Hayao Miyazaki didn’t come to the United States in 2003 to accept his Oscar for Spirited Away because of his opposition to the Iraq War, he recently told the LA Times:

“The reason I wasn’t here for the Academy Award was because I didn’t want to visit a country that was bombing Iraq. At the time, my producer shut me up and did not allow me to say that, but I don’t see him around today. By the way, my producer also shared in that feeling.”

Critic Daniel Thomas MacInnes offers some context to Miyazaki’s actions on The Ghibli Blog:

It should be common knowledge to any serious Miyazaki scholar that he abhorred not only the Iraq War, but war itself. The idea of violence is depicted in his work as violent tragedy, slapstick mockery, or both…I don’t think very many Westerners know that the war in Howl’s Moving Castle was itself a reflection on the Iraq War. It was a comment on that war, viewed through the lens of Miyazaki’s long career.

I just saw the most surreal film released under the Walt Disney banner since… I dunno, The Three Caballeros?

Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo is strictly a kids film (4-9 years old) and I think they’ll dig it. But adult viewers may end up scratching their heads and think they are stoned - or seriously wish they were. I struggled with its simplistic narrative during the first half hour, then I gave in to its child’s-eye point of view, let go of my adult expectations, and just sat back and enjoyed the insanity. There’s a lot of insanity …but a lot to enjoy as well.

At its core, Ponyo is an sweet, old fashioned fairy tale - albeit one about inter-species love between two five-year-olds (one a former goldfish-with-a-human-head who runs away from home), laced with pro-environmental messages. The animation and imagination on display is wonderful, but the characters do not have much depth, and their motivations are poorly explained. Ponyo’s “father” is an “evil Wizard” (her words) wearing a striped suit and ascot, looking like a refugee from Haight-Ashbury, 1968. Ponyo’s “mother” is a beautiful giant goddess of calm and wisdom - right out of those early Toei animated features of the 1960s, the ones based on ancient Asian myths and legends.

The artwork itself is strange - its not as sophisticated as recent Miyazaki epics. The backgrounds have a simple pastel crayon-like quality, which is cool; the character design of Ponyo shifts throughout the film from standard Miyazaki design (think Mei from Totoro) to something out of a later John Hubley/Tissa David/Michael Sporn independent films. Not that there’s anything wrong with it - in fact, I found that quite refreshing.

Going in, I hoped this feature might have the potential of being Miyazaki’s most widely accessible (to western audiences) film, but it isn’t. It seems to be even more steeped in Japanese folklore and cultural sensibility than Spirited Away, once again challenging established Hollywood “rules” of narrative storytelling.

With all this in mind, I do recommend the Ponyo experience, especially to small kids and parents of young children. The good news is that Miyazaki is still making “classic” Japanese anime features that push the medium and can blow your mind… just this time don’t forget your meds.

The New York Times is reporting that Hayao Miyazaki will indeed appear (with John Lasseter) on July 24th at the San Diego Comic Con.

At Comic-Con Mr. Miyazaki and Mr. Lasseter are expected to appear as part of an animation presentation that will give a glimpse not only at “Ponyo,” but also at a series of coming Disney films, including “Toy Story 3,” “Beauty and the Beast 3-D” and “The Princess and the Frog.”

The only way to see this is to sit in Hall H - NOW!

Miyazaki will also appear at presentations in San Francisco and LA. Read the entire NY Times article here.

Hayao Miyazaki will appear in person, accept a prize and participate in a Q & A on July 25th in Berkeley California. Miyazaki so rarely travels to the US, and even less so to make public appearances, we urge you to reserve your tickets NOW!

The Center for Japanese Studies at the University of California, Berkeley will award Miyazaki with the 2009 Berkeley Japan Prize, for a lifetime of influencing the world’s understanding of Japan. On July 12th, 14th, 19th, and 21st, the Pacific film Archive will host a A Tribute to Hayao Miyazaki. All films will be shown in the original Japanese 35mm prints with English subtitles.

Sunday, July 12, 4:00 PM - My Neighbor Totoro

Tuesday July 14, 7:00 PM - Porco Rosso

Sunday July 19, 2:30 PM - Laputa: Castle in the Sky

Tuesday July 21, 7:00 PM - Princess Mononoke

The Center for Japanese Studies, in conjunction with the Pacific Film Archive, is pleased to present the Northern California premiere of Hayao Miyazaki’s latest film, Ponyo, to be screened at Wheeler Hall on Friday, July 24, 2009 at 6pm and 8pm. For tickets to this limited-seating engagement, please visit the UC Berkeley website

On Saturday, July 25, 2009, leading scholars of Japanese popular culture, literature, and film will discuss Hayao Miyazaki’s work and his international influence in a roundtable panel discussion, The Hayao Miyazaki Symposium. This will take place at 2223 Fulton Street, 6th Floor conference room from 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM. It’s Free and open to the public.

Later that day, from 6:00 PM to 7:45 PM in Zellerbach Auditorium, Hayao Miyazaki in Conversation. Miyazaki will be interviewed on stage, followed by a question and answer period with the audience. For tickets to this limited-seating engagement ($25.), please visit Zellerbach Hall website.

The star-studded English dub of Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo will close this year’s Los Angeles Film Festival on Sunday, June 28 at 6:30 p.m. at the Mann Village Theater.

Before you get too excited, the tickets are $100.

The Los Angeles Film Festival runs June 18th through June 28th at various venues in Westwood. In addition to Ponyo the festival will feature several animated shorts in the competition screenings. Disney will release Ponyo in the United States on August 14th.

(Via Indiewire)

There are two exciting hand drawn films coming up later this year - both being released by Disney. The first one is Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo, which opens August 14th - several weeks after Ice Age 3 and a few weeks before Shane Acker’s 9. The U.S. one sheet poster was just released (click thumbnail at left to see full size image) which mentions its big-name cast. The French trailer (below) looks gorgeous. I’m really looking forward to this film.

(Thanks, Mathew Gaastra)

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, in association with Deutsches Filmmuseum in Franfurt Germany, will be presenting an exhibit of original anime art in their Beverly Hills HQ lobby and 4th Floor Gallery.

From May 15th through August 23th, the Academy will present ANIME! High Art - Pop Culture featuring collectors items and rare animation artwork seldom seen outside Japan. A portion of the exhibition is devoted to manga and its relationship to anime; the whole exhibit will provide a historical overview of the development of Japanese comic book and animation genres. Public viewing hours are Tuesday – Friday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday – Sunday: Noon to 6 p.m. Closed Mondays and May 23–24. Admission: Free. For more info, visit the Academy website.

This trailer, created by Studio Anima, is for a proposed anime series called Cat Shit One. It’s based on a manga by Motofumi Kobayashi, released in the U.S. as Apocalypse Meow.

(Thanks, Sandra Khoo)