By Katlyn Marotz, Senior Managing News and Sports Editor
World renowned artist, animator, and director Hayao Miyazaki has created capturing storylines and iconic characters that have left impactful memories. Born in Tokyo in 1941, he had an early interest in art and animation and worked in multiple animation studios before he co-founded Studio Ghibli in 1985. He directed animation films such as Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and Howl’s Moving Castle. His film Princess Mononoke was the first animated film to ever win the Japan Academy Prize for Picture of the Year, and became the highest-grossing film in Japan after its release in 1997. He gained further international recognition after his 2001 film Spirited Away was released, and won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 75th Academy Awards.
Miyazaki’s work has an emphasis on nature and humanity’s interaction and impact, and immerses his audiences into beautiful worlds of everyday heroes. His films often star strong children, especially strong women or girls, because he finds them more “grounded in reality and confident in themselves”. He was also named a Person of Cultural Merit in 2012, and received the Academy Honorary Award for his impact on animation and cinema in November 2014. Studio Ghibli films have influenced multiple animation or cartoons like Gravity Falls and Adventure Time in setting, layout and character design. He married Akemi Ota in 1965, and later had two children — Goro Miyazaki, who has started directing films after his father, and Keisuke Miyazaki.