Studio Ghibli (Briley N., 2015)

Miyazaki and several of his characters; c3nmt.deviantart.com/

Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese director, animator, illustrator, producer, and screenwriter.  Although he started his career as a manga artist, he quickly worked his way into the animation companies of the late 20th century.  He worked for several different companies until he co-founded Studio Ghibli in 1985. His successful career producing animated movies has given Miyazaki a similar status to that of Walt Disney. Like Disney, his films have become popular internationally.  In fact, a clip of one of his early productions greatly inspired the then-up-and-coming Pixar animator John Lasseter, who used his own influence to make Miyazaki's work more popular in America. Studio Ghibli and Walt Disney Studios now have a partnership that allows Disney to distribute Ghibli productions internationally, including recording the English translations.
Miyazaki's films are heavily influenced by aspects of nature, such as human motivation and morality, as well as supernatural elements drawn from Japanese folklore and popular European legends. His characters face complex decisions with no clear correct choice, allowing the narratives to explore the grey areas of moral ambiguity and the circumstances of right and wrong.  Miyazaki's characters also exhibit traits of human kind that are often considered unflattering, such as greed or action without question. However, these traits are presented in an unusual light - instead of showing the viewer that these traits are inherently wrong, Miyazaki often makes little to no comment on the faults of humanity, thus throwing into question the concept of a perfect right or wrong. In an interview, Miyazaki stressed his belief that to shame or deny any one human instinct is to cut of an extension of the self in a way that is potentially very dangerous.
Perhaps the most fascinating theme that appears throughout Miyazaki's films is war. When he was a very young child, Miyazaki and his family were evacuated from their home during World War II. His stories portray meaningless war that is removed from the aspirations of the everyday characters in a way that reflects the disconnect that he would have felt as a child.  His characters question the futility and the motivation of war, often claiming that neither side is justified.

The Studio Ghibli Museum opened in 2001. The museum showcases the process of animation as well as exhibits on several of MIyazaki's films. Miyazaki himself designed the museum using storyboards, the same process he would use to create a film.  The building itself is as much an exhibit as anything found inside. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghibli_Museum)

One of the original sketches of the Studio Ghibli Museum; www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/museum/