MOMA Presents Tribute to Miyazaki and Takahata
MOMA PRESENTS TRIBUTE TO HAYAO MIYAZAKI AND ISAO TAKAHATA, CO-FOUNDERS OF INFLUENTIAL JAPANESE ANIMATION HOUSE STUDIO GHIBLI
Exhibition Features North American Premiere on June 6 of Miyazaki's Acclaimed New Feature Howl's Moving Castle
Retrospective Includes 13 Films from 1974 to Latest Works
Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata: Masters of Animation
The Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters
June 3–30, 2005
The Museum of Modern Art presents a 13-film tribute to two of the most renowned creators of animation in Japan. Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata: Masters of Animation, which will be presented June 3-30, 2005, in The Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters, covers the years 1974 to the present and illustrates the development and scope of their craft and artistic innovation. Miyazaki will be in attendance for the highlight of the exhibition: the North American premiere on June 6 of his film Howl's Moving Castle (2004), which will be released by Walt Disney Pictures on June 10. The exhibition is organized by Barbara London, Associate Curator, Department of Film and Media.
Hayao Miyazaki (born 1941, Tokyo) and Isao Takahata (born 1935, Ise) met and became friends in the late 1960s while working at Toei Animation in Tokyo. They began collaborating on a number of projects, including Heidi—A Girl of the Alps (1974) and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984), before joining with Toshio Suzuki to create Studio Ghibli in 1985. Studio Ghibli was responsible for the critically acclaimed and commercially successful Spirited Away, which won the 2003 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for Miyazaki, and Princess Mononoke (1997), also by Miyazaki.
Miyazaki and Takahata both avoid computerized animation that is prevalent in contemporary computer games, television, and even animation. Their characters and backgrounds are still drawn by hand, although they often use computer techniques such as perspective mapping and tracking zoom shots. The end results seamlessly blend 3-D animation and computer graphics.
The exhibition highlights the range of themes that concern both directors: from environmentalism in Miyazaki's Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) to family dynamics in Takahata's My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999) and loss in Miyazaki's Kiki's Delivery Service (1989) and Takahata's Grave of the Fireflies (1988). Each director has a distinct visual style and is drawn to a particular type of story: Miyazaki's films revolve around complex legends, often with children navigating magical and precarious terrains; Takahata's films explore day-to-day life with a hard-headed objectivity. Despite sharing a common undercurrent of darkness, their films always convey a sense of hope and an empathy with the travails of humanity.
Howl's Moving Castle is based upon the novel by Diana Wynne Jones and has already been a major commercial success in Europe and Asia. This animated adventure celebrates the transformative power of love and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity. While young Sophie works tirelessly making hats in the shop once owned by her deceased father, she meets the handsome but mysterious wizard Howl. Subsequently she is turned into a 90-year-old woman and embarks on a remarkable odyssey to lift the curse. At the North American premiere on June 6, much of the vocal talent of this English-language version is expected to attend, including Emily Mortimer (Sophie) and Christian Bale (Howl), as well as Jean Simmons, Lauren Bacall, and Billy Crystal. The films are accompanied by a special show in the lobby of Studio Ghibli posters, currently in the Museum's collection.
The exhibition is supported by Walt Disney Studios, The Japan Foundation, and The International Council of The Museum of Modern Art. Special thanks to Fabienne Stephan, Andrew Maerkle, and Anri Yasuda.
The Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53rd Street, New York, NY 10019
Hours: Wednesday through Monday: 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Friday: 10:30 a.m.-8:00 p.m. Closed Tuesday
Museum Adm: $20 adults; $16 seniors, 65 years and over with I.D.; $12 full-time students with current I.D. Free, members and children 16 and under. (Includes admittance to Museum galleries and film programs)
Target Free Friday Nights 4:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.
Film Adm: $10 adults; $8 seniors, 65 years and over with I.D. $6 full-time students with current I.D. (For admittance to film programs only)
Subway: E or V train to Fifth Avenue/53rd Street
Bus: On Fifth Avenue, take the M1, M2, M3, M4, or M5 to 53rd Street. On Sixth Avenue, take the M5, M6, or M7 to 53rd Street. Or take the M57 and M50 crosstown buses on 57th and 50th Streets.
The public may call (212) 708-9400 for detailed Museum information.
Visit us on the Web at www.moma.org
HAYAO MIYAZAKI AND ISAO TAKAHATA: MASTERS OF ANIMATION
SCREENING SCHEDULE
Friday, June 3
6:00 p.m. Kaze no Tani no Nausicaä (Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind). 1984. Japan. Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki.
Nausicaä hails from the Valley of the Wind, where a community of post-apocalyptic survivors wears gas masks to breathe. She must protect the Valley from giant mutated insects from the Jungle of Decay. Miyazaki's film confronts such themes as environmental responsibility, community spirit, and humans' relationship to science. 116 min. T1
Also screening Thursday, June 16, 7:00 p.m.
8:30 p.m. Ho-hokkeyo Tonari no Yamada-kun (My Neighbors the Yamadas). 1999. Japan. Directed by Isao Takahata.
Based on Ishii Hisaihi's long-running manga, this film centers on salaryman Takashi Yamada. His wife hates housework, his teenage son refuses to study, his small daughter speaks too loudly, and his sharp-tongued mother butts in. . . . Here's the kind of traditional family that may be disappearing in an increasingly modernized Japan. 104 min. T1
Also screening Wednesday, June 29, 8:15 p.m.
Saturday, June 4
2:00 p.m. Heisei Tanuki Gassen Ponpoko (Pom Poko). 1994. Japan. Written and directed by Isao Takahata.
Raccoonlike creatures are threatened by the destruction of their forest. 118 min. T1
Also screening Wednesday, June 29, 6:00 p.m.
4:00 p.m. Tonari no Totoro (My Neighbor Totoro). 1988. Japan. Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki.
Two young girls move to the countryside to care for their ailing mother. They befriend the magical Totoro, who takes them on the ride of their lives. 86 min. T1
Also screening Saturday, June 25, 4:00 p.m.
8:15 p.m. Kurenai no Buta (Porco Rosso). 1992. Japan. Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki.
Porco is a champion Italian aviator-for-hire. His suave and noble ways define him as a hero, despite his porcine appearance. Antifascist overtones and the romance of a more heroic era add complexity to this work, which is set in the Adriatic region during the 1920s. The technologies of aviation and motion pictures, a hallmark of Futurism, play prominent roles in the film. 93 min. T1
Also screening Thursday, June 23, 6:00 p.m.
Sunday, June 5
2:00 p.m. Majo no Takkyubin (Kiki's Delivery Service). 1989. Japan. Directed by Hayao Miyazaki.
Kiki is a thirteen-year-old witch who, following the customs of her clan, sets off into the world to establish herself as a full witch. With sidekick Jiji, a black cat, Kiki begins life in a sleepy seaside town, where she overcomes loneliness and gains independence with the support of her new friends and family. 102 min. T1
Also screening Thursday, June 23, 8:15 p.m.
5:00 p.m. Hotaru no Haka (Grave of the Fireflies). 1988. Japan. Directed by Isao Takahata.
Two orphans, Seita and his younger sister Setsuko, struggle to survive World War II in this often graphic, heartrending film. Fourteen-year-old Seita's self-sacrificing devotion to Setsuko is contrasted with the selfish behavior of adults desperate to save themselves from death. 88 min. T1
Monday, June 6
8:30 p.m. Howl no Ugoku Shiro (Howl's Moving Castle). 2004. Japan. Directed by Hayao Miyazaki, based on a novel by Diana Wynne Jones.
Sophie works diligently in a hat shop while her countrymen go off to war in the fervent spirit of imperial conquest. After befriending the mysterious boy Howl, Sophie is transformed by magic into an old woman. The ensuing madcap adventures in Howl's moving castle remind her that her joy can never be fully suppressed. 118 min.
North American premiere. T1
Thursday, June 16
7:00 p.m. Kaze no Tani no Nausicaä (Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind). See Friday, June 3, 6:00 p.m. T2
Friday, June 17
7:00 p.m. Mononoke Hime (Princess Mononoke). 1997. Japan. Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki.
With a haunting theme song sung by countertenor Mera Yoshikazu, this film about a girl warrior's struggle for peace unfolds in a medieval age of discord and rapid change. 133 min. T2
Also screening Thursday, June 30, 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, June 19
1:00 p.m. Heidi—A Girl of the Alps. 1974. Japan. Directed by Isao Takahata. Scene design and layout by Hayao Miyazaki.
In this made-for-TV series based on the original story by Johanna Spyri, young Heidi is sent to live with her grandfather in his alpine cabin. The first Takahata-Miyazaki collaboration with creative direction over every aspect of production, the project demonstrates the remarkable working methods that came to define the future Studio Ghibli. 92 min. T2
Also screening Saturday, June 25, 6:00 p.m.
2:45 p.m. Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (Spirited Away). 2001. Japan. Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki.
Young Chihiro is moving to the countryside with her parents. While in a forest en route to their new home, her parents are turned by a curse into pigs. Chihiro enters a mythical realm where she undergoes various trials to rescue her family. 124 min. T2
Also screening Saturday, June 25, 8:15 p.m.
Thursday, June 23
6:00 p.m. Kurenai no Buta (Porco Rosso). See Saturday, June 4, 8:15 p.m. T1
8:15 p.m. Majo no Takkyubin (Kiki's Delivery Service). See Sunday, June 5,
2:00 p.m. T1
Friday, June 24
5:15 p.m. Omoide Poroporo (Only Yesterday). 1991. Japan. Directed by Isao Takahata. A young Tokyo office worker, on vacation at a farm owned by relatives of her brother-in-law, looks back on her childhood and recalls the events that shaped her life. 119 min. T1
Saturday, June 25
2:00 p.m. Tenku no Shiro Laputa (Laputa Castle in the Sky). 1986. Japan. Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki.
An airship glides through clouds in the silvery light of the full moon. Muska, a government agent, is escorting a girl, Sheeta, to the Tedis Fortress. Suddenly the ship is attacked by sky pirates. 124 min. T2
4:00 p.m. Tonari no Totoro (My Neighbor Totoro). See Saturday, June 4, 4:00 p.m. T2
6:00 p.m. Heidi—A Girl of the Alps. See Sunday, June 19, 1:00 p.m. T2
8:15 p.m. Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (Spirited Away). See Sunday, June 19,
2:45 p.m. T2
Wednesday, June 29
6:00 p.m. Heisei Tanuki Gassen Ponpoko (Pom Poko). See Saturday, June 4, 2:00 p.m. T1
8:15 p.m. Ho-hokkeyo Tonari no Yamada-kun (My Neighbors the Yamadas). See Friday, June 3, 8:30 p.m. T1
Thursday, June 30
8:30 p.m. Mononoke Hime (Princess Mononoke). See Friday, June 17, 7:00 p.m. T1
Exhibition Features North American Premiere on June 6 of Miyazaki's Acclaimed New Feature Howl's Moving Castle
Retrospective Includes 13 Films from 1974 to Latest Works
Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata: Masters of Animation
The Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters
June 3–30, 2005
The Museum of Modern Art presents a 13-film tribute to two of the most renowned creators of animation in Japan. Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata: Masters of Animation, which will be presented June 3-30, 2005, in The Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters, covers the years 1974 to the present and illustrates the development and scope of their craft and artistic innovation. Miyazaki will be in attendance for the highlight of the exhibition: the North American premiere on June 6 of his film Howl's Moving Castle (2004), which will be released by Walt Disney Pictures on June 10. The exhibition is organized by Barbara London, Associate Curator, Department of Film and Media.
Hayao Miyazaki (born 1941, Tokyo) and Isao Takahata (born 1935, Ise) met and became friends in the late 1960s while working at Toei Animation in Tokyo. They began collaborating on a number of projects, including Heidi—A Girl of the Alps (1974) and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984), before joining with Toshio Suzuki to create Studio Ghibli in 1985. Studio Ghibli was responsible for the critically acclaimed and commercially successful Spirited Away, which won the 2003 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for Miyazaki, and Princess Mononoke (1997), also by Miyazaki.
Miyazaki and Takahata both avoid computerized animation that is prevalent in contemporary computer games, television, and even animation. Their characters and backgrounds are still drawn by hand, although they often use computer techniques such as perspective mapping and tracking zoom shots. The end results seamlessly blend 3-D animation and computer graphics.
The exhibition highlights the range of themes that concern both directors: from environmentalism in Miyazaki's Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) to family dynamics in Takahata's My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999) and loss in Miyazaki's Kiki's Delivery Service (1989) and Takahata's Grave of the Fireflies (1988). Each director has a distinct visual style and is drawn to a particular type of story: Miyazaki's films revolve around complex legends, often with children navigating magical and precarious terrains; Takahata's films explore day-to-day life with a hard-headed objectivity. Despite sharing a common undercurrent of darkness, their films always convey a sense of hope and an empathy with the travails of humanity.
Howl's Moving Castle is based upon the novel by Diana Wynne Jones and has already been a major commercial success in Europe and Asia. This animated adventure celebrates the transformative power of love and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity. While young Sophie works tirelessly making hats in the shop once owned by her deceased father, she meets the handsome but mysterious wizard Howl. Subsequently she is turned into a 90-year-old woman and embarks on a remarkable odyssey to lift the curse. At the North American premiere on June 6, much of the vocal talent of this English-language version is expected to attend, including Emily Mortimer (Sophie) and Christian Bale (Howl), as well as Jean Simmons, Lauren Bacall, and Billy Crystal. The films are accompanied by a special show in the lobby of Studio Ghibli posters, currently in the Museum's collection.
The exhibition is supported by Walt Disney Studios, The Japan Foundation, and The International Council of The Museum of Modern Art. Special thanks to Fabienne Stephan, Andrew Maerkle, and Anri Yasuda.
The Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53rd Street, New York, NY 10019
Hours: Wednesday through Monday: 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Friday: 10:30 a.m.-8:00 p.m. Closed Tuesday
Museum Adm: $20 adults; $16 seniors, 65 years and over with I.D.; $12 full-time students with current I.D. Free, members and children 16 and under. (Includes admittance to Museum galleries and film programs)
Target Free Friday Nights 4:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.
Film Adm: $10 adults; $8 seniors, 65 years and over with I.D. $6 full-time students with current I.D. (For admittance to film programs only)
Subway: E or V train to Fifth Avenue/53rd Street
Bus: On Fifth Avenue, take the M1, M2, M3, M4, or M5 to 53rd Street. On Sixth Avenue, take the M5, M6, or M7 to 53rd Street. Or take the M57 and M50 crosstown buses on 57th and 50th Streets.
The public may call (212) 708-9400 for detailed Museum information.
Visit us on the Web at www.moma.org
HAYAO MIYAZAKI AND ISAO TAKAHATA: MASTERS OF ANIMATION
SCREENING SCHEDULE
Friday, June 3
6:00 p.m. Kaze no Tani no Nausicaä (Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind). 1984. Japan. Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki.
Nausicaä hails from the Valley of the Wind, where a community of post-apocalyptic survivors wears gas masks to breathe. She must protect the Valley from giant mutated insects from the Jungle of Decay. Miyazaki's film confronts such themes as environmental responsibility, community spirit, and humans' relationship to science. 116 min. T1
Also screening Thursday, June 16, 7:00 p.m.
8:30 p.m. Ho-hokkeyo Tonari no Yamada-kun (My Neighbors the Yamadas). 1999. Japan. Directed by Isao Takahata.
Based on Ishii Hisaihi's long-running manga, this film centers on salaryman Takashi Yamada. His wife hates housework, his teenage son refuses to study, his small daughter speaks too loudly, and his sharp-tongued mother butts in. . . . Here's the kind of traditional family that may be disappearing in an increasingly modernized Japan. 104 min. T1
Also screening Wednesday, June 29, 8:15 p.m.
Saturday, June 4
2:00 p.m. Heisei Tanuki Gassen Ponpoko (Pom Poko). 1994. Japan. Written and directed by Isao Takahata.
Raccoonlike creatures are threatened by the destruction of their forest. 118 min. T1
Also screening Wednesday, June 29, 6:00 p.m.
4:00 p.m. Tonari no Totoro (My Neighbor Totoro). 1988. Japan. Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki.
Two young girls move to the countryside to care for their ailing mother. They befriend the magical Totoro, who takes them on the ride of their lives. 86 min. T1
Also screening Saturday, June 25, 4:00 p.m.
8:15 p.m. Kurenai no Buta (Porco Rosso). 1992. Japan. Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki.
Porco is a champion Italian aviator-for-hire. His suave and noble ways define him as a hero, despite his porcine appearance. Antifascist overtones and the romance of a more heroic era add complexity to this work, which is set in the Adriatic region during the 1920s. The technologies of aviation and motion pictures, a hallmark of Futurism, play prominent roles in the film. 93 min. T1
Also screening Thursday, June 23, 6:00 p.m.
Sunday, June 5
2:00 p.m. Majo no Takkyubin (Kiki's Delivery Service). 1989. Japan. Directed by Hayao Miyazaki.
Kiki is a thirteen-year-old witch who, following the customs of her clan, sets off into the world to establish herself as a full witch. With sidekick Jiji, a black cat, Kiki begins life in a sleepy seaside town, where she overcomes loneliness and gains independence with the support of her new friends and family. 102 min. T1
Also screening Thursday, June 23, 8:15 p.m.
5:00 p.m. Hotaru no Haka (Grave of the Fireflies). 1988. Japan. Directed by Isao Takahata.
Two orphans, Seita and his younger sister Setsuko, struggle to survive World War II in this often graphic, heartrending film. Fourteen-year-old Seita's self-sacrificing devotion to Setsuko is contrasted with the selfish behavior of adults desperate to save themselves from death. 88 min. T1
Monday, June 6
8:30 p.m. Howl no Ugoku Shiro (Howl's Moving Castle). 2004. Japan. Directed by Hayao Miyazaki, based on a novel by Diana Wynne Jones.
Sophie works diligently in a hat shop while her countrymen go off to war in the fervent spirit of imperial conquest. After befriending the mysterious boy Howl, Sophie is transformed by magic into an old woman. The ensuing madcap adventures in Howl's moving castle remind her that her joy can never be fully suppressed. 118 min.
North American premiere. T1
Thursday, June 16
7:00 p.m. Kaze no Tani no Nausicaä (Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind). See Friday, June 3, 6:00 p.m. T2
Friday, June 17
7:00 p.m. Mononoke Hime (Princess Mononoke). 1997. Japan. Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki.
With a haunting theme song sung by countertenor Mera Yoshikazu, this film about a girl warrior's struggle for peace unfolds in a medieval age of discord and rapid change. 133 min. T2
Also screening Thursday, June 30, 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, June 19
1:00 p.m. Heidi—A Girl of the Alps. 1974. Japan. Directed by Isao Takahata. Scene design and layout by Hayao Miyazaki.
In this made-for-TV series based on the original story by Johanna Spyri, young Heidi is sent to live with her grandfather in his alpine cabin. The first Takahata-Miyazaki collaboration with creative direction over every aspect of production, the project demonstrates the remarkable working methods that came to define the future Studio Ghibli. 92 min. T2
Also screening Saturday, June 25, 6:00 p.m.
2:45 p.m. Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (Spirited Away). 2001. Japan. Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki.
Young Chihiro is moving to the countryside with her parents. While in a forest en route to their new home, her parents are turned by a curse into pigs. Chihiro enters a mythical realm where she undergoes various trials to rescue her family. 124 min. T2
Also screening Saturday, June 25, 8:15 p.m.
Thursday, June 23
6:00 p.m. Kurenai no Buta (Porco Rosso). See Saturday, June 4, 8:15 p.m. T1
8:15 p.m. Majo no Takkyubin (Kiki's Delivery Service). See Sunday, June 5,
2:00 p.m. T1
Friday, June 24
5:15 p.m. Omoide Poroporo (Only Yesterday). 1991. Japan. Directed by Isao Takahata. A young Tokyo office worker, on vacation at a farm owned by relatives of her brother-in-law, looks back on her childhood and recalls the events that shaped her life. 119 min. T1
Saturday, June 25
2:00 p.m. Tenku no Shiro Laputa (Laputa Castle in the Sky). 1986. Japan. Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki.
An airship glides through clouds in the silvery light of the full moon. Muska, a government agent, is escorting a girl, Sheeta, to the Tedis Fortress. Suddenly the ship is attacked by sky pirates. 124 min. T2
4:00 p.m. Tonari no Totoro (My Neighbor Totoro). See Saturday, June 4, 4:00 p.m. T2
6:00 p.m. Heidi—A Girl of the Alps. See Sunday, June 19, 1:00 p.m. T2
8:15 p.m. Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (Spirited Away). See Sunday, June 19,
2:45 p.m. T2
Wednesday, June 29
6:00 p.m. Heisei Tanuki Gassen Ponpoko (Pom Poko). See Saturday, June 4, 2:00 p.m. T1
8:15 p.m. Ho-hokkeyo Tonari no Yamada-kun (My Neighbors the Yamadas). See Friday, June 3, 8:30 p.m. T1
Thursday, June 30
8:30 p.m. Mononoke Hime (Princess Mononoke). See Friday, June 17, 7:00 p.m. T1
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