1. The Wonderful world of Hayao Miyazaki
Lesson 3
The Wonderful world of
Hayao Miyazaki

2. Introduction—Hayao Miyazaki
Born in 1941 in Tokyo, Japan
A Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter, animator, author, and manga artist.

3. Theme
Environmentalism, pacifism and feminism are characterized in his films.
The absence of villains is also a feature.
A positive world is shown to children though Miyazaki himself is pessimistic

4. Works 1984 Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind 《風之谷》
1986 Laputa: Castle in the Sky 《天空之城》
1988 My Neighbor Totoro 《龍貓》
1989 Kiki's Delivery Service 《魔女宅急便》
1992 Porco Rosso 《紅豬》
1997 Princess Mononoke 《魔法公主》
2001 Spirited Away 《神隱少女》
2004 Howl's Moving Castle 《霍爾的移動城堡》
2008 Ponyo 《崖上的波妞》
2013 The Wind Rises 《風起》

5. Reading Selection

6. Paragraph 1
Many people may have either heard of Hayao Miyazaki, a well-known Japanese animator, or seen his internationally praised films. His films, such as My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, and Howl’s Moving Castle, have attracted the interest of people of all ages around the world. When moviegoers steep themselves in Miyazaki’s films, they easily note three marked characteristics.

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First, the main characters are often tough females who always face difficulties bravely and try to overcome them. Take Satsuki, the twelve-year-old main character in My Neighbor Totoro, for example.

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She has to take care of her younger sister and do piles of housework because their father is busy working while their mother is being treated in a hospital. Actually, Satsuki’s childhood is similar to Miyazaki’s.

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When Miyazaki was about six, his mother was treated for a lung infection, and this continued until his teenage years. Consequently, Miyazaki had to care for his two younger brothers, just as Satsuki does in the film

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Second, flying is a major theme in many of Miyazaki’s works. Miyazaki’s father worked in aviation, and this led to Miyazaki’s interest in flying. When Miyazaki was a child, he would spend hours drawing planes.

11. After he started to create his own works, flying naturally became a repeated theme in his animated films. Various flying vehicles, such as a witch’s broom and military vessels, have appeared in his films.

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Third, Miyazaki’s films consist of characters that are very different from the characters in typical Hollywood animations. The characters he created reflect reality. They are neither totally good nor absolutely wicked, which is true to life.

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As the stories in his films progress, villains reveal certain positive sides, as well as violence, evil, and hate. Good is mixed with bad, and the tension between the two gives richness and complexity to Miyazaki’s stories.

14. If his characters were similar to the characters in Hollywood animations, his works might not be so unique.

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With these special characteristics, Miyazaki’s films have not only hit it big in Japan, but also impressed audiences and critics alike from the
four corners of
the earth.

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In 2002, the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature went to Spirited Away, the first Japanese animated film that won an Oscar. In spite of those achievements, Miyazaki has remained true to his own ideals and beliefs, which are expressed in each of his productions.

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Without a doubt, with the wonderful worlds he creates in his movies, this imaginative animator as well as his brilliant films will always fill people with awe.

18. References https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayao_Miyazaki