Animating Creation: The Natural Landscapes of Studio Ghibli

“My films show the world’s beauty. Beauty otherwise unnoticed.”

- Hayao Miyazaki

 

In this episode of Risking Enchantment I'm joined by animator Robyn Conroy to discuss the highly acclaimed Studio Ghibli, a Japanese animation company whose films offer a deep sense of the goodness of life and the beauty of nature.

Studio Ghibli is cornerstone of Japanese entertainment culture, and has reached a global audience with films like Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro, and Howl’s Moving Castle. It has been instrumental in preserving the tradition of 2D animation and the vast artist talent on show in its films has been a powerhouse of inspiration for all kinds of film makers. In this episode, Robyn and I discuss Studio Ghibli’s founder, Hayao Miyazaki and how he brings audiences into his worlds of goodness and beauty. Miyazaki brings together a love of the natural world, a commitment to close observation, and a belief in the goodness of life itself. While not creating stories from a specifically Christian perspective, Miyazaki’s films are filled with wonder and awe in God’s creation, and a deep sense of morality and virtue.

Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod

Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Robyn Conroy

Follow Rachel on social media: @seekingwatson

Follow Robyn on Instagram: @robynconroyart

Watch Robyn’s short film: The Beekeeper

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Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com

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 Related Episode:

• Over the Garden Wall: Finding Dante in the Unknown
• Stranger Things in Stranger Times: Nostalgia in the Digital Age
• The Prince of Egypt: An Epic in Animation
• Cartoon Saloon: Celtic and Christian Coexistence
• Howl's Moving Castle and the Fascination of Fairy Stories

 

Works Referenced:

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

My Neighbor Totoro (1988)

Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)

Whisper of the Heart (1995)

Princess Mononoke (1997)

Spirited Away (2001)

Howl's Moving Castle (2004)

Ponyo (2008)

The Red Turtle (2016)

“Miyazaki's Reality” by Michael Toscano, First Things

“The worlds of Hayao Miyazaki” by Steven D. Greydanus, Decent Films

“Animated Nature: Aesthetics, Ethics, and Empathy in Miyazaki Hayao's Ecophilosophy” by Pamela Gossin

“Studio Ghibli Finds the True, the Good and the Beautiful” by Michelle McDaniel, National Catholic Register

‘“The Earth Speaks to Us All”: A Critical Appreciation of Filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki’s Shintō Environmental Philosophy’ by Adam Barkman, Christian Scholar’s Review

Hayao Miyazaki | The Mind of a Master

The Conflicting Ideals of Hayao Miyazaki | Video Essay

Spirited Away Production Notes

“The Ecological Imagination of Hayao Miyazaki: A Retrospective on Four Fantastical Worlds” by Isaac Yuen, Orion Magazine

“Hildegard of Bingen's Lament for the Environmental Crisis Caused by Human Sin” by Nathaniel Campbell, Church Life Journal

The Poems and Prose of Gerard Manly Hopkins

Maxims II

What We’re Enjoying at the Moment

Rachel: Cargo by Pio Hartnett

Robyn: Djo