Laser Shooting Giant Robots - Miyazaki

I hope you were all staying up late on Thursday nights this past month watching SBS? They had a month of Miyazaki movies. I'm a Miyazaki virgin, so it was a wonderful month here in the armpit of Brisbane.

The final movie was Laputa - Castle in the Sky. Once again the trees, planet or robots (programmed with the best of human intentions) win over greedy, power hungry humans. But not before the robot shot lasers from it's eyes and caused a nuclear explosion.

So, maybe giant alien robots will save the earth?

Jane (our teacher at animation school) would be so proud of Mr. Miyazaki mixing robots with an environmental message.

There are some other Miyazaki posts to check out in the ARC blog while you're here.

Can someone tell me about more robots that appear in Miyazaki films? Which other films? Maybe you can find me a better link for the picture?

Miyazaki Interview: Ponyo on a Cliff

Hayao Miyazaki had his 67th birthday recently as he is working on his and Studio Ghibli's latest animated feature Ponyo on a Cliff, due for release mid 2008.

This post is linked to an interview where Miyazaki talks about the film, but I was actually interested in Miyazaki's comment, "I always tell my staff that if they don't like to draw by hand deliberately, then they should give up animation. It's easy to distinguish if pictures are drawn by machines or human hands. If we give up the tough way, we will lose the richness in our art."

Does anyone else agree?

Recent Miyazaki posts

Hayao Miyazaki

Found this doco/interview with the master of all animation on the great Victor Navon Blog.

In the second part Hayao expresses some opinions about animation made for children that would surly send a shiver down the spine of any Cartoon Network or Disney executive. He has a stab at his Japanese Anime making comrades at well. Still its all good. I wish there was more footage of Miyazaki at work on the net like there is of Glen Keane, but rest assured that I'll keep my eyes pealed :)

MIYAZAKI at work

Check out this clip from Japanese TV promoting the next studio Ghibli film. Its cool because you get to see the man doing some drawing (and its nice to know that even he gets one wrong every now and then). You can't understand what he's saying (unless you speak Japanese) but it kind of relates to something I was talking to the first year students about this last week. To get really good at animation you have to be in the habit of looking at your work with a critical eye.

click the pic for the link

Here is a clip I found on Youtube, its from a british TV show, and about 2 minutes in there is an interview with Miyazaki

New Pic on the way from Studio Ghibli

Here is some news that will put a smile on your dial. HAYAO MIYAZAKI has started work on a new traditionally animated film set to be released in 2008. Here is a good article about from an interesting site called Ghibliworld.

click the pic for the link

The Power of Totoro

Over 1000 top international artists have donated their work to the Totoro Forest Project, a charity organised to save the very forest that inspired Miyazaki to make one of (Aww what the hell) the best animated movies ever.

Female Characters in Animation

From Australia: "The criticism (one example) of Pixar over the role of women in their films doesn’t sit well with me. Its a bit like being angry at Martin Luther King because he didn't do enough to help the environment... read more"

From the USA (Cartoon Brew): "As if the animation industry weren’t bad enough with people who don’t know what they’re talking about breathing down the artists necks now THIS? Arggh this is agitating! None of the famous characters were black, Jewish or gay either so why don’t we censor them for THOSE reasons too?"

Regarding Miyazaki: "Yes, the young women are, independent, powerful and instinctively in tune with what is the environmentally correct message."

I think this all started with a newspaper film review of Ratatouille that was pinned on the animation studio noticeboard this year. It focused criticism the lack of female roles/role models in that movie rather than reviewing the animation.

This isn't a Pixar stoning (would anyone dare?). It would, however, be interesting to snapshot opinion on the evolution of female character roles in contemporary animation. So make a comment.

Do animation female characters reflect society? Or is the industry lagging behind real life? Whose princesses do you prefer?

Enrico Casarosa on Ghibli

The Ghibliworld web site has posted a great interview with Pixar storyboard artist Enrico Casarosa in which he talks about the inspiration he draws from Miyazaki films.

I'm always happy when I see top end industry folk saying things like, "the process here is very much one of doing and redoing, making things better step by step. It involves a willingness to pick apart the movie and its themes." He even used my favourite word for this "process", one of the biggest adjustments an animation teacher has to force upon her/his students is this idea that the work requires an investment of time and that over time you make it better. You can't just sit down and pop out some work and expect it to be your best.

Another thing I see students grapple with is the idea that to a degree they will have to get used to being told what to do and how to do it. Given this quote from Enrico, "The huge difference is that at Ghibli storyboards are done by the director and they are followed without exception. So you find a very different way of doing things there, the studio and its artists are following the leader’s vision without deliberation, editing or feedback necessary." Maybe students should consider themselves lucky they will work in a culture where they will be listened to at all.

Its a great interview, look out kids there's a learnin to be done!

Found at : Animated News

Tezuka and Miyazaki Museums

Since on the topic of Japanese animation earlier.....Anyone who will be travelling, or wishes to travel to Japan, don't forget to check out these two places...The Studio Ghibli Museum and the Tezuka Museum. The Ghibli Museum is very well known, and you will need to book tickets to go here at least 3 months in advance. The official website (click on the words 'studio ghibli museum) is all in japanese, but the images give you a good idea. If you click on the picture, it goes to a site that tells you more. If you think yes please, I want to go there...I've found the place in Australia to book them is here (click on the gold coast email to ask about details). It's very hard to book tickets anywhere else and you'll need to specify an exact day that you will visit, and passport details as well. You will not be able to buy tickets once in Japan unless you can read Japanese fluently enough to use the little vending machines around the place that could sell you one.

The Tezuka Museum I've heard nothing much about, but looks really interesting! With the new Astro -Boy film coming out sometime it will probably re-ignite an interest in all things Tezuka!