Totoro Before Totoro - by Animation Obsessive Staff
Before we begin, we’ve got to bring up the fires in Los Angeles. Many people in the city’s animation scene are struggling. Cartoon Brew has a list of fundraisers for those affected, and Alex Hirsch (creator of Gravity Falls) is running a charity auction through the 21st, which includes original art from folks like James Baxter. Don’t hesitate to share and donate if you can.
Studio Ghibli didn’t exist yet. Neither did the movies that made Miyazaki iconic. In fact, his whole approach to stories and characters was a bit different: simpler, zanier and more direct. He had a love for rascally heroes, damsels in distress, cartoon bad guys. Princess Mononoke (1997) was unimaginable back then.
There were foundations in place, though — core parts of Miyazaki’s style that stayed with him. He hinted at them during ‘78, when he named his two favorite works of animation: the Soviet Snow Queen and a film called Panda! Go, Panda! (1972).
Panda is a half-hour piece directed by Isao Takahata. It’s one of Miyazaki’s earliest projects — he was its writer and lead crewmember. For him, it was life-changing. “I have never had more pleasure as I worked,” he wrote in the ‘80s. 1
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