P Since the 1950’s, the animation industry has grown tremendously. Animated films were being produced for a multitude of audiences around the world. Japan had entered the industry with the introduction of anime which was a style of Japanese film and television animation. The Japan animation industry typically created films that were aimed at different audiences. The United States generally created animated films aimed towards children, however, Japan decided to use animation as a form of expressing itself to a mass audience. Classic anime films like Akira and Ghost in the Shell showed the world how animated films could be created for an older audience.
During the popularity of anime films, Japanese anime director Hayao Miyazaki entered the movie industry. Miyazaki created films that attracted the traditional Japanese audience as well as the international audience. Miyazaki started his career back in 1963 and was significantly involved in many early classics of animation in Japan. Miyazaki struck gold in 2003 with the film “Spirited Away which was the first anime film to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. For the U.S. audience, director Hayao Miyazaki was an unknown despite the fact he had directed several anime films and was already a household name throughout Japan, to the U.S. audience, director Hayao Miyazaki was still unknown until 1996. In 1996, Disney made an agreement with Miyazaki and his animation company, Studio Ghibli, to bring nine of his films into global release for English audiences. Disney was nervous to localize these Studio Ghibli films, however, the success of Spirited Away changed the entire game. Right after the film was released, Miyazaki decided to work on another film titled, Howl’s Moving Castle. This film is based off a 1986 British novel ,but, Miyazaki brings his own tendencies and point of view to the story that help define the fantasy drama he creates in his films. Both films utilize the plot of the film to create a dramatic conflict with a strong mix of fantasy elements. Miyazaki adds uniqueness to his films that make him stand out not only in the Japan animation industry but around the world. Both films take an animated approach in the fantasy genre and mix elements of drama to the plots.
Spirited Away focuses on the young girl, Chihiro whose parents stumble upon an abandoned amusement park on a road trip. After her mother and father are turned into giant pigs, Chihiro meets the Haku who is a mysterious person that explains that the park is a resort for supernatural beings who need a break from their time spent on Earth. He informs her that she must work there to free herself and her parents. This film tends to follow the fantasy genre route and uses its characters, plot, and setting to create a dramatic story for Chihiro to follow. It mixes elements of Japanese culture and religion to create the genre the film fall under. Fantasy is the main genre that builds the setting and atmosphere of the movie. The spirit world that Chihiro enters is the main setting of the film and it is filled with fantasy elements. It is one of the most evident genres expressed in the movie, since the whole spirit world is made up of unrealistic, fantasy-like creatures that live there. This genre makes the adventure of Chihiro much harder, as she has to learn all the different rules to the spirit world and get along with all the creatures. The film has multiple scenes to categorize this film into the fantasy genre.
Fantasy films generally take the audience to an alternate world, to imaginary places where events are unlikely to occur in reality. There are multiple types of fantasy films but this film is classified as a “High Fantasy” film. High Fantasy film is “a subgenre that emphasizes a developed fantasy world. These films tend to be more complex than regular fantasy films. The complexity shows itself through highly woven storylines and intense character development.” Spirited Away opens up with Chihiro and her family getting blocked by a religious statue in the middle of the road during their trip. This statue essentially causes them to leave the car and explore the town they are in. In this scene of the film, the audience witnesses the high elements of fantasy. Chihiro’s parents enter a ghost town and decide to eat at this empty ramen shop. They noticed a buffet of food sitting out and start eating it. When her parents eat, they turn into giant pigs and Chihiro is in the spirit world. Chihiro has to work for the spirits and please them in order to go back to the human world and break the curse of her parents turning into pigs. The spirit world is essentially the fantasy world and the main setting on the film. The Spirit world is vastly similar and directly linked to the Human World, it is just full of fantasy-like spirits and is full of religious elements. One element of a fantasy film is that it could be filled with ancient religious relics or sacred religious characters. Spirited Away tends to follow this element perfectly with its use of Shintoism in its setting. Shintoism is the traditional religion of Japan that focuses on ritual practices that establish a connection between current-day Japan and its ancient past. The fantasy genre serves two main purposes which are to enlighten the audience with its plot and to assist in portraying the Shinto ideals.
There are multiple fantasy elements that aid the portrayal of Shintoism. Some examples include Haku’s dual human/dragon identity, the “No Face” character, Chihiro’s journey to another realm, and the common theme of good against evil. Haku is considered to be one of the main heroes who ultimately helps Chihiro return back to her world and save her parents. Haku is a river spirit of the Kohaku river that is stuck in the spirit world. The Kohaku river in the human world was covered up with pavement and which explains why it is a spirit. Chihiro also helps Haku remember who he really is, and that provides Haku inner peace with himself that he needs to continue to live. Moreover, Haku has a human form and a dragon form throughout the film. Haku (being one of the few people to have a human form in the spirit world) is the one who can interact with Chihiro on the same level. His human form helps the audience connect and relate to him as well. There is a Shinto idea that the spirits or “kami” are not always human spirits ,but, that other things in nature are equally as able to have spirits in them as well. The fact that the Kohaku river in the film has a spirit shows that this fantasy element is similar to an ideal Shintoism follows. Haku having a mighty dragon form encourages this idea that nature can be a powerful spirit equally or even more powerful than human spirits. Overall, throughout the film, the fantasy-like spirits are included to explore the theme a religion.
Since this film is filled with spirits and creatures, the spirit, “No Face”, in particular creates the fantasy-like setting and can also be tied in with Shinto ideals. “No Face” is a monster of the spirit realm who does not remember where he lives or who he is really is. This spirit is known for causing the other spirits harm and chaos ,however, Chihiro befriends this spirit and finds him a home at the end of the film. There is Shinto belief that people are inherently good and how no one is really evil in the end. It is said that their spirit (kami) is corrupted which inhibits their ability to work with people or operate in society. The “No Face” character before Chihiro befriends him is self-obsessed and selfish. “No Face”, who was a spirit that was lonely and tries to buy Chihiro’s friendship with gold. He gets angry when Chihiro refuses his offer and eats other spirits at the moment as a result. Chihiro cleanses him by feeding him medicine that helps him spit out those eaten spirits. He is cleansed by letting the spirits he has eaten free.This event allows “No Face” to be accepted into the spirit realm and creates a friendly persona for him. He befriends Chihiro and helps her with her mission to return to her world. The Shinto ideal is referenced here in the retrospect that “No Face” was never actually evil, he just needed guidance in order to be accepted into society. Miyazaki created this fictitious and imaginary world to help explain these Japanese religious ideas to a mass audience. The good against evil theme shows that through her influence and brave character, Chihiro is able to defeat the evil in the fantasy world.
The final fantasy element of the film that displays Shinto teachings is the entire journey of Chihiro to the spirit world. Chihiro’s transition from the human realm to the spirit one is similar to the one Shintos believes in. It is believed that the transition from reality to kami is supposed to be similar to the one the film presents. The film presents a fluid transition to the spirit world that actually parallels to Alice in Wonderland. Miyazaki again uses another major fantasy element to allude to Shinto ideals. Many can understand the fantasy genre choice Miyazaki decided to tell the plot of this film. Miyazaki chose to use this genre to reference Shinto reference to a younger and older audience as well. To sum, anime is a type of animation that Japanese filmmakers use to appeal to a mass audience, thus Miyazaki used this opportunity as the director to express ideas that many still are not aware even today.
Spirited Away not only encompasses fantasy elements but also includes drama film characteristics According to Filmsite, drama films “are serious presentations or stories with settings or life situations that portray realistic characters in conflict with either themselves, others, or forces of nature. A dramatic film shows us human beings at their best, their worst, and everything in-between. Each of the types of subject-matter themes has various kinds of dramatic plots.” Drama is the other genre that affects the storyline by causing conflict that reveals the true personality of the characters. In the film, Chihiro meets Zeniba who is the twin sister of Yubaba the evil witch. At first, it is assumed that she is evil like Yubaba, however, when Chihiro goes to her house to return the golden seal and apologizes, she turns out to be a nice lady. Miyazaki uses the characters, Chihiro and Haku for the purpose of highlighting this genre. Chihiro is first introduced as an ignorant girl who is fearful of the spirit world. Throughout the introduction of the film, she wishes that she is dreaming and is scared of the spirits. She faces the conflict of fear and ends up accepting that she must have courage in order to return back home. Miyazaki presents us with the dramatic conflict of Chihiro facing the spirits alone and she overcomes this by befriending them. The film’s ending scene concludes the dramatic conflict when the witch gives Chihiro one more test before she lets Chihiro return home and free her parents. The final test was for Chihiro to pick out in a group of pigs which one of them were her parents. She gave the correct answer which was none and she was rewarded with the opportunity to finally return home. This last test was to prove that she has grown as a character and overcame the obstacles she faced on her journey. Haku was also facing the conflict of discovering his identity and Chihiro was the one to help him realize he was the spirit of the Kohaku river. Chihiro uses her love for Haku to release the curse the witch put on her and ultimately reveal who he is really is.
Finally, this film uses multiple film techniques to help create the dramatic elements of the film. object. In “Anatomy of Film” by Bernard Dick he claims “Films can manipulate space. The subject can be near or far, partial or full, stationary or moving. How we see the image, and how much of it we see, are the result of the filmmaker’s choice of shot”. This film uses high angle shots which can be used to show characters as insignificant to another or an object. When Chihiro and her family arrive in the car at the entrance to the abandoned amusement park, there is a high angle shot on their car which shows inferiority to its entrance. Another example was when Chihiro met “No Face” who was a lot taller and bigger than Chihiro. This showed her insignificance to the spirit in the realm. The film also uses tracking shots- which follow someone or objects around to emphasize a point. An example of this is when Chihiro enters the spirit realm she is running through the streets trying to find the parents out of fear. This tracking shot shows how she is isolated, scared and alone in the spirit world.
Overall, Miyazaki uses characterization to emphasize the drama aspects of the film. The conflicts and struggles the characters face throughout the film ultimately define the drama genre he was aiming to achieve. This film follows the traditional path of being a hybrid genre of high fantasy and drama.
Howl’s Moving Castle is another one of Hayao Miyazaki’s films that follows the same flow of Spirited Away,but, with a different story and setting. The film is about Sophie, who has a bland and boring life at her father's hat shop. However, all that changes when she befriends the wizard Howl, who lives in a magical moving castle. An evil Witch notices Howl and Sophie’s relationship and casts a spell on young Sophie transforming her into an old lady. Now Howl must use all his magical talents to battle the witch and break the curse on Sophie to make her young again. This film is a hybrid genre of high fantasy with dramatic elements to tell the plot of the film. High fantasy films can be based on novels and therefore have a cult following of fans. This film is based on a 1986 British novel but Miyazaki takes the basic plot elements and modifies it to his own interpretation. The main fantasy element of this film is its inclusion of sorcery and magic. The characters from Howl’s crew already obtain the traditional elements found in classical fantasy films. Howl was gifted the talent of magic when he was young and is a wizard. Aboard his moving castle, he has a talking fireplace known as Calcifer. Calcifer is in a magical contract with Howl. He was originally a falling star, that Howl was able to catch before he fell to earth and perish. Calcifer promises to use his magic to break the curse on Sophie, only if she could somehow end his contact with Howl. There is Markl who is a young 13-year-old boy and Howl’s apprentice. Finally, there is Turnip Head who is a moving speechless scarecrow to accompany Howl, his crew, and Sophie on their journey to break the curse. It is later revealed at the end of the film that Turnip Head was cursed and it was a Prince who was stuck in the scarecrow body. There is a war that is ongoing throughout the film that was caused by the disappearance of the missing prince.
Unlike Spirited Away, this film uses its characters to help categorize the film in the fantasy genre instead of the setting. The film is less reliant on fantasy-like creatures but more on fantasy concepts like sorcery and magic. Howl is characterized as the ideal chivalrous rescuer to Sophie that is common in these type of films. The film also uses dramatic developments to describe the plot of the film. Sophie is cursed by the Witch of the Waste who was originally an apprentice to Howl until she fell to a demon of greed. She was banished by Howl because he found out she used magic to make herself look young and pretty. Howl used magic to return her to her original form which she is an old, unfit and obese woman. There is a scene in particular where old Sophie is tasked to visit the Queen because Howl wanted to give her a message. When going to the palace, the Witch of the Waste follows Sophie to see what she is up to. They approach the palace and there is a colossal flight of steps leading towards the main entrance. Both of them are aged so Miyazaki creates a scene where they are competing who will reach the entrance first. This scene is interesting because the action is minimal because both of the characters are walking at a slow pace. There is a drama effect in these scene since Miyazaki uses dramatic detail in their facial and verbal movements. This scene goes on for at least five minutes and is dramatized completely with the use of its animation, dialogue and camera angles.
Miyazaki’s emphasis on magic through the duration of the film adds more fantasy elements to the film. Magic is used during the ongoing war and helps evoke the cruelty of the war. Film analyst, Dani Cavallaro claims “In Howl’s Moving Castle, Miyazaki deploys magic to intimate that visible reality is riddled with deep wells of invisibility — with ghosts from the past, including our own, which we cannot grasp”. Miyazaki ultimately creates a war love story by using fantasy elements with a dramatic conflict. Throughout the film there is an emphasis placed on a love relationship between Howl and Sophie. This relationship is confirmed when Howl breaks Sophie’s curse since he falls in love with her. All the characters in the film seem to be going through a struggle or conflict which could be either internally or externally. Sophie is facing the curse, Howl is facing the war, Calcifer is facing the contract, the Witch is facing her obsessed love for Howl and it goes on for even the minor characters as well. The moving castle which is where most of the film is set is an example of a traditional characteristic in a fantasy film. The fictitious object that the characters interact with is one common element that film producers incorporated within the plot. The wide array of strange creatures and characters are common elements Miyazaki uses in most of his films that play into the genre itself. Overall, there’s nothing here that wasn’t evident in Spirited Away ,but, because this was based on an existing work there are some differences in the why this high fantasy drama film is presented.
Miyazaki continues to strive creating anime films for not only his home country Japan, but, for a massive audience. Both of these films follow the same hybrid genre path but they are conducted differently. Spirited Away is a film that used the setting and characters to tell a dramatic fantasy tale of how Chihiro entered the spirit world. The film tends to use the genre to allude to traditional Japanese elements that may be unfamiliar to its viewers. Howl’s Moving Castle focuses its genre characteristics through its characters and themes. The uses of sorcery and curses show the audience that they are viewing a fantasy film. The film also addresses the subjects of war, love, and internal/external conflicts to align with the drama genre Miyazaki wanted to present. Hayao Miyazaki is known for being an unique director in the anime and film industry in Japan. He has a had a tremendous impact on the film industry an the popularity of his works have grown steadily nationally. Overall, Miyazaki’s works are admired globally and will continued to be analyzed for generations to come.