Miyazaki’s first is revisted by a new contributor!

by Ben | December 15, 2009 1:25 pm

December 15, 2009 — We celebrate thirty years since Hayao Miyazaki made his animated feature debut The Castle Of Cagliostro, with our new contributor Raz Greenberg!

After previously contributing a review of The Astro Boy Essays[1] to Animated Views last year, we’re delighted to welcome Raz Greenberg to our motley crew. A writer and lecturer on animation, we can be sure that Raz will bring a fresh and unique look back on some of animation history’s greats, and without missing a beat his first piece is ready for you right now!

Released thirty years ago, Lupin III: The Castle Of Cagliostro announced Hayao Miyazaki’s feature animation debut and at the time was a great departure from the stronghold that Disney had on the market. Where their then-contemporary releases included The Rescuers, Pete’s Dragon and The Many Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh, Miyazaki’s Cagliostro was a straight action adventure epic – in animation since it would have been prohibitively expensive to film in live action (and most probably beyond the ability of all but a few directors…it isn’t for nothing that Steven Spielberg calls it “one of the greatest adventure movies of all time”).

I was able to see Cagliostro fairly recently, and even though I have often professed that Japanese animation is a tough nut for me to crack personally, I did enjoy the flippant attitude of its hero and the general caper movie tone of the film. In his first piece for us, Raz certainly takes a microscope to the production[2] and Miyazaki himself, and makes for excellent reading on this, the very anniversary to the day that the acclaimed director initially made his mark on the big screen.

Stay tooned! — Ben.

Endnotes:
  1. The Astro Boy Essays: http://animatedviews.com/2008/book-review-the-astro-boy-essays/
  2. first piece for us, Raz certainly takes a microscope to the production: http://animatedviews.com/2009/an-auteur-is-born-30-years-of-miyazakis-castle-of-cagliostro/

Source URL: https://animatedviews.com/2009/miyazakis-first-is-revisted-by-a-new-contributor/