Most of you may know Hayao Miyazaki for his animes at the animation studio Ghibli. He dislikes being referred to as “the Disney of Japan” or having Ghibli compared to Disney, despite both studios enjoying similar successes in their home countries.
Why does he dislike this description? In an interview, 44 questions were posed to Hayao Miyazaki. One of them was how he feels when someone uses the term “the Disney of Japan” for him and Studio Ghibli.
Miyazaki addresses the comparison between himself and Walt Disney, the founder of the animation studio (via discoverghibli.com):
Walt Disney is a producer, right? I am an animator on-site, or a director, so I have trouble with being compared to him. I have met some of the Nine Old Men who worked with Walt Disney. They were pioneers of Disney animation. I respect them.
Thus, Miyazaki sees himself more as an animator and director, while Disney is viewed as a company and a producer. The “Nine Old Men” refers to a group of animators who worked at the animation studio between 1920 and 1980 and were named by Walt Disney himself. They are considered legends in the studio.
Miyazaki does not draw inspiration from Disney films
What does Miyazaki think of Disney? Although he cannot stand being compared to Disney, he holds great respect for the work of his colleagues in America. He appreciates the pride they feel in their work.
However, even though Miyazaki has positive words for the Nine Old Men, they did not inspire his own works. According to the creator of Spirited Away, animators who are about 10 years older than him were influenced by Disney. His own sources of inspiration include:
- The King and the Mockingbird (1979)
- The Snow Queen (1957)
- Story of the White Snake (1958)
The reason for this is that works like Pinocchio or Snow White cannot capture the emotions of people. In terms of depicting human hearts, the films are rather simplistic and not so entertaining. The works that inspired Miyazaki depicted human thoughts and hearts more effectively.
This led the anime legend to be touched and inspired to become an animator. He believed that animation was the best way to express human hearts.
Hayao Miyazaki has respect for Disney’s animators, but he is not a big fan of the films himself. Even more curious is that he is not a fan of animes, despite his life revolving around anime films: The Ghibli legend Hayao Miyazaki is not a fan of animes, revealing how many children should watch per year
