A Comparison of The Naïve and Beautiful Style in The Films by Hayao Miami My Neighbor Tororo, Spirited Away and The Wind Rises

When you think of Japanese animation, he is the man that comes to mind. A man who is dedicated to his craft, he works at least 12 hours, sometimes not even eating, hand-drawing by himself the storyboards for all his movies. When Spirited Away won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, he chose not to go to the award show stating, “I didn’t want to visit a country that was bombing Iraq”. He is most noted for his fascination with flight and for not having the typical hero vs unsympathetic antagonist. Especially in his movie Princess Mononoke where the antagonist, Eboshi, could have been your classic evil villain, she just wants to help bring up the mining town she lives in while, but at the same time she is taking the forest gods’ habitat. This has made him very controversial and has even branded him as a feminist, pacifist, and even as a traitor to the Japanese, but to most, Hayao Miyazaki is simply their childhood. Through his films all of his films, including Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, and The Wind Rises, Hayao Miyazaki emanates a very innocent and wondrous style.

In all three movies the lighting choices help convey this style. In Spirited Away, when Chihiro sees No-Face standing outside the bath house in the rain, the soft lighting on No-Face’s face tells the viewer that he is an innocent and timid spirit. This lighting technique is also showed when No-Face tries to give Chihiro a handful of gold nuggets. In My Neighbor Totoro there is a scene where Satsuki, Mei, and Totoro are laying on a field enjoying the beauty of the world. The scene is flooded with high key light which emphasize the natural wonder and beauty of the world. A romantic vision of a world Hayao Miyazaki creates where things were simpler, a world of the old Japan. Both techniques of soft lightning and high key lighting are used in The Wind Rises. When Jiro is flying on the wing of a plane in a dream, the sun shines on Jiro’s face and fills the scene with high key light. It shows the wonder of Jiro’s dreams and of flight and shows another innocent world where Jiro’s zero fighter planes are not used for war.

The camera movements in Hayao Miyazaki’s movies also help convey his feelings into his directing style. In The Wind Rises the camera zooms in on Jiro’s face while he is dreaming of flying on a plane. It shows the innocence of Jiro’s dreams, because he cannot become a pilot himself, and the wonder and fascination he has with flying. In both My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away dolly tracking is employed in flying scenes. When Chihiro is riding on Haku and they are flying through the air and when Satsuki and Mei are holding onto Totoro who flies through the air with his screaming and an umbrella. The camera follows them to show the feeling of flying through the air. The wonder that is to touch the sky,

The costumes for Hayao Miyazaki’s characters also show an innocent and wondrous style. In the scene where Satsuki, Mei, Totoro, and friends dance around the magic tree they have their pajamas on. This shows to the audience that they are still innocent. They are children who are simply playing with their new friend and learning more about the world. Innocence is also shown through Chihiro’s work clothes at the bath house. This set of clothes shows the true innocence of the child in Chihiro who used to whiny and pessimistic. After staying in the bath house and meeting Haku, Chihiro changes into a determined young girl who breaks Haku’s curse and her parents’ curse. In The Wind Rises Giovanni Caproni’s costume in Jiro’s dreams is a navy blue suit with a red tie. This contrasts with Jiro, who has a pale lavender suit and wears light colors during the film. This shows how Giovanni, who Jiro dreams of actually meeting, is a man of wonder to Jiro.

Hayao Miyazaki’s films all remind us of the innocence of our childhood yet still fill us with wonder today. Through a 50 year career he has created master pieces that will go down in history. From his first movie, The Castle of Cagliostro, to his final, The Wind Rises, Hayao Miyazaki has moved generations and will continue to long after my time. His own personal style will continue to influence generations of animators to come.