A quote by Hayao Miyazaki

—You have always said that what you want to make is “films” and not “anime.” But what is popular abroad seems to be anime. What do you see as the problem with anime? MIYAZAKI: The major source for Japanese animation is manga, whose greatest characteristic is its method of expression centered on emotions. In order to express emotions, space and time

It may sound trite when I say that I make animation to entertain children, but it is not trite at all. I certainly do not make animated films just so they will be popular with children. I try to create what I wanted to see when I was a child, or what I believe my own children want to see. We have all heard folktales. You can tell when you read them

What’s funny about this is that at the time some theorists tried to rationalize what was going on. Some even claimed that we were in a new age, one of “limited animation,” where too much emphasis on making drawings move only hindered story development. They started saying that use of the tome-e, still images employed for effect, was a “new form of

I did not try to make “animation” as we usually think of it, but a manga, or a cartoon film.

Miyazaki: Yes, I did make a storyboard of the return of the umbrella. But that would make Totoro understand things too much. There is no way he would understand lending and borrowing. And there is no way Totoro would have an aversion to getting wet in the rain. —Because he is an animal. Miyazaki: Right. And rain helps plants grow. Since he lives as