DANI CAVALLARO

The thought provoking aesthetically pleasing animated films of Hayao Miyazaki attract audiences well beyond the director s native Japan Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away were critically acclaimed upon U S release and the earlier My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki s Delivery Service have found popularity with Americans on DVD This critical study of Miyazaki s work begins with an analysis of the visual conventions of manga Japanese comic books and anime an overview of Japanese animated films and a consideration of the techniques deployed by both traditional cel and computer animation This section also details Miyazaki s early forays into comic books and animation and his output prior to his founding of Studio Ghibli Part Two concentrates on the Studio Ghibli era outlining the company s development and analyzing the director s productions between 1984 and 2004 including Castle in the Sky My Neighbor Totoro and his newest film Howl s Moving Castle The second section also discusses other productions involving Studio Ghibli including Grave of the Fireflies and The Cat Returns Appendices supply additional information about Studio Ghibli s merchandise production Miyazaki s global fan base and the output of other Ghibli directors