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-BIOGRAPHY-
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Hayao Miyazaki is one of the greatest directors/animators/manga writers Japan has ever produced. In the US,
he is often called "the Walt Disney of Japan", though many fans (and probably he himself) hate this label. He
was born in 1941, in Tokyo. After graduating from Gakushuin University with a degree in Economics, he started
his career as an animator at Toei Doga (Toei Animation Studio) in 1963. From the beginning, he commanded
everyone's attention with his incredible ability to draw, and the seemingly endless stream of ideas he proposed
for movies. As an animator, he was involved in many masterpieces of Japanese animation. He moved to A Pro
with Takahata in 1971, then to Nippon Animation in 1973. He directed his first TV series, "Mirai Shonen
Conan" (Future Boy Conan) in 1978. In 1979, he left Nippon Animation for Tokyo Movie Shinsha to direct his
first movie, "Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro". In 1982, he started serializing the manga, "Nausicaa of the
Valley of Wind" in the anime magazine, "Animage". In 1983, Tokuma approached him about making
"Nausicaa" into anime, and the rest is history.
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-FILMS-
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-Nausica� of the walley of wind-
Nausica�, the princess of a small nation, tries to stop other warring nations from destroying themselves and the only means by
which their world, devastated by a holocaust called The Seven Days of Fire, can be saved from the spread of polluted wastelands.
-Laputa, castle in the sky-
Laputa, a mythical floating kingdom, is sought after by Pazu, an orphan boy into whose arms falls Sheeta, a mysterious girl who
floats down from the sky, unconscious, with a shining pendant around her neck. The two are chased by pirates, government secret
agents, and the military who are after the pendant which will guide them to legendary treasure and terrifying power of the floating island of Laputa.
-My neighbor TOTORO-
Totoro is a forest spirit that little Mei, and later her older sister Satsuki, encounter in a giant camphor tree near their new home in
the countryside. Although their father, a university professor, is with them when they move, their mother is in the hospital,
recovering from some unnamed illness. When Mei hears that her mother's condition may be worsening, she resolves to visit her all
by herself. When everyone realizes she's missing, only Totoro knows how to find her
-Grave of the fireflies-
Grave is a very somber film about the struggle of two children to survive during World War II. Seita, the older brother, and Setsuko,
the younger sister, are left to fend for themselves when their mother passes away from severe burns inflicted by the American
firebombing of their town. Their father is serving the Japanese navy, but the children have not heard from him in a long time, so
Seita and Setsuko try staying with a distant relative. However, Seita doesn't get along well with this relative, and decides to leave,
taking Setsuko with him, to live on their own.
-Kiki's delivery service-
Kiki is a 13-year old witch. When a witch turns 13, it is traditional for her to move away from home to spend a year in another city
or town where there is no witch already living, so that she can learn to be independant and practice her trade.
This is Kiki's story of the beginning of her year away from home. She and her black cat Jiji run into a little trouble at first, but they
soon make friends in their new city by the sea.
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-CONTINUED-
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-PORCO ROSSO-
"Porco Rosso" was first planned as a 30-45 minutes in-flight movie on Japan Airlines ("a movie which tired businessmen on
international flights can enjoy even with their minds dulled due to lack of oxygen"). As Miyazaki's imagination took off, it became a
feature-length movie about an Italian Air Force pilot who left the service due to the rise of fascism. He became a bounty hunter,
assuming the name "Porco Rosso".
-SORA IRO NO TANE-
Sora Iro no Tane is a TV spot for the Nippon TV network to commemorate its 40th anniversary. It's a story about a boy who planted
a sky colored seed, which grew into a big house with a lot of animals in it.
-NANDARO-
"Nandaro" translates roughly to "What-is-it", which implies even its creator(s) didn't really know what kind of creature it is
supposed to be. However, NTV (Nihon TV) chose it as their station's mascot.
-MIMI WO SUBASEBA-
Double-featured with On Your Mark.
-ON YOUR MARK-
This music film, directed by MIYAZAKI for the Japanese pop music artists Chage and Aska, is by many accounts the seed of an
idea for a film in its own right. It double-featured with Mimi wo Sumaseba at the film's theatrical debut.
-MONONOKE HIME-
The latest (and possibly the last) film directed by Miyazaki, "Mononoke Hime" is a story about a mystic fight between the Animal
Gods of the forest and humans, which takes place in the Muromachi Period (1333-1568) of Japan.
On the side of the Animal Gods is San (Mononoke Hime), a human girl who was raised by a wolf god. On the side of the humans
is Lady Eboshi, who tries to build a kingdom for oppressed people, by cutting down the forest for her iron making operation.
In the middle of this fierce fighting for survival, Ashitaka, an Emishi boy, struggles to find a way for both sides to coexist. But the
fighting just becomes more and more bloody and all hope seem to be lost...
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