how art can inspire.
By Ananya W.
Studio Ghibli creates films that strike true to heart and unfold whirlwinds of emotion in their audiences. Spearheaded by Hayao Miyazaki, Takahata Isao, and Suzuki Toshio, the animation film studio is known for its surreal worldbuilding, heartfelt character dynamics, and stories that explore the human experience in its colossal complexity. An equally important feature that shines through these movies is Miyazaki’s ecophilosophy and his environmentalist approach to filmmaking. These movies are woven with a certain purpose that transforms them into living organisms; they are organic pieces of work that grow with time and allow the audiences to critically interact with them while simultaneously appreciating them for what they are- art. Animated films are often sidelined as frivolous entertainment meant for children, but Studio Ghibli challenges that notion with their refreshing use of the medium to deliver sincere lessons about our relationship with the environment.
The most salient way in which they achieve this is by honoring the craft of traditional, hand-drawn, 2D animation. They display a natural world, undisturbed by humans, and animation’s affinity with the environment contributes significantly to this atmosphere. Animation assigns value and meaning to the natural world since every plant, tree, and cloud must be drawn with care and detail, and this deliberately gives them agency in the film. Even mundane, everyday phenomena- such as the movement of flowers against the wind or the rippling of water down a stream- are given importance in Miyazaki’s films, allowing the characters and the audience to acknowledge that they are simply a small gear in the enormous natural ecosystem. Movies like Howl’s Moving Castle (2004) and My Neighbor Totoro (1988) consistently feature grand landscapes that play an active role like a character and are not reduced to inert, passive backgrounds. Miyazaki’s ability to show the magic in what we take for granted every day is what makes his art so compelling. He shows the possibility of cultivating an intimate connection with nature through his art, not as a form of didacticism, but as an encouragement of critical thought.
Stylistic choices also go a long way in suffusing Studio Ghibli films with their characteristic peaceful cadence. Tonal differences that favor environmentally inclined characters induce the audience to grow alongside the environmentalist themes (as seen in Princess Mononoke, 1997), while a sustained visual and narrative focus on nature imbues the film with an unmatched charm (as seen in Ponyo, 2008). The sparing and economical use of human dialogue- or an outright lack of it (Looking For A Home, 2006)- also works to minimize the individualistic format that most movies feature, and conveys deference to the magnificence of the natural world. Most importantly, however, Miyazaki’s determination to leave Studio Ghibli films with a rich, complex, and open-ended message is what reinforces the idea of our ever-changing relationship with nature. His resolute stance against oversimplified lessons along with his focus on nuanced explorations is the cornerstone of Studio Ghibli’s ethos.
The long and short of it is that the natural world has always been and continues to be a muse and a source of inspiration for creatives like Miyazaki, and the impact it has on their art cannot be understated. For Studio Ghibli, this love for the environment manifests not only from ‘the need to do the right thing’, but the need to do the right thing because of one’s connection to and respect for the Earth. Through animation, Miyazaki and his team were able to create a space that featured authentic emotions and a sincere imaginative spirit while delivering thought-provoking perspectives on environmentalism. So, if you’re looking for entertainment that can truly enrich your perspective on art and the natural world, you know where to go.