) were met with critical acclaim and success. However it was his film Princess Mononoke (1997), which became the first animated film to win the Japan Academy Prize for Picture of the Year, that put Ghibli’s stamp on cinema. With it’s distribution to the Western world, Studio Ghibli was becoming a popular, well-known name outside of Japan.

When we watch many of the classic Disney films, we see the whole “damsel in distress” notion played out. A woman is on the brink of death and the only thing that will save her is a kiss from a man. These films, as great as they are, are quite repetitive in nature. However, Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli show the exact opposite of the “damsel in distress” storylines we see so much. His films are loaded with strong, female characters - particularly young girls. In an interview with Animage, Miyazaki said that “this country [Japan] only offered such things as crushes and romance to 10- year-old girls...I wondered if I could make a movie in which they could be heroines.” And Miyazaki did just that. Princess Mononoke is about a warrior girl in the forest, Porco Rosso features a young female aircraft engineer who plays an integral part to the storyline and even just looking at Spirited Away, a 10-year-old girl is lost in a world of spirits and she must find her own way around the unknown world she is trapped in. If anything, Spirited Away is very symbolic of the world we live in today where some of us may feel out of place and lost; I would describe Spirited Away as a coming-of-age story. But, introducing characters like these in what are categorised as children’s films, has revolutionised and changed how women are portrayed in cinema.

Miyazaki embeds traditional Japanese culture into much of his work, rebelling against the Western expectations of world cinema. Spirited Away for example, which is undoubtedly the director’s most famous film, looks at kamikakushi and Japanese folklore and spirituality for the entirety of the film. Spirited Away became Japan’s highest grossing film after surpassing $300 million at the box office, overtaking the infamous Titanic. Spirited Away was also recognised in the Western world for its original, special story and was celebrated at the 2003 Oscars, winning ‘Best Animated Feature’. However, in true Miyazaki style of not catering towards anybody, he refused to accept the award due to the United States’ involvement in the Iraq War. Whilst Miyazaki made a political statement of his own that night, Studio Ghibli films feature a plethora of political statements. In Porco Rosso, Porco states that he would “rather be a pig than a fascist”. And, in many Ghibli films which feature nature as its backdrop, much of it criticises the state of the environment we live in today - like that of Ponyo and the subject of sea pollution. Miyazaki’s stories are full of rebellion and political statements, which make his mark on the world of cinema even more significant.

In a field where computers are now favoured over pencils, Hayao Miyazaki still hand-draws his animations to create the magical Studio Ghibli universes we have seen throughout his career. As we speak, a Studio Ghibli theme park is being built in Japan, where many of us can go and experience his fantasy worlds in reality. The role of women in his work, the coming-of-age stories and the Japanese culture which thrives throughout all of his films have all made a historical mark on cinema. Compared to many animated films, we are met with a similar, predictable plot. But, how many of us can predict what is going to happen when a pig flies an airplane?