While in the west, children grow up with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, in Japan, Studio Ghibli still reigns with its heroes.
Miyazaki was born on January 5, 1941 in Tokyo, Japan. Although his parents were involved in the management of a military aircraft factory, Hayao himself decided to go in a different direction. His experience as a cartoonist was limited to ships and airplanes, but that did not stop him from becoming one of the most famous mangaka of his time. The decision to pursue a career as a comic book artist was inspired by the Hakuja den animation , which was the first color film he watched.
The beginning of the director’s education was disturbed by the illness of his mother, who had been suffering from tuberculosis for 9 years. As a tribute to her, one of the most popular animations of Studio Ghibli was created – My Neighbor Totoro . In 1959, he graduated from the prestigious Gakushūin University with diplomas in political science and economics. There he also joined a youth science and literary club, which is the equivalent of a modern association of comic book fans.
Immediately after graduation, he was employed by the Tōei Dōga company, which was responsible for creating animations. He was assigned to work on two major projects, Wanwan chūshingura and the subsequent television series Wolf Boy Ken . At that time, he was also one of the creators of a full-length animated film called Taiyō no ōji: Horusu no daibōken. At the same time, he started dating his associate, Akemi Ōta. Together, they created two feature films: Puss In The Boots and Sora tobu yūreisen. The couple got married in 1965 and had two sons. They stay together so far.
In 1971, Miyazaki moved to A-pro studio, from where he later moved to Zuiyo Pictures, before joining Telecom. Finally, in 1984, together with former associates – Tahakata and Suzuki – he created the still iconic Studio Ghibli. Miyazaki’s greatest success is the movie Spirited Away , which won an Oscar in 2003. The aforementioned My Neighbor Totoro with his characteristic characters, recognizable all over the world, has also become popular . Studio Ghibli has also created productions such as Ponyo, Princess Mononoke, Kiki’s Sky Mail, Howl’s Moving Castle and many, many other amazing films, each of which deserves a mention.