No one makes films quite like Hayao Miyazaki. I’ve heard that claim made in reference to every filmmaker from Wes Anderson to Tim Burton, but in Miyazaki’s case, it feels truly well-earned. Entering the world of a Miyazaki picture remains a sublime, almost intoxicating sensory experience. His films are infused with a thick and thrilling air of the uncanny, of something you may have always dreamed of or feared, but were never able to actualize in the mind. His animations always feel tactile and real, even when they’re a million miles removed from what you or I consider reality, and there’s an innocence in the director’s method that has the power to truly inspire. A beguiling new video homage that pays tribute to Miyazaki and his work has just landed online, and it’s chock-full of the animator’s characteristically entrancing images and some of the most memorable moments from his films.
The short clip features a plethora of highlights from some of the director’s most well-known flicks, including “My Friend Totoro,” the staggering “Princess Mononoke” and even the more relatively recent “Ponyo.” Born in Tokyo in 1963, Miyazaki pursued a career in animation with the reputed Toei Animation studio, before co-founding his own operation with Studio Ghibli: a banner under which the director has released some of his most well-liked pictures.
To celebrate and commemorate the idiosyncratic director’s legacy, Disney is releasing a Blu-Ray box set titled “The Collected Works of Hayao Miyazaki” that includes over eleven of the director’s films, as well as one previously unreleased T.V. pilot called “Yuki’s Sun.” A release date for the box set has yet to be announced. In the meantime, watch the video tribute below. [Live For Films]