The Hollywood movies Hayao Miyazaki actually likes
Contemporary Japanese cinema has undoubtedly been sculpted by the filmmaking expertise of Hayao Miyazaki and the influence of his iconic production company, Studio Ghibli. Helping to promote anime across the world, his unique fantasy animations such as Spirited Away and My Neighbour Totoro have gone on to inspire such American creatives as John Lasseter, Guillermo del Toro and Wes Anderson.
Yet, despite Miyazaki’s unquestionable influence on the modern American movie industry, the filmmaker himself isn’t too keen on the world of Hollywood, often being very vocal in his dislike of the Western industry. Critical of the use of violence, particularly against non-American characters, typical Hollywood fodder differs significantly in tone from Miyazaki’s own fantasy adventures.
Speaking about his dislike for Hollywood movies, Miyazaki stated: “Americans shoot things and they blow up and the like, so as you’d expect, they make movies like that…If someone is the enemy, it’s okay to kill endless numbers of them. Lord of the Rings is like that. If it’s the enemy, there’s killing without separation between civilians and soldiers. That falls within collateral damage”.
Doubling down on this stance, he even went so far as to state that his beliefs were, “Anti-jeans, Anti-bourbon, Anti-burgers, Anti-fried chicken, Anti-cola, Anti-American coffee, Anti-New York, Anti-West Coast”.
The filmmaker isn’t blind to the influence of the industry, however, with there being a number of Hollywood flicks he is fond of. When speaking about his all-time favourite movies, Miyazaki named seven American classics he is partial to, including two films by John Ford and a double-bill of Disney animations.
When it comes to Ford, Miyazaki is particularly keen on his 1941 film How Green Was My Valley, as well as the movie My Darling Clementine, released five years later. The former of the two films tells the story of a family whose sons are raised to be coal miners, only for the youngest to defy the order in hopes of a better life, and isn’t too dissimilar to Miyazaki’s own fondness for tales that explore the family dynamic.
Elsewhere, Miyazaki was fond of two Disney movies that would be very influential in his later career. Firstly, the pace and tone of several of the flying sequences in the 1953 Disney movie Peter Pan would inform moments in 1988’s My Neighbour Totoro when the lead characters are floating through the night sky. Similarly, his love for the story of 1989’s The Little Mermaid would go on to inspire the making of his own 2008 film, Ponyo.
Check out the full list of the Hollywood movies Hayao Miyazaki actually likes below.
Hayao Miyazaki’s favourite Hollywood movies:
- How Green Was My Valley (John Ford, 1941)
- Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975)
- The Little Mermaid (Ron Clements and John Musker, 1989)
- Modern Times (Charlie Chaplin, 1936)
- My Darling Clementine (John Ford, 1946)
- The Old Mill (Wilfred Jackson, 1937)
- Peter Pan (Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson and Hamilton Luske, 1953)
