Fourteen years ago, I bought a pirated VCD of
“My Neighbor
Totoro”, a Japanese anime.
I picked it because the cover was cute .
Do not
judge a book by its cover is not applied to movies, I thought.
When I watched
it, the anime really delivered the promise.
More than cute, it was a beautiful
.
The story was simple yet moving,
and the details was amazing. I loved it.
Two years later, a friend let me borrow his VCD of
“Kiki’s
Delivery Service”.
His was an original one, not pirated version like my Totoro.
Again, the movie was wonderful. I enjoyed watching Kiki,
a little witch, zooming
through the sky in her broomstick,
long before Harry Potter rode his Nimbus
2000.
That wonderful animation was made by Studio Ghibli,
a Japanese animation
company.
After I moved to USA, I became a full-fledged fan of Studio
Ghibli.
I can easily borrow the movies in the library
or buy them at amazon (
dotcom not the jungle ).
The Grave of Firefly was a tearjerker.
I emptied my Kleenex box while watching it.
Whisper of the Heart made me nostalgic
about
the middle school years.
Pom Poco and Porco Rosso were rather bizzare
but still
captivating. The list of the movies is still going on,
I keep watching them
again and again, also looking for their new ones.
This
summer, I finally able to visit Ghibli Museum,
in Mitaka, a Tokyo suburb area.
Thanks to God, hubby, Sandra, and Aoi
It's a dream come true.
The museum is very
interesting.
The building was a cheerful yellow with vegetation growing
on the roof .
Stained glass everywhere, depicting scenes
from the many of the
Ghibli movies.
The décor is rather Victorian era with Japanese cleanliness
and
touches of Ghibli’s cuteness
There is a cat- bus playground , from Totoro’s neko-bus.
There is a display about a
short history of animation.
There is a moving reel display of a scene from Totoro
but with figurines instead of drawing.
Not to mention a replica of Mr. Hayao Miyazaki’s work room.
It was very
nice to be able to view where the master worked.
Hayao Miyazaki is a director of many of Ghibli’s movies.
Different from Disney's where many brains contributes to the story
and
development of the movies,
Studio Ghibli is mostly one man show.
Mr. Miyazaki
draws the storyboard, writes the script,
creates the characters, and directs
the movies.
He was the driving force behind most Ghibli movies.
My. Miyazaki has an interesting opinion which he stated in
an interview with with David McNeill from the Indipendent
Humans face a basic choice between love or money, he believes.
"A five-year-old understands that in a way an adult obsessed with the
economy and share prices cannot. I make movies that can be understood by that
five-year-old, and to bring out that purity of heart."
Kudos
for him. Whenever I tried the creative endeavors, money unconsciously become
the major concern or motives. Even, when I want to create something nice for my
own family, I worry about money, while the Bible steers away from the thought
of money.
Phillipians 4:8 says
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true,
whatever is
noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is
admirable
—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—
think about such things.
I often forget that My Heavenly Father is rich beyond measures,
full of kindness, wisdom and understanding.
Visiting Ghibli Museum inspires me to be bold
in expressing myself creatively without worrying about
or being limited by money.
It’s somehow ironic to learn that from a secular person
like Mr. Hayao Miyazaki.
