The genius of Miyazaki

Everyone of us grows up watching American animation/cartoons. Some of them are really nice but half of them are actually very violent and naturally kids get addicted to them...I still enjoyed watching American animation but it was turning out to be predictable (the animals, the songs, the constant bashing/hammering )

In the animation industry, 'Pixar' studio in Los Angeles does produce really high quality films and sets the standards of animation technology. However many of these films tend to express American cultural values.

The characters are computer generated and lack a human touch. They are nice, enjoyable neverthless.

Anyway... one fine day when I was picking up a rental movie in a nearby 'Blockbuster' U.S video store, I bumped into an animation film produced by a Japanese animation artist.

Little did I know what world is going to open up for me. I watched the film. It was "Princess Mononake" by Hayao Miyazaki and the production house was Studio 'Ghibili'.

The film changed my world. It was so beautiful and so stunningly done. The animation was taken to a level I had not ever imagined. But more importantly, it brought back tenderness and human values into the films. You could see Miyazaki telling us something constantly in his films, a theme which expresses a message of telling all of us to go back to our roots and look at the world we have left behind. The forests, the springs, the simple life, family, old people... and much much more. On many occassions, he wants us to believe in the fairly tales...the tales that our grannies told us and the ones which we were told not to believe in, after we grow up. And the animation...when we watch his films we experience the shades of trees, the changing weather, the sunshine on the leaves after a shower...unbelievable...

I watched many of his films and have started forming a DVD collection
"My friend Totoro", "Spirited Away", "Kiki's delivery Service"...

I am posting one lovely Youtube video from his film "My friend Totoro"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIhQ4XEo3Is

The world is unlikely to see another 'Miyazaki' getting created. Miyazaki still produces hand drawn animation instead of computer generated characters and his characters look so very natural. His studio spends years and years tireless working on a film. The end result is for all of us to see and experience.

In my mind, if there is one country which deserves all the respect, it's Japan.
Japan is a miracle...Every engineer knows and understands that. It's a country with
zero natural resources. It was completely destroyed after World War 2.

But today, we can blindfold ourselves and buy Japanese products and they are always high quality. I am so glad, Japan produced an artist who gives so much joy to me and to many people in the world who have been lucky to watch his films.

Here is a wonderful site for all the Miyazaki fans around the world
http://www.nausicaa.net/wiki/Main_Page