November 18, 2024 12:59 pm
Sometimes it only takes one hit.
Kiki's Delivery Service is one of the masterpieces of Hayao Miyazaki. The director was not afraid to make a movie for a female audience, where there is no romantic plot and no dizzying adventures, but only the story of a young witch experiencing a crisis of growing up.
For the Ghibli studio, Kiki's Delivery Service was a turning point – Hayao Miyazaki's previous two works were not hits, and investors and partners lost faith in the animator's talent. History shows that they were wrong – Kiki's Delivery Service saved Ghibli from bankruptcy and marked a new step in the company's development.
Hayao Miyazaki Was in a Creative Slump Before He Created Kiki's Delivery Service
Studio Ghibli is a part of world history, its films have become worldwide hits and have won awards and prizes. Of course, this was not always the case. Formally, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, was created by the Topcraft studio, many of whose employees later joined Ghibli.
Therefore, the company's first project was Castle in the Sky, and it failed to break the records of Nausicaä. The same success was not achieved by My Neighbor Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies, which were released simultaneously.
Grave of the Fireflies is based on a book from the school curriculum: according to Ghibli's strategy, the joint release was supposed to attract a young audience to see My Neighbor Totoro. When the film failed to live up to the high expectations, the company needed a big hit, so they put a lot of effort into Hayao Miyazaki's next film, Kiki's Delivery Service.
What Is Kiki's Delivery Service About?
Kiki's Delivery Service is based on the book of the same name by Japanese author Eiko Kadono, who was inspired by European witches. Hayao Miyazaki not only added secondary scenes, but also changed the structure of the story. Kadono's book is more of an everyday genre, showing the routine life of the girl.
Miyazaki brought out a clear plot and outlined a dramatic conflict: Kiki loses the ability to fly and to understand her black cat.
Kiki's Delivery Service Led to Ghibli Restructuring
Being completely exhausted after finishing work on Kiki's Delivery Service, Hayao Miyazaki suggested to the producer, the future director of the studio, Toshio Suzuki, to dissolve Studio Ghibli, but then they made an important decision – they hired artists as staff.
Normally, animators were hired for a short period of time: Miyazaki, together with Suzuki, took a revolutionary step for several reasons. If the production of a movie is delayed, it is necessary to find new workers, which is very expensive and inconvenient; a permanent staff of masters allows to maintain the quality of animation at a high level.
The successful reorganization of Studio Ghibli's processes turned out to be partly against Hayao Miyazaki: artists on long-term contracts need something to work on, so the director worked almost without a break in the following years. Due to the intense pace of work, Miyazaki would say after each project that he was ending his directing career and handing over to a young writer.
However, the director never found an heir, and for almost 40 years Miyazaki has been dreaming of retirement, but he never stops making one masterpiece after another.
Sometimes it only takes one hit.
Kiki's Delivery Service is one of the masterpieces of Hayao Miyazaki. The director was not afraid to make a movie for a female audience, where there is no romantic plot and no dizzying adventures, but only the story of a young witch experiencing a crisis of growing up.
For the Ghibli studio, Kiki's Delivery Service was a turning point – Hayao Miyazaki's previous two works were not hits, and investors and partners lost faith in the animator's talent. History shows that they were wrong – Kiki's Delivery Service saved Ghibli from bankruptcy and marked a new step in the company's development.
Hayao Miyazaki Was in a Creative Slump Before He Created Kiki's Delivery Service
Studio Ghibli is a part of world history, its films have become worldwide hits and have won awards and prizes. Of course, this was not always the case. Formally, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, was created by the Topcraft studio, many of whose employees later joined Ghibli.
Therefore, the company's first project was Castle in the Sky, and it failed to break the records of Nausicaä. The same success was not achieved by My Neighbor Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies, which were released simultaneously.
Grave of the Fireflies is based on a book from the school curriculum: according to Ghibli's strategy, the joint release was supposed to attract a young audience to see My Neighbor Totoro. When the film failed to live up to the high expectations, the company needed a big hit, so they put a lot of effort into Hayao Miyazaki's next film, Kiki's Delivery Service.
What Is Kiki's Delivery Service About?
Kiki's Delivery Service is based on the book of the same name by Japanese author Eiko Kadono, who was inspired by European witches. Hayao Miyazaki not only added secondary scenes, but also changed the structure of the story. Kadono's book is more of an everyday genre, showing the routine life of the girl.
Miyazaki brought out a clear plot and outlined a dramatic conflict: Kiki loses the ability to fly and to understand her black cat.
Kiki's Delivery Service Led to Ghibli Restructuring
Being completely exhausted after finishing work on Kiki's Delivery Service, Hayao Miyazaki suggested to the producer, the future director of the studio, Toshio Suzuki, to dissolve Studio Ghibli, but then they made an important decision – they hired artists as staff.
Normally, animators were hired for a short period of time: Miyazaki, together with Suzuki, took a revolutionary step for several reasons. If the production of a movie is delayed, it is necessary to find new workers, which is very expensive and inconvenient; a permanent staff of masters allows to maintain the quality of animation at a high level.
The successful reorganization of Studio Ghibli's processes turned out to be partly against Hayao Miyazaki: artists on long-term contracts need something to work on, so the director worked almost without a break in the following years. Due to the intense pace of work, Miyazaki would say after each project that he was ending his directing career and handing over to a young writer.
However, the director never found an heir, and for almost 40 years Miyazaki has been dreaming of retirement, but he never stops making one masterpiece after another.
