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Japan's animation king to take on world

Philip Blenkinsop

Sunday, February 10, 2002 at 18:00 JST
BERLIN — Do Hayao Miyazaki and the Ghibli Studios ring any bells? If you live outside Asia, they may not yet, but could do soon.

In Japan, Miyazaki's film "Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi" (Spirited Away) broke box office records last year as more than 21 million movie-goers flocked to see it.

Debuting it in the West at the Berlin Film Festival on Saturday, the president of Ghibli Studios, dubbed the "Japanese Disney," sees no reason why the film cannot spread their names to Europe and North America.

"We will have an English version out soon...If you try to make a good film, everyone will come and see it," said Toshio Suzuki, Ghibli president and the film's producer.

Miyazaki's film takes some explaining and is unfamiliar fare to Western audiences, more used to what Suzuki describes as "animation musicals" than "animation films."

The heroine of the tale is 10-year-old Chihiro who suddenly finds herself in a fantastic world of gods and spirits when she and her parents wander through a tunnel. The family unknowingly discover a hot spring resort catering to Japan's eight million gods in various humanoid, fish-like and frog forms.

The gods, to whom humans smell foul, are angry and the resort's head, witch Yubaba, turns Chihiro's gluttonous parents into pigs. The young girl is forced to take on tough bath attendant duties to avoid the same fate and, with the help of a mysterious boy, Haku, struggles to escape.

The animation, colored and mastered in a digital format, along the lines of "Toy Story 2," is breathtaking.

Miyazaki's previous animation feature, "Princess Mononoke," attracted the interest of Disney who gave the film the voices of Minnie Driver, Billy Bob Thornton and Gillian Anderson. However, it bombed in the United States, drawing barely 2% of the $150 million in box office revenue it earned in Japan.

Suzuki is confident of similar treatment for Japan's biggest blockbuster, but hopes for more success.

"I can drop a hint that it'll take less time to reach the international market than 'Princess Mononoke,'" Suzuki said, responding to criticism over the slow roll out of that film.

"I'll be frank. We have a friendly relationship with Disney and the first negotiations are already underway. They are looking at our film."

Much of the story deals with very Japanese routine and events, such as the bathhouse scenes, but there are more "international" touches. Yubaba is a very Western witch.

The film, already showing in Taiwan and Hong Kong, is to be released in France in April.

Suzuki believes the fact that "Spirited Away" is one of 23 films in competition for the Berlin Film Festival's coveted Gold Bear is recognition of sorts.

"If I were on the jury, I would put this at the top of the list. However, I'm happy that we've been accepted. Animation films are never accepted as films in competition," he said. (Reuters News)

© Reuters 2001    

Three cheers for Miyazaki! Zenigata  (Feb 11 2002 - 00:59)

I will be really glad if Mr. Miyazaki would get the worldwide recognition he really deserves for crafting so many nice and entertaining animated movies. His works are really outstanding and, after the disappearance of Osamu Tezuka, he should really be known in the world as the king of animated motion pictures.

use voice actors wakamiya  (Feb 11 2002 - 01:54)

One reason Princess Mononoke failed (besides not being what USers are used to) is that Disney used movie actors to do the voices. Stupid move. Next time use professional voice actors. Movie acting and voice acting are not the same. In Japan, voice acting is a specialty. (OK, Robin Williams was great in Alladin, but that was a rare exception!)

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