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Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Robin Basselin.
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And I'm Ryan Geertsma. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
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"I am not a man who tells stories, I am a man who draws pictures."
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The man who said these words creates some of most popular films in Japan. When people talk about Japanese animation, his name is always part of the discussion. Today's Spotlight is on Hayao Miyazaki.
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Hayao Miyazaki is an animator. He creates images that tell a story. Animation images can be drawn by hand or created using a computer. When the images are put together, they produce what looks like one continuous moving image. Miyazaki is well known for creating animated films.
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Phillippa Hawker of "The Age" news organization called Miyazaki,
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"One of the most important modern filmmakers. He just happens to work in animation."
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But Miyazaki's success did not come quickly. He spent 25 years working as an animator for other people. In 1985, he and two of his co-workers started their own animation office, named Studio Ghibli. In 1986, Studio Ghibli released its first film, "Castle in the Sky." In 1989 the studio had its first popular film, called "Kiki's Delivery Service." Ever since then, Miyazaki has been making his own animated films.
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Miyazaki's films are different than many of other animated films. Many people believe his films have more meaning than other children's animated films.
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Miyazaki's characters are one example of how Miyazaki's films are different. Most of his lead characters are young girls that grow and change during the movie. They are complex characters, like real children. They are both brave and afraid. They are intelligent and yet lack experience in the real world. Many people relate to his characters. One of Miyazaki's most famous films is called "Spirited Away." He told Tom Mes of midnighteye.com how and why he made that film.
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"It was through observing the daughter of a friend that I saw there were no films made for her...Girls like her see films that contain characters her age, but they can not identify with them..." [Midnight Eye]
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Miyazaki's villains are also complex. A villain is the character responsible for trouble or harm in a story. Just like Miyazaki's lead characters are not completely good, his villains are not completely bad. They are complex characters with problems of their own. For this reason, many people feel sympathy for the villains and their bad choices.
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Miyazaki's films are also different because of his details. His stories take place in make-believe places, and they include magic - spiritual powers over the natural world. But the stories feel real. His characters perform simple, daily customs. They live like real people.
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Modern Japanese animation usually takes place in the future – in worlds with machines and robots. Miyazaki's stories may also be in the future, but his worlds are still filled with trees and animals. This is because he wants to show the beauty that already exists in real life.
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Miyazaki creates his films using a different method than many animators. Miyazaki does not start by writing a story. Instead, his stories start with his pictures. He told Tom Mes,
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"The film makes itself and I have no choice but to follow."
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Finally, Miyazaki uses colour differently. In modern Japanese animation, animators may only use 5 or 6 colours. But Miyazaki will use 300 to 600 colours in his films. This means the pictures in his films are more complex and more beautiful.
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One major reason for Miyazaki's success is his skill in creating people and places that feel real. He believes in making films that children can connect with. Miyazaki's respect for the minds of children is the reason for his long lasting success.
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Miyazaki's films appeal to adults as well. In the film "Spirited Away," the lead character is a young girl named Chihiro. Magic turns Chihiro's parents into pigs. She must stay in this magical world until she finds a way to rescue her parents. In one part, Chihiro must take a train ride. She is hoping to find someone who will help her. Chihiro is lonely and afraid but also excited to be doing something so important. Many adults remember feeling the same way as Chihiro when they were growing up.
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In "Howl's Moving Castle," the main character is a young girl named Sophie. Magic changes her into an old woman. Miyazaki wanted this experience to make the young girl wise. While Sophie is old, she changes from a quiet little girl into a brave and honest woman. Miyazaki's film is based on a book of the same name by Diana Wynne-Jones.
Miyazaki knew that using a story, with an old woman as its star, was a risk. He told Margaret Talbot of The New Yorker magazine,
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"It is a big risk, but it is a mistake to believe that being young means you are happy."
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Many people believe Miyazaki's characters and stories are so real because he bases them on his own life. Miyazaki was born on January 5th, 1941. His mother was sick most of his life, but she lived for a very long time. Miyazaki had a good relationship with his mother. Some people believe this is why he uses brave women as main characters in many of his stories.
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Miyazaki also remembers Japan before it was full of buildings and machines. When he was a child, Japan was in ruins because of World War Two. Miyazaki often dreamed about far away places like Europe. He liked to imagine a version of Europe that was unaffected by war. This is why many of the places in his films look more like Europe than Japan.
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Although Miyazaki creates animated films, he is worried about the effect modern technology has on children. He wants children to experience nature and the open air. He believes people depend too much on television and games to occupy them. Miyazaki believes technology negatively affects human emotions as well. He wants children to be able to dream and to hope beyond technology.
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Miyazaki is afraid of the future effects of technology on children. However, he does not let this fear affect his films. Most of his films are about believing in what people can achieve. They are full of hope and promise. He told Margaret Talbot,
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"I do not believe that adults should force their ideas of the world on children. Children are very able to form their own views."
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Miyazaki speaks to the child that lives in every person. His films connect with that part of us that still hopes and dreams. That part of us that still believes in the unbelievable.
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