This is the favorite film of Hayao Miyazaki, director of Studio Ghibli

It seems that the artistic genius had an inspiration that few know…

Studio Ghibli is home to some of the most memorable animated films in history, some like Spirited Away or Princess Mononoke have been critically acclaimed, part of this success is due to its director and founder Hayao Miyazaki. But,where did the passion and love of this renowned artist come from?

Before answering this question, it should be clarified that his journey to success has not been easy, since the filmmaker became disillusioned with the industry in the late 1950s when he had to face titans like Disney, but it was until he saw a soviet cartoon that restored the passion of his life forever.

Launched in 1957, The Snow Queen was directed by Lev Atamanov and which follows the story of a lonely and powerful fairy, who kidnaps a human named Kay, only for her best friend named Gerda to save him from her clutches. Obsessed with the film, which seemed to possess everything he wanted to achieve in animation, the director wrote that when his friend recorded audio from a screening of the film, he “borrowed it and listened to it over and over again in the job”.

The Snow Queen was one of the most impressive films of Soviet cinema and it had a positive impact on Hayao Miyazaki to create Studio Ghibli.

“If I hadn’t seen The Snow Queen during a movie screening organized by the company union, I sincerely doubt I would have continued to work as an animator,” the filmmaker and animator later wrote, with the film’s structure and form Soviet reporting. the later projects of him.

Speaking about one of his favorite parts of the film, when the girl frees her friend from Gerda, along with several captive animals, Miyazaki writes, “When he hears Gerda’s story, he realizes that, unlike Gerda, she doesn’t has no one to love with. He tried to lord it over all sorts of things, but realizes that what he really wants is not to have animals caged and tied up with ropes, but to love someone”. This was one of the messages that reminded the director of Studio Ghibli of the impact that animation can have.

The director of Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke loved the film so much that when the Ghibli Museum re-released The Snow Queen, the movie had a quote from Miyazaki that said: “my destiny and my favorite movie”. It seems that Hayao Miyazaki really wanted to make it clear how this movie perpetually framed him.

The story of Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki

So while we have Studio Ghibli to thank for some of the best animated movies of all time, we also have to take our cap off. before Lev Atamanov and his classic Soviet cartoon. Although, it’s hard to justify the full impact of Japanese animation company Studio Ghibli without returning to hyperbole, with the revolutionary film crew responsible for a complete shift in attitudes towards the art form.

Founded by the trio Isao Takahata, Toshio Suzuki and Hayao Miyazaki, from its inception, Ghibli has been dedicated to a spirit of healthy creativity, infusing a magical vitality into each and every one of its films. His name, ‘Ghibli’, was chosen by Miyazaki, with its origins referring to the Libyan Arabic name for ‘hot desert wind’.‘, with the idea behind the name referencing Miyazaki’s ambition to “blow a new wind through the anime industry”.

A young Hayao Miyazaki during a student protest, courtesy of The Making of Only Yesterday.

With an impact more akin to a hurricane wind, Studio Ghibli has since created 23 feature films, each challenging the very nature of the animation genre, elevating it beyond the cliches of being mere “kids’ movies.” Suzuki became a prolific producer and Takahata directed several classics including Grave of the Fireflies and Pom Poko before his untimely death in 2018, but it was the impact of animator, writer and director Miyazaki that arguably had the biggest impact.

Directing some of the studio’s best projects, including My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke, Miyazaki has become an icon in the world of animation, renowned for his imaginative visions and intricate humanitarian themes. Often concerned with the connection between nature and modern industrialism, Miyazaki has created films that are creative marvels, as well as genuinely important pieces of political cinema, and all thanks to the love that The Snow Queen awoke in him.