How do these compare with his latest films, “Spirited Away” and “Howls Moving Castle” (2004)?
His latest films are more visually sumptuous than the earlier ones—the fantasy worlds they create are even more extravagantly detailed—but, again, they are similar in that they have ordinary, ungorgeous, though likable and ultimately quite resourceful, young girls as their heroines. You visited the Ghibli Museum, on the outskirts of Tokyo, which is dedicated to his work. What is it like, and how does it compare with other museums, especially those designed for children? The museum reminded me of an old term for the precursors of museums—”cabinets of wonder”—because the idea of it is really to trace the creative process that goes into animated films—and especially Miyazaki’s, of course—in a way that is both trippy and very beautiful. It has all these rooms where a dreamy child might be sketching backgrounds for a movie or coming up with an idea—they are kind of romanticized places, with oak furniture, jars full of colored pencils, watercolors and postcards tacked to the walls, model air
