日本动画大师宫崎骏(Hayao Miyazaki)将退休的消息令动画迷们感到惋惜。但这应该也会促使他们拿出收藏的DVD，或者通过iTunes来重温他的巨作。
Hayao Miyazaki Retires: Was He Better Than Walt Disney?
Reports that Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki is retiring has sent anime fans into mourning. But it should also send them to their DVD collections and to iTunes to watch his work and celebrate his genius.
The news about the famed filmmaker"s retirement was announced yesterday at the Venice Film Festival, where the director"s latest movie, "The Wind Rises," received its international premiere, Variety reported. Miyazaki reportedly will give a press conference later this week.
Representatives for Disney, which distributes Miyazaki"s movies in the U.S., didn"t respond to a request for comment.
Miyazaki was often likened to Walt Disney, but such comparisons sold both animators short.
Over his career, the 72-year-old Miyazaki has been both beloved and somewhat mysterious, often remaining distant from the Western press, even as his films were warmly embraced by critics. Still little-known in the U.S., his movies are blockbusters in Japan, and are hugely influential around the world.
When I interviewed Miyazaki in 2009 shortly before the release of "Ponyo," I found him to be anything but reclusive-he was was expansive in his answers, and quick to laugh.
Miyazaki directed such animated feature film classics as "Howl"s Moving Castle" (2004), "Kiki"s Delivery Service" (1989), "My Neighbor Totoro" (1988), "Castle in the Sky" (1986) and the Oscar-winning "Spirited Away" (2001).
Many of Miyazaki"s films explore the futility of war. His films often lack villains-and instead present opposing interests looking for resolutions. Miyazaki told me that growing up in Japan in the shadow of World War II shaped his outlook about conflict, but he tries to keep his views from coming across too "overtly."
While Disney movies typically feature female protagonists only when they are princesses, and only a single Pixar movie, "Brave," has had a female hero in the lead, Miyazaki"s movies routinely celebrate girls in central roles. "Kiki"s Delivery Service" was about a young witch"s coming of age; and in "Spirited Away" a young girl saves her family.
There"s no real debate over the genius of Disney. We"ll all get a closer look at the man (albeit through a dramatic lens) in the coming movie "Saving Mr. Banks," in which he will be portrayed by Tom Hanks.
I recently took a trip to Orlando where the power of Disney"s commercial vision was reconfirmed, as I waited in long lines for rides and shopped for branded toys for family members. The recent release of Disney Infinity, the video game that features figurines of Disney characters, demonstrates how Disney"s imagination translates profitably into advancing technological times.
While none of Miyazaki"s films was a huge hit in the U.S., his influence on animation was global.
Protecting the environment is a major theme in Miyazaki"s works, and with the growing concern over global warming, his vision seems increasingly visionary. In "Ponyo," man and nature are portrayed as out of balance, and the sea is depicted as full of refuse. "All I did is just draw how the sea has become, the way it is in reality," Miyazaki told me.
I was first introduced to Miyazaki during a trip to Japan years ago. I stayed with a family friend, who told me that Miyazaki was "our Walt Disney."
I"ve since learned that he was much more than that.
日本动画大师宫崎骏(Hayao Miyazaki)将退休的消息令动画迷们感到惋惜。但这应该也会促使他们拿出收藏的DVD，或者通过iTunes来重温他的巨作。
据Variety报道，这位知名电影制作人将退休的消息是在周一威尼斯电影节(Venice Film Festival)上宣布的，他的新作《起风了》(The Wind Rises)在此次电影节上举行了国际首映式。据报道，宫崎骏将在本周晚些时候召开新闻发布会。
宫崎骏电影在美国的发行商迪士尼(Disney)的代表未回复记者寻求置评的请求。
人们经常把宫崎骏比作沃尔特·迪士尼(Walt Disney)，但这样的比较并没有体现出两位动画大师各自的价值。
在其整个职业生涯中，现年72岁的宫崎骏既备受喜爱，又有些神秘，他的影片受到影评人热烈好评，而他常常远离西方媒体。他的影片在美国仍鲜为人知，但在日本是叫座又叫好的大片，在全球也有着巨大影响。
2009年《悬崖上的金鱼公主》(Ponyo)上映前不久我采访了宫崎骏。采访中我发现他根本不是一个“避世”的人——他的回答豪爽，很容易就开怀大笑。
宫崎骏曾执导过多部经典动画片，包括《哈尔的移动城堡》(Howl"s Moving Castle，2004年)、《魔女宅急便》(Kiki"s Delivery Service，1989年)、《龙猫》(My Neighbor Totoro，1988年)、《空中之城》(Castle in the Sky，1986年)和奥斯卡获奖影片《千与千寻》(Spirited Away，2001年)。
宫崎骏的很多影片探讨战争的徒劳。他的影片中常常没有坏人，而是展现相互对立的利益集团寻求和解的过程。宫崎骏对我说，他在二战阴影下的日本长大，这影响了他对冲突的看法，但他试图避免将自己的观点表现得过于“明显”。
迪士尼影片中的女主角全都是公主，皮克斯(Pixar)只有一部影片《勇敢传说》(Brave)是以女性为主角，而宫崎骏的影片则常常以女孩为主角。《魔女宅急便》讲述的是一个年轻女巫成长的故事;而《千与千寻》讲述的是一个年轻女孩解救父母的故事。
迪士尼的天才是无可争论的。我们都将在即将上映的影片《大梦想家》(Saving Mr. Banks)中近距离地审视这位天才(尽管是透过戏剧化的镜头)。汤姆·汉克斯(Tom Hanks)将饰演沃尔特·迪士尼。
我最近去了一趟奥兰多，在那里，迪士尼商业愿景的力量再次得到了印证，我排着长队等待玩游乐项目，为家人买迪士尼品牌玩具。最近发行的视频游戏《迪士尼无限》(Disney Infinity)显示出迪士尼的想象力如何成功转化为推动科技时代进步的赚钱手段。这款游戏以迪士尼人物为主角。
尽管宫崎骏没有一部影片在美国热映，他对动画的影响却是全球性的。
保护环境是宫崎骏作品的一大主题，随着人们对全球变暖担忧加剧，他的愿景似乎越来越具有预见性。在《悬崖上的金鱼公主》一片中，人和自然之间的平衡被打破，海洋满是垃圾。宫崎骏对我说，我所做的一切只是画出海洋已经变成了什么样子，是现实中的样子。
几年前，我去日本时第一次经人介绍认识了宫崎骏。我与一位世交同住，这位朋友告诉我，宫崎骏是“我们的沃尔特·迪士尼”。
之后，我逐渐认识到他远远不止如此。
