"Spirited Away" into the World of Miyazaki

I couldn't possibly go this whole semester without talking about my favorite animated film: Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki. I believe someone else wrote a blog on a similar topic, but these films are so good it is worth repeating. When people think about animated films, they usually think they were just created for children. In many cases, this has been true, but not Miyazaki's films. Sometimes, my friends and I will have Miyazaki nights and watch Spirited Away or Howl's Moving Castle or Princess Mononoke. These films are filled with a thrilling storyline, unforgettable characters, and a feeling of adventure that resonates with the viewer for several days to come. This is all accomplished through Hayao Miyazaki's attention to detail, not just of elements in the environment, but behavioral details of characters and a deeper emotional detail in relationships within the story. How he conveys this through images is a truly impressive and beautiful gift. The stories themselves are filled with metaphors and deeper meaning than what is on the surface. It takes a contemplative and imaginative mind to decipher all that is in these films. Every time I watch them, I see something new. I was curious on how Miyazaki makes his films. I focused on Spirited Away:

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I was blown away to discover that Miyazaki writes, directs and animates his own films. It is literally his vision that audiences see when they watch the films. To discover that Pixar and Disney use his films for inspiration says a lot about his abilities to tell stories, and to tell them in a very real way that absorbs the viewer in a new, complex, and surreal world. Here is a true animator and storyteller whose stories resonate from the very young to the very old.



By Amber Capogrossi

Pixar Short Films

Although most people have fallen in love with Pixar's feature films over the years, the short films that screen before the actual movies are equally as enjoyable. When I was on Pixar's website I found it really interesting that there is a short films section of the site that breaks down the story that the short is trying to tell, the characters, and some behind the scenes information.

One of my favorite Pixar shorts is For the Birds



When I read about the behind the scenes of For the Birds I found out that this short won an academy award. Also, it was difficult for animators to get the feathers of the birds to move like they actually do in real life.

Another short that I find the animation to be extremely interesting and realistic in is Partly Cloudy