Even if you’ve never seen a Studio Ghibli film, chances are you’ve seen or heard something related to “Howl’s Moving Castle.” The film is currently celebrating its 20th anniversary, so now is the perfect time to try watching it. There is an adorable video of a little girl thanking Ghibli’s founder Hayao Miyazaki for making the film. Based on the book by Diana Wynne Jones, the anime adaptation has become one of the most well-known films from Studio Ghibli, whose films one might describe as a unique blend of slice of life and fantasy. It’s known for its romantic atmosphere and whimsical characters. The main theme, composed by Joe Hisaishi, is iconic– a beautiful and catchy waltz that can’t help but inspire the daydream of flight. Look it up and take a listen– it’s called “Merry Go Round of Life.”
“Howl’s Moving Castle” and other Studio Ghibli films are well-known for their idyllic scenery and unique ability to make the ordinary seem magical. The recognizable art style is derived from that of the founder and honorary chairman Hayao Miyazaki. Miyazaki’s most recent work was the film “The Boy and the Heron,” which was released in the USA on Dec 8, 2023. Before making this film, he had claimed to be retired– only to come back to the studio once more. Grumpy though he may be, claiming that it “would be wonderful if [he] could see the end of civilization in [his] lifetime,” Miyazaki has a lot of wisdom to share with the world. It really is a blessing to the world in general that he continues to give us works of art in the form of animated films. There is a lot we can learn from his stories that will teach us how to make life beautiful.
Comparing a Ghibli film to everyday life, one of them is peaceful and beautiful and the other is a rushed mess. Living in a world that is not only endangered due to climate change but changing rapidly and often apathetic, I cannot help but wish more people would learn from Miyazaki’s films. Why can’t everyday life be beautiful? Why can’t we live in a world where compassion is common? What is it that makes Studio Ghibli films so special?
In Miyazaki’s work, nothing is rushed. He purposefully implements a technique known as “ma” in Japanese. An article from Screencraft features an interview in which Miyazaki explains the concept of “ma,” clapping his hands together and saying that the space between his claps is “ma.” It is stillness. Emptiness. And it’s there for a reason.
Miyazaki believes that constant action, like in a Western action film, is so high-octane that the viewer becomes numb. To feel something, there must be stillness. It is this stillness that is so lacking in our world today.
He claims not to intentionally make deep films, and he never studied psychology, but his films really do make you think. What would the world be like if everyday life were not mundane but exceptional? Where did we lose the imagination that lets us love the world we have? When did we decide that pursuit took precedence over the appreciation of what’s in front of us? I watched several Miyazaki films as a child and all throughout my life, and I believe I learned something valuable from them.
From “Princess Mononoke,” a film about the struggle between industrialized humans and the forest, I learned that balance and compassion are key when interests conflict. “Princess Mononoke” remains relevant to the struggles of our world today, as we teeter on the brink of a climate crisis. Its messaging is not black-and-white, which is a contrast to the usual messaging about climate change. Usually, it’s “we’re all doomed because we can’t stop it from happening fast enough” or “we can do it if we all work together!” But Hayao Miyazaki crafts a film that provokes thoughts about how humans can better live in tune with nature in a way that allows both to thrive.
In “The Boy and the Heron,” a young boy encounters a supernatural world as he moves into a new house after losing his mother in a fire. I learned that courage comes in many forms, and that one of them is overcoming grief and learning how to be happy again. In the film, the heron is representative of the main character Mahito’s grief and how everything reminds him of his mother and the loss he feels. Throughout the film, Mahito learns how to manage his grief and live his life without being consumed by it, something that all of us must learn to do at some point in life.
I watched “Spirited Away” with my family, and as the main character Chihiro navigated the strange world of the bathhouse and all the spirits in it, I saw how there was always time to stand still even in times of change. The most prominent example in the film is the scene where Chihiro is on the train with the well-loved character No Face beside her. That scene is peaceful and perfectly displays the idea of stillness in the midst of chaos, as Chihiro was on the way to her next step in getting back to her parents. The film also explores how others are not always who they appear to be. Many spirits who seemed frightening at first turned out to be on journeys of their own and non-threatening. From all of these films, I observed that everyday life has the capacity to be wonderful– and for some reason, it often isn’t.
Some Studio Ghibli films feel a bit like a fever dream, such as in “The Boy and the Heron,” which had a strange and abstract twist in the second half of the film. As an audience member, I got slightly confused. This could be because, as Miyazaki admitted, he doesn’t think about the audience much when crafting a film. He instead opts to express his own vision, presenting it to the audience just as he saw it. While this may lead to abstraction that may confuse an audience member initially, one may argue that it actually makes his films more thought-provoking.
In a world where the rules and times are always changing, it is imperative to find time for stillness. In Miyazaki’s venerated works, stillness is intentional and necessary. For us as people, too, it must be intentional, for it is necessary. Those cheesy presentations about square breathing and taking deep breaths to manage stress were based in wisdom and fact. We need stillness. We need “ma” in our lives.
So if you haven’t already seen one, give a Ghibli film a try. See what you can learn from it. Take a shot at “Howl’s Moving Castle” and witness the beauty of Miyazaki’s work. And then take a moment to observe nothing before continuing with your day.
