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The legendary anime filmmaker and co-founder of Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki, is known to be a brutal critic. His cold-hearted and straightforward comments about the various movies, series, and other aspects of the anime industry have made people fear him. However, his works are mostly the exact opposite of what he personifies.
Miyazaki’s major works likePrincess Mononoke, The Boy and the Heron, Howl’s Moving Castle, etc. might have a dark theme, but the beauty in the narrative and in the character development makes it worth it. But Miyazaki’s true softness is reflected in the reason why he created one of his most popular films,Spirited Away.
The Japanese filmmaker once revealed the original tribute story behind creating his first Academy Award-winning anime film. He also pointed out how hard it was to deliver the message that he wanted to portray throughSpirited Away.
Hayao Miyazaki’s Tribute ThroughSpirited Away
In 2011, Miyazaki was featured in a special interview withEmpire, where he discussed almost every major film that he has worked on. While talking aboutSpirited Away,the Japanese filmmaker pointed out that the movie was actually created as a gift to the daughters of his friend.
Spirited Away: Hayao Miyazaki Had 1 Rule for His Movie That Guaranteed it Will Endure the Test of Time
Miyazaki stated:
There were these girls I’d known since they’d been babies. They were daughters of my friend. And they grew to be ten and 12 and I said, ‘I can distance myself from them now, they’re going to blossom into women and I don’t have to play uncle anymore.’ And I was wondering how they would live from now on, and I thought of Spirited Away as a gift to those girls.
Miyazaki explained that when his friend’s daughters grew up to be ten and twelve, he felt like he should distance himself away from them. This was because he realized that they were soon going to become women.
As Miyazaki was thinking about the changes in their lives that they would go through,he came up with the idea ofSpirited Awayand decided to offer it as a tribute to those girls.
The Difficulty While CreatingSpirited Away
While talking about the inspiration forSpirited Away,Hayao Miyazakireflected on the challenges he had to face while starting the movie. He revealed that his art director and his producer went on a trip with him to discuss the movie and the direction it would take. That’s when the real issues started.
But it was a hard film to make. After I started production, the key animator, the art director and the producer came out on holiday with me and we had this blackboard and tried to draft out which direction the film was going in.
I explained, ‘I think we’ll be able to do this kind of story, with this kind of ending,’ and then Suzuki-san (the producer) said: ‘Ah. That will take three hours. I don’t want to make a three-hour movie!’
Hayao Miyazaki: ‘Without him I don’t think we’d be sitting here’ on Spirited Away Getting an American Release That Seemed Impossible
Spirited Awaywas one of the hardest films to make because it had so many layers and developments that made the narrative a little complex. This proved to be a challenge for Miyazaki as he had to portray all this through the perspective of Chihiro.
However, in the end, all the hard work was worth it asSpirited Awayliterally broke records.It earned global recognitionto the point that it won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
Spirited Awayis available to watch on Netflix.
Tarun Kohli
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2959
Tarun Kohli is the Senior Anime Writer at FandomWire, with over 2,900 published articles. He currently specializes in critiquing One Piece and other Shonen anime. A passionate fan of the genre, his love for thoughtful analysis reflects his genuine appreciation for the art of anime. His deep understanding of anime culture has earned recognition from industry figures such as Adi Shankar and the creators of Blood of Zeus.
