Hayao Miyazaki
Co-founded Studio Ghibli and directed Spirited Away, hand-drawing worlds of unmatched emotional and natural detail.
Veronica's Take
Hayao Miyazaki, the legendary animator who co-founded Studio Ghibli, has spent over five decades crafting hand-drawn worlds that remain unmatched in their emotional depth and natural detail. His obsession with authenticity is legendary: he once dedicated an entire minute of screen time to a girl simply tying her shoe, driven by his conviction that the magic of animation is found in the small, true gestures that machines still can't replicate. At 82, Miyazaki continues to push the boundaries of his craft, demonstrating that the art of hand-drawn animation is far from obsolete.
He'll spend a minute of screen time on a girl simply tying her shoe, because for him the whole magic lives in the small true gestures machines still can't fake.
Key Facts
The people behind Hayao Miyazaki
Hayao Miyazaki
profileAnimation
Co-founded Studio Ghibli and directed Spirited Away, hand-drawing worlds of unmatched emotional and natural detail.
Links
Browse by discipline
More masters worth your time
Roger Deakins
Shot Blade Runner 2049 and 1917, mastering naturalistic light and the long-take illusion of continuous time.
Akira Kurosawa
Directed Seven Samurai and Rashomon, revolutionizing editing, weather as drama, and the visual grammar of action cinema.
Walt Disney
Produced the first full-length animated feature, Snow White, and drove the multiplane camera and synchronized sound in animation.
Ben Burtt
Created the sound of the lightsaber, R2-D2, and WALL-E, inventing the modern craft of narrative sound design.
Want discoveries like this in your inbox every morning?
One master of craft. Every morning. Chosen by someone with actual standards and zero patience for the mediocre. Free forever, unsubscribe whenever.