Top Three Miyazaki Movies

My top Miyazaki movies are as follows, I thought I'd share because it may look a bit different from the next person's top few. For those who aren't aware, Hayao Miyazaki is one of Japan's best movie animators. He has been animating movies for nearly his entire life, and has produced box office-smashing hits one after another.

3. Princess Mononoke

Image from https://www.wallpaperflare.com/mononoke-kodama-wallpaper-ymgwo

Princess Mononoke is a lesser-known film of Miayzaki, but it deserves a position in the spotlight. Mononoke highlights the struggle between good and evil yet highlights its nuances. There are two main sides in the movie: nature and industrialization. While the main characters of this movie have good intentions, they all have to think outside of the box to create solutions for everyone and live in harmony. Plus, this movie is packed with some great action. Ahead of its time, Mononoke inspires me and its entire audience to consider our environmental impacts and the impacts on all sides of a conflict.

Image from https://shorturl.at/l1YHn

2. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

Image from https://myanimelist.net/featured/1219/Top_15_Best_Flying_Anime__Take_to_the_Skies

Nausicaa makes #2 because I can relate to Nausicaa on a deep and spiritual level. She is a woman with a special connection with nature, which sets her apart from her peers. She's so caring for nature, even the most wild animals can trust her. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind has one of the greatest soundtracks of any Miyazaki movies, in my view, and includes some awesome 80's synthesizer sounds. While it was released decades ago, I'm still finding new and vibrant meanings from this movie.

1. My Neighbor Totoro

I basically have this entire movie memorized line for line, so it makes #1, my top choice. Totoro is a timeless, classic movie and a masterpiece about two children finding joy in their struggles. If I said it doesn't make me cry still, I would be lying! The animation is a colorful feast for the eyes, and the soundtrack, by Joe Hisaishi, is a festival for the senses for audiences of all ages. Unlike his other movies, there is nothing particularly 'scary' in Miyazaki's Totoro. In the critical point of the film, a girl gets lost searching for her mother, but is quickly united with her friends (one of which is a magical, six legged flying cat).

I'm not entirely sure how Miyazaki and his team managed to beautifully pack so many emotional highs and lows into a one hour and a half long film and still be suitable for general audiences, but he did. In Totoro, there are also countless adorable side characters—side creatures, as I should call them—including 'soot sprites', tiny and lovable black balls of fluff which appear in a number of Miyazaki's other films.