"Liner Note" by John Lasseter for the "Ghibli ga Ippai" LD Box Set John Lasseter (director of "TOY STORY") As an animator and a director of animated films, I have always been greatly inspired by the films of Walt Disney, Buster Keaton and the cartoons of Chuck Jones. But by far, the most inspirational films for me are the animated films of Hayao Miyazaki and the Studio Ghibli. I first met Mr. Miyazaki in 1981 when I was an animator at Disney, working on "The Fox and the Hound" and "Mickey's Christmas Carol." I had the great fortune to meet him and then see his film "Lupin III: Castle Cagliostro" and timing of the action scenes, but also the tender moments and the simple humor. I realize this was a great director, he could do action scenes but more important characters with heart. As I worked towards becoming a director, I studied as many films of Mr. Miyazaki as I could get my hands in America and what I have learned has become the tools I use everyday. The sense of heart and character, the use of scale, the brilliant staging and timing of action and humor, the simplicity and beauty of the effects and mostly the imagination. At Pixar, when we have a problem and we can't seem to solve it, we often take a laser disc of one of Mr. Miyazaki's films and look at a scene in our screening room for a shot of inspiration. And it always works! We come away amazed and inspired. "Toy Story" owes a huge debt of gratitude to the films of Mr. Miyazaki. I hope that animators, filmmakers, and audiences around the world will be as inspired as I have been at the work of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. Thank you Hayao! John Lasseter