The story of Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki: beautiful art and the passion that made anime a world beater

Forest sprites and witches, a pilot who is a pig, mythical princes, gods, dragons and children struggling against insurmountable odds – a cast of the good, the bad and the odd inhabit the movies produced by Studio Ghibli, and have helped make a relatively small animation studio famous around the world. 

Titles such as My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away and The Wind Rises are also synonymous with Hayao Miyazaki, the creative force behind the much-loved Japanese film company. 

Studio Ghibli was formally set up in June 1985, but Miyazaki, now 80, had long been putting his artistic and storytelling skills to good use. He was born in Tokyo in January 1941, where Miyazaki’s father owned a company that made components for military aircraft, including sections of the “Zero” fighter, and he has stated in interviews that his childhood fascination with aircraft influenced his stories and art. It is notable, however, that the aviation he depicts in his tales always precedes that of the jet age.

Miyazaki was an avid reader from his earliest years, something he attributes to his mother. His interest in animated film was sparked in school when he saw Hakudahen, the first full-length colour animated film produced in Japan. Already an artist accomplished at depicting aircraft and ships, Miyazaki turned his attention to capturing the human form. 

Miyazaki studied political science and economics at Gakushuin University in Tokyo, and joined a literature club that would today be recognised as a group for fans of manga or anime. After graduating in 1963, he started work at Toei Animation as an artist on the animated series Watchdog Woof Woof.