He’s the greatest living legend in the field of animation, and Max has just given Studio Ghibli’s Hayao Miyazaki the affectionate documentary tribute that he deserves.
As a complement to the most recent Studio Ghibli feature film — The Boy and the Heron, released last year, newly available on HBO’s Max streamer, and briefly thought to be Miyazaki’s final film project ever — the new documentary Hayao Miyazaki and the Heron also on Max covers the making of the Oscar-winning film, following along with the legendary animator as he produces his most personal movie project to date.
Filmed with exclusive access to Studio Ghibli across seven years, the documentary tracks the making of perhaps the most autobiographical work to date from the creator of such visionary anime classics as My Neighbor Totoro and Howl’s Moving Castle.
As for The Boy and The Heron, its Japanese title translates to How Do You Live? and finds Miyazaki in the twilight of his life reflecting on his experiences and his place in the world. The film follows a young boy who, after his mother’s death and his own relocation to the countryside, finds an abandoned tower and encounters a fantastical world with characters that include a talking heron.
Anyone with an even passing familiarity with Miyazaki’s story will recognize elements of his life that he’s tenderly woven throughout many Studio Ghibli films — particularly in The Boy and the Heron. Evacuating from Tokyo with his family during WWII when he was a young boy, for example, had a profound impact on the future animation genius. Likewise, his anti-war sentiment can be traced back to the industrialization he saw, particularly when his father worked at a plant manufacturing parts for fighter planes. And on a similar note, Miyazaki’s mother died when he was a child.
The Max documentary is the perfect tribute to a genius animator as well as a historic film in many ways — not the least of which is the fact that it was the second fully hand-drawn to win a Best Animated Film Oscar (the first being Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away).
