ZooScope

Category: Director: Hayao Miyazaki

  • Porco Rosso. Dir. Hayao Miyazaki. Studio Ghibli. 1992.

    Porco Rosso. Dir. Hayao Miyazaki. Studio Ghibli. 1992.

    Porco Rosso follows a former fighter pilot who abandoned the Italian military, transformed into a pig, and becomes a bounty hunter that fights pirates. One day he meets American pilot Curtis who was contracted by pirates and is in love with Porco’s friend Gina. Curtis realises Gina loves Porco despite him being a pig and…

  • Spirited Away. Dir Hayao Miyazaki. Toho Company Ltd. 2001.

    Spirited Away. Dir Hayao Miyazaki. Toho Company Ltd. 2001.

    Miyazaki’s 2001 Spirited Away, blurs the binary of human, animal, mythology, and spirit. Each character has its own version of this intersectionality, creating different presentations of ontology that in turn create varying perceptions. The film encourages us to reflect on how our own perceptions of fear in cinematic animal species are moulded through the presentation…

  • Howl’s Moving Castle. Dir. Hayao Miyazaki. Studio Ghibli. 2004.

    There is a surprising lack of non-human animal representation in Studio Ghibli’s 2004 film Howl’s Moving Castle, despite an overarching theme which frequently pits an idyllic pastoral version of Japan against a threateningly industrial one. The major depiction of human-animal relations is that of secondary protagonist Howl as he gradually transforms into a bird-like creature…

  • Kiki’s Delivery Service. Dir. Hayao Miyazaki. Studio Ghibli. 1989.

    In Kiki’s Delivery Service one of the representations of animals is Kiki’s cat and familiar, Jiji. A familiar is a supernatural entity that can aid a witch with her magic, often in the form of an animal, and in this film Kiki, the young witch, can communicate with Jiji, an adult male cat, but no one else…

  • Ponyo. Dir. Hayao Miyazaki. Toho. 2008.

    ‘What? She is captured by a boy? This is very bad. Is it already dead?’ yells Ponyo’s father Fujimoto when realising his precious daughter is being kept as a pet fish. The line raises an interesting question, does cinema represent animal domestication as kidnapping or an addition of family member? Hayao Miyazaki’s animated fantasy film Ponyo retells…

  • Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Dir. Hayao Miyazaki. Studio Ghibli. 1984.

    Hayao Miyazaki’s 1984 film ‘Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind’ follows the adventures of a young princess named Nausicaä who is part of one of the last tribes of humans remaining on Earth. A toxic forest has taken over most of the world as a result of mankind’s pollution; Nausicaä seeks to save the…

  • My Neighbour Totoro. Dir. Hayao Miyazaki. Studio Ghibli. 1988.

    My Neighbour Totoro is a Japanese animation film produced by Studio Ghibli and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It was released in 1988 and helped bring fame and recognition to Studio Ghibli as a viable film production company. The film begins with Kusakabe Tatsuo and his daughters Satsuki and Mei moving to the countryside in order…

  • Spirited Away. Dir. Hayao Miyazaki. Studio Ghibli. 2001.

    Human and Animal Transformation in Spirited Away When ten year old Chihiro finds herself alone and her parents turned into pigs in the dazzlingly beautiful but dangerous world of the gods and spirits, she must overcome a series of challenges in order to uncover her true strength of character in a vivacious coming of age narrative.…

  • Princess Mononoke. Dir. Hayao Miyazaki. Studio Ghibli. 1997.

    Princess Mononoke (Mononoke-hime) is a Studio Ghibli film, written and directed by co-founder Hayao Miyazaki in 1997. The film takes place in the Muromachi period of Ancient Japan and follows protagonist Ashitaka on his journey to locate the origins of the demon beasts. In this world, Miyazaki has chosen to depict animals, not only in a…