James Absolon explains how this Pope-themed film, despite its risky premise, works
Alex Pollard reviews Hollywood's biopic of the controversial Margaret Thatcher
The vast majority of Miyazaki’s films include characters who are either children or in the process of growing up. The latter of these is explored the most fully in Kiki’s Delivery Service where the maturation of central character, a witch who delivers packages, is expressed by her losing the ability to talk to her cat. These children are also able to see into the spiritual realm, something lost with age. This is directly referenced in My Neighbour Totoro with the girls Satsuki and Mei being able to see fantastical creatures such as the eponymous Totoro and the iconic Catbus.
The use of fairytales and children’s literature has also had a heavy influence on Miyazaki’s work. His most recent film, Ponyo, is a somewhat trippy reimagining of The Little Mermaid and a loose adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s Alice In Wonderland is present in Spirited Away where the central heroine has to overcome the obstacles of a cruel yet fantastical world in order to find her way home.
Another thing that stands out in Miyazaki’s films is the lack of a completely evil villain, a stock character in Pre-Pixar Western animation. For example Yubaba, the bathhouse owner from Spirited Away, is a controlling, manipulative witch who imprisons her employees by causing them to forget their name. However, at multiple points during the film we see her acting as a very loving mother to her incredibly oversized baby (this includes her desperation and fiery rage when she finds out her child has gone missing).
Love, outside of villainy, has played a vital role in many of Miyazaki’s films, especially in the final act. In his grossly overlooked film Whisper of The Heart it is the central character’s newfound love that spurs her on to finishing her first work of fiction. It also plays a pivotal role in Porco Rosso where the eponymous pig pilot turns back into a human after a kiss breaks the curse.
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, based on his own manga series, was Miyazaki’s first explicit use of environmentalism as a major theme (as well as depicting nature fighting back). Since then, the ideas of nature and attempts to live sustainably have punctuated many of his films. Minor references can be seen in the respect towards trees and the countryside in My Neighbour Totoro, polluting of the oceans in Ponyo and the destruction of river systems in Spirited Away.
Outside of Nausicaä the film that is most environmentally minded is Princess Mononoke. In this the featured villain is Lady Eboshi who, although depicted as destructive and war-mongering, is the most compassionate character in the whole film. Whilst she gives shelter and status to social outcasts, such as lepers and prostitutes, she is also single-minded in destroying the surrounding woods and mountains. This culminates in a beautiful, and chilling, scene where, upon the beheading of the forest god, the surrounding woodland begins to die.
Miyazaki’s next project in the pipeline is not as a director but as a screenwriter for an adaptation of The Borrowers due out in Japan in a few weeks. Other than that he has signed up for two more directorial outings with Studio Ghibli so all we can do is wait.
You must log in to submit a comment.
