Hayao Miyazaki, the man behind the much beloved Studio Ghibli movies, has turned 70 this past January 5th.
It marks a momentous occasion and is much cause for celebration (I’d like to live a nice long life as well) but at the same time, it’s a little… saddening. Like the slow passage of an era coming to an end.
Even though he’s temporarily retired a couple of times over the past years, he’s come back and made another film. It makes me wonder if there are any more enjoyable stories he can tell and how much more time he has to create them.
The way I see it, Hayao Miyazaki is to anime as Osamu Tezuka is to manga – the grandfather of modern animation. I hope the heart in his movies stay with us for a long time and influence more animation studios in the years to come.
