The main one is Hayao Miyazaki himself, a gruff, prickly personality who has a love/hate relationship with making animated films. He has devoted his life to something that he has large doubts about. He says, "Today, all of humanity's dreams are cursed somehow. Beautiful yet cursed dreams. I'm not even talking about wanting to be rich or famous. Screw that. That's just hopeless. What I mean is, how do we know movies are even worthwhile? If you really think about it, is this not just some grand hobby? Maybe there was a time when you could make films that mattered, but now? Most of our world is rubbish. It's difficult."
I would love to know if Miyazaki thought this way when he was younger or if there has been a darkening of his view over time. There are artists who create to escape from themselves; to imagine a world better than the one they live in. Miyazaki may be someone who has created pleasant fantasies to counterbalance his tendency to pessimism. The film reveals that Miyazaki's original intention was to have Jiro, the main character of The Wind Rises, die at the end, but he changed his mind. Miyazaki affirms life, even as he questions its result.
The inside of Studio Ghibli is a lovely workspace, with large windows providing natural light and a rooftop garden that Miyazaki visits often. It was interesting to compare the technical process to what's common in North America. No animation disks are used, just floating pegs on tables with built in light boxes. The Japanese all use the pegs at the top, in contrast to the North American preference for bottom pegs. The backgrounds are still painted on paper and shot on an animation camera, though the animation drawings are brought into the computer for colouring and compositing with the backgrounds. I was aware that voices are post-synched to picture, but the voice of Jiro was not even cast until much animation had been done. In North America, characters and animation are built on top of voices.
I knew nothing of producer Toshio Suzuki before seeing this film, but I have nothing but admiration for him now. He is the producer that every director wants and needs. He is level-headed and patient. He is an ambassador for the studio with merchandisers, distributors and the press. He works very hard, but never seems tired or on edge. He is the calm in the middle of any storm. While Miyazaki seems intimidating at times, Suzuki is never less than friendly. Of the two, I suspect that spending time with Suzuki would be a lot more pleasant.
Unfortunately, the film has very little of Ghibli's other director, Isao Takahata. We never see any part of his Princess Kaguya in production. We do, however, meet the young producer in charge of that film, Yoshiaki Nishimura. Takahata is apparently famous for being unable to stick to a schedule. Initially, Ghibli intended to release Princess Kaguya simultaneously with The Wind Rises, but Takahata was unable to make the deadline. Nishimura is the one who had to deal with trying to get the film finished. In the DVD supplement called Ushiko Investigates! (Ushiko being the studio cat), Nishimura says, "I believe many works in this world are unnecessary. I think there are a lot of them like that. At one point, I thought if I had the time to be making anime like that, I'd rather devote my energy somewhere else. A Takahata-san movie will be a masterpiece for 10 years, 20 years. I figured it would be a work you'd want to see again and again. Create 100 things in 10 years or create 1 thing in 10 years." At Ghibli, while money must play a role in shaping the films, it isn't the only standard that's applied.
The same DVD extra contains a moment so brazen, I am amazed that it was included. John Lasseter visits the studio and on camera talks about his admiration for Miyazaki's films. The two of them seem to have a warm, personal relationship as they talk to each other and move through the studio. When Miyazaki is alone, Sunada asks Miyazaki, "What do you like about Lasseter-san?" Miyazaki's response is "What do I like about him? That's not the kind of relationship we have with each other. I need Lasseter. He's necessary." The same man who can create the warmth of Totoro can be cold, calculating and inconsiderate.
If you wish to know more about Studio Ghibli and if you wish to get closer to Miyazaki, this documentary is essential. It supplements the two volumes of Miyazaki's collected writings. There are no documentaries about North American animation studios that are like it. Even The Sweatbox doesn't come close, as everyone at Disney is always conscious of public relations. No one speaks as bluntly on camera as Miyazaki. Furthermore, if you have worked in animation, watch Toshio Suzuki show how a brilliant producer operates.
This documentary is a precious record of a great director and a great studio that have earned a lasting place in animation history and in the hearts of animation fans around the world.
One quote from Miyazaki's first book, "Starting Point", has always remained in my mind. "I have never seen a film that treated its audience with as much contempt as a Disney film."
ReplyDeleteHe was speaking about the films Walt Disney himself oversaw. He also thinks very little of Osamu Tezuka, the "God of Manga" and creator of the Japanese anime industry. He calls Tezuka's outlook "cynical" and how he had to part ways from Tezukas way of doing things. I have to wonder if there's anyone in animation that Miyazaki actually admires.
From reading those two volumes of writings, it's clear that you don't have a career like Miyazaki's unless you're an incredibly smart individual, and Studio Ghibli has three of them!
ReplyDeleteWhat I'm beginning to admire about him is his dedication to animation. That is his focus, and all his energies are to that end. Lasseter is, for all intents and purposes, merely a cog in Miyazaki's overall machine; I'm sure he knows it too.
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ReplyDeleteHey Mark!
ReplyDeleteNHK Japan has released documentaries about most of Ghibi's recent films, as well as exclusive interviews with Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki.
There's also a recorded conversation between Miyazaki and the Japanese film giant Akira Kurosawa that took place in 1993(or earlier, since the clip is released in 1993), that, is very much worth checking out as well.
On that video of the oscars https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZIG14mxB9w , John Lasseter introduces Miyazaki.
ReplyDeleteMiyazaki starts his introduction by saying that he's lucky to have lived through an era that have seen the last of animation done with pencils.
Pretty much saying his distaste of 3d Animation.
In a way, Miyazaki needs John's industry connections far more than John needs Miyazaki's. That said, John draws a lot of creative fuel from Miyazaki which is where the trade-off takes place.
ReplyDeleteOf course, I wonder what John would think after seeing Miyazaki saying this onscreen in this doc. It would probably sting him a little, but I'm guessing he wouldn't be totally surprised.
There is a clarification about Miyazaki's comment on Lasseter.
ReplyDeleteI'm a native speaker of Japanese and I think the translation might be misleading there.
When asked what he likes about Lasseter, Miyazaki answered:
"What do I like about him? You know, our relationship is beyond description. Lasseter is there, always there for me. "
You can see he really values their relationship when he mentions time to time again that John is his best friend.
Anonymous writes in the comment above:
ReplyDeleteI'm a native speaker of Japanese and I think the translation might be misleading there.
When asked what he likes about Lasseter, Miyazaki answered:
"What do I like about him? You know, our relationship is beyond description. Lasseter is there, always there for me. "
Thank you for posting that clarification, Anonymous . That puts a different light on his remarks. I wonder how many other examples there are of poor translation that contribute to the image many people have of Miyazaki as a 'grouch' ?
I wonder how Miyazaki feels about Lasseter now that the latter was let go from Pixar because of misogynistic/chauvinistic behavior? To be honest it made me feel really sad for the animation industry - even though they might be spouting stories with strong female leads, the industry itself is overrun with sexism (at least according to ex-Pixar workers)
ReplyDelete