Miyazaki was born in Japan in 1941 and began life as an animator for the Toei Douga studio in the 1960's. According to nausica.net Miyasaki's had a great deal of impact on the style and storytelling of several early important Anime productions such as Animal Treasure Island and Gulliver's Space Travels.
However, his most important and well known work began in 1984 with the release of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. This Anime was popular and successful enough to allow Miyazaki to create his own studio, Studio Ghibli. This studio was repsonsible for the production and release of Miyazaki's best work. Anime films like Princess Monenoke and Spirited away set box office records in Japan and enjoyed huge cross over success.
Miyazaki has been responsible for some of Japan's most popular Anime films of all time. Some of his most compelling and highly regarded work is mentioned below.
Nausicaa of The Valley of The Wind:
Based off a Manga (Japanese comic book) by Miyazaki, Nausicaa explores a post apocalyptic future and the journey of a brave heroine on her quest to save the world.
My Neighbor Totoro:
The movie follows the adventures of two young girls who discover a world of forest spirits in post-war Japan.
Kiki's Delivery Service:
This Anime follows the adventures of a young girl who moves to a large city and becomes a goodhearted witch who flies from destination to destination on a broomstick.
Spirited Away:
Hailed as a masterpiece by critics and brought to worldwide attention by Disney Studios who released the English version, Spirited Away is a story of a girl who finds herself working at a strange traditional Japanese bathhouse
Miyazaki has a distinct style of narrative and animation that is easy to identify. One of the main differences that set apart Miyazaki's work from mainstream Japanese Anime is the presence of strong female protagonists. Films like Nausicaa, Kiki's Delivery and Princess Mononoke all have compelling and dynamic female characters at the forefront of the story.
Another stylistic element of Miyazaki's work that is unique is his love of nature. Protecting the natural world against the encroachment of technology and industrialization is a common theme in Miyazaki's work. In Nausicaa, for instance, humanity has literally poisoned the world to the point where deadly fungal spores cover the land.
The work of Miyazaki has been hugely significant in opening up the films of Anime to the rest of the world. While many Anime films have been translated and made available in the United States, the genre of Anime was something of a niche market. Miyazaki's work has lead to Anime becoming more mainstream in part because of the universal appeal that he creates with his stories. Characters in Miyazaki's work reflect an innocence and generosity that is rare in Anime but has wide appeal to both children and adults alike the world over.
There is tremendous potential in Miyazaki's work to change the shape of Anime worldwide. His dedication to stories with heart, devoid of graphic content and mature situations has the potential to make Anime the most popular form of animation in the world. His reliance on traditional cell painting makes his studio one of the last animation studios that still utilizes this art form and as such is in a unique position to revitalize cell animation for the rest of the world. Miyasaki's films will surely be hailed as classic masterpieces in time and one can only hope that his influence rubs off on the rest of the animation world.