Introduction Hayao Miyazaki is the first animation designer who represents the humanitarianism to animation (Cavallaro, 2015). His humanistic films include lots of themes such as environmental protection, youth growing, anti-war, feminism and so on. Those different items are showing Hayao Miyazaki’s deep concern about the universe and life. His thinking is so distinctive because of his profound concern themes in the films. Also, this is why the audiences love his movie.
Besides, the theme is the soul and core of the animation film and his themes are not only related to our daily life but also consider some significant social issues(Rustin and Rustin, 2012). What is interesting is that although the themes change in his films, the environmentalism is always reflected in his movies. Hayao Miyazaki has lots of famous animation films, such as Castle in the Sky, My Neighbour Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and Princess Mononoke.
Those are successful in Japan, also, achieve a high reputation in the US and Europe and even around the world (Rustin and Rustin, 2012). By analyzing Hayao Miyazaki’s classic animation works, people can deeply understand his human spirit expression and learn why his work have these charming places (Cavallaro, 2015). Hayao Miyazaki is such an excellent animator that each of his works must have its unique meaning, but almost all of his movies contain environmentalism.
Although environmentalism is reflected in most of his films, there is still some perspectives about environmentalism shifted in his early film, medium-term film, and recent film which are Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind, Spirited Away, and Ponyo on the Cliff. Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind is Miyazaki’s early work and is the film that makes him become a famous animation artist and win the reputation in Japan (Napier, 2006). As Napier said, in Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind, Hayao Miyazaki has the strong attitude of hating some human actions that destroy the nature.
He thinks that the relationship between human and nature cannot be solved, as long as the population continues to flourish, the destruction of nature action will continue to repeat. People always want more, so they will keep moving on in such a stupid action (2006). In the book that written by Dani Cavallaro, Hayao Miyazaki’s world picture, Hayao Miyazaki once said: “|| want to see Tokyo having been submerged” (Cavallaro, 2015, P. 75). Although this sentence is a little bit extreme, it can show Miyazaki’s attitude. He also put this perspective in this film.
For example, as Dani Cavallaro stated, in this movie, the story of young princess Nausicaa needs to save humanity from the seven days of fire that because of human’s war, a great conflagration that the ravaged earth, destroyed the environment and human civilization. The remaining human settlements separated from each other by the fetid and dangerous sea of corruption and people are competing for a clean environment to live, and this triggered more wars again and again. However, the wars just make the environment worse (2015). This plot can show that Miyazaki is actually against the war.
Also, according to Dani Cavallaro, in the film there is a unique system that human, the rotten sea and forest, insects seemingly hostile that they cannot live together. In fact, the bottom of the rotten sea is a pure regenerated forest. Sea of Corruption has been in the purification the pollution by industrial civilization about the living environment while insects protect the rotten sea. However, lots of people do not know the truth about the rotten sea and want to destroy the rotten sea, and fight with the huge insects (2015).
It expresses Miyazaki’s feeling at that time, he hates the behavior that people do not ect nature and destroy the environment because of their benefit. He thinks people need pay for that action and get punishment by nature (Cavallaro, 2015). What makes his views be like that strong is that Miyazaki experienced the war as a child and saw how the environment has been destroyed by human activities that made he hate the war. Besides, the war caused great damage to the environment, so he wants to use this film to talk about the environment issues and warn human (Napier, 2006).
Miyazaki imagines the big disaster when people destroy the environment in the future through this films, so people can quickly realize the great importance of keeping a harmonious relationship between nature and human beings. Spirited Away Spirited Away is Miyazaki’s most famous animation film and also a medium-term movie. According to Noriko T. Reider, this film “became the highest-grossing film of all time in Japan and it won many awards, including a 2003 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film” and made Miyazaki famous around the world (2005, P. ).
In this film, his point about the environmentalism has changed that is not strong like the early works. He becomes more neutral with the relationship between people and environment. However, he still wants to warn people to focus on this problem but in a more polite way. In this film, Miyazaki also uses his fantastic imagination to create an unreality world but it reflects lots of problems in the real world (Napier, 2006). Moreover, as Noriko stated, in the Spirited Away, the main character who is a little girl called Chihiro (2006).
The girl and her parents get lost and get inside a magic world. However, the girl’s parents transformed into pigs because of they were greedy and ate the food in the area. Then the girl had to work in a spa center for spirits, and divinities saved herself and her parents when the night fell. (Swale, 2015). So in the spa center, the girl met a stink spirit that was a polluted river spirit and wanted to be cleansed in the bath house (Napier, 2006).
