NOSTALGIA, at times accompanied with laughter and tears, is an effect of Studio Ghibli movies by Hayao Miyazaki. However, aside from the storyline which captures viewers by the heart, a few Easter eggs are hidden within the animated films. Here are five fun facts and theories behind some of Miyazaki’s movies. Tread carefully, spoilers ahead!
Grave of the Fireflies is based on a true story. The beloved animated movie that made hundreds of fans weep is based on a true story. The Japanese movie is based on the semi-autobiographical short story written by Japanese author Akiyuki Nosaka in 1967. The short story speaks of his experience during the bombing of Kobe in 1945. The novel is said to be the author’s apology to his sister who died during World War II due to malnutrition.
Cameo of Miyazaki in Kiki’s Delivery Service. Before Marvel’s Stan Lee made cameos cool, Miyazaki did it first with his animated version. The movie shows the animated self of the young Miyazaki during the movie’s climax where Kiki reacquires her ability to fly and saves her friend Tombo. In the scene where an old man exclaims “That’s my broom she used!” as he points to the television screen inside the shop, a young Miyazaki can be seen in the top-right corner of the frame.
Spirited Away portrays a little girl working in a brothel. Miyazaki also likes to lace his fantastical movies with a pinch of reality often questioning the status quo or creating a statement hidden behind the strokes of his creations. For Spirited Away, it is not only about questionable environmental practices but also about prostitution and child trafficking. The pieces that hint to this hidden message can be found in the names of the characters and the Japanese characters written on the bathhouse. One notable detail is the character known as No Face, who consistently offers the main character Chihiro with gold which is constantly declined by the young heroine. It is said that No Face symbolizes men who pay for sexual services, and these men remain faceless, thus the depiction.
“Howl” is Batman. Yes it’s true. Christian Bale most widely known for playing the role of Batman in Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises is the voice of “Howl” in the English version of Howl’s Moving Castle dubbed by Disney. Both characters played by Christian Bale are handsome, dashing and enchant many ladies. Yet unlike the selfless Batman, Howl sometimes tends to be a bit more self-centered and childish.
Miyazaki works revolve in one world. Being widely known for its love of details, embedding them within its movies, like the Pixar movies theory, it is suggested that the films of Hayao Miyazaki by Studio Ghibli are all stories belonging to one world in different timelines. After all, Studio Ghibli’s Miyazaki and Pixar’s John Lasseter are close friends. Starting from Porco Rosso which is placed somewhere along the events leading up to World War II, followed by The Wind Rises, which is a pseudo-documentary of Jiro Horikoshi, the chief engineer of The Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter, which speaks of events somewhere along World War II; until Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind as the final chapter of the timeline, which ironically speaks of events happening in the future despite being Miyazaki’s first movie with Studio Ghibli.
Ghibli Tribute Exhibition will be held on July 1 , 3 and 4 with July 1 as its launching date at 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. in iioffice Cebu located in Arlinda V. Paras Bldg. Don Gil Garcia St., Cebu City. The exhibit will be hosted by Sketchbook Challenge Cebu featuring artists from differents parts of the Philippines and abroad creating a tribute in honor of Hayao Miyazaki.