Hayao Miyazaki is one of the greatest Japanese animators and filmmakers who co-founded Studio Ghibli. He now leads it as an honorary chairman. Throughout his career, Miyazaki has gained international acclaim for being a master of storytelling. Over the years, he has become an accomplished filmmaker in the history of animation. A few of his notable works are Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, and Ponyo.
However, what differentiates Studio Ghibli’s feature films from other animated movies is Miyazaki’s art. A Studio Ghibli movie is almost entirely hand-drawn or painted and the animation team rarely uses technological help for the movements. This is the reason why the chairman of Studio Ghibli never felt the need to utilize AI for his projects. In an old video clip, Miyazaki can be seen expressing his disgust toward AI art.
How did Hayao Miyazaki react to AI art?
Nobuo Kawakami, chairman of DWANGO Co. & Ltd. (a Japanese telecommunications and media company), showed a presentation, where an AI model was doing certain movements. It looked like it was dancing, but actually, the model had only learned fast movements. In the video presentation, as the model can be seen moving with his head, the presenter explained:
It’s moving by using its head. It doesn’t feel any pain and has no concept of protecting his head. It uses its head like a leg.
The idea was to use it in zombie video games as it turned out to be creepy. After watching the whole presentation, Hayao Miyazaki shared his opinion. He pointed out that it’s quite difficult to not feel any pain even if it’s a model and is made for creepy purposes.
He said, “Well, every morning, not recent days, but I see my friend who has a disability. It’s so hard for him just to do a high-five.” Expressing his discomfort and disgust toward AI art, Miyazaki continued,
It’s too hard for his stiff muscles to reach out to my hand. Now, thinking of him, I can’t watch this stuff and find it interesting. Whoever creates this stuff has no idea what pain is or whatsoever. I’m utterly disgusted. If you really want to make creepy stuff, you can go ahead and do it. I would never wish to incorporate this technology into my work at all. I strongly feel this is an insult to life itself.
Hayao Miyazaki is a celebrated artist who believes in drawing by his own hands. In this video clip, the presenters of this AI technology explained it to be an experiment and shared their goal to create a machine that can draw like humans. To this, the Spirited Away maker said, “I feel like we are nearing to the end of times. We humans are losing faith in ourselves” while scribbling on a piece of paper.
Did Hayao Miyazaki skip the Oscars twice?
Whenever we watch a Studio Ghibli movie, the recognizable art style of Hayao Miyazaki catches our attention. This is because every film in Studio Ghibli is hand-drawn and every frame features a traditional form of animation like celluloid film. It is not an easy task to draw each one of the frames manually. It requires a lot of dedication and time, and it takes years for a movie to release from the studio.
Miyazaki, the most talented Japanese filmmaker, won the Academy Award twice for Spirited Away and The Boy and the Heron. However, the animator didn’t accept his Oscar for the first time because of his opposition to America’s war in Iraq. For the second time, he skipped it due to the long journey given his age and health issues.
But, when he was awarded a special honorary Oscar celebrating his artistry and storytelling by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, Miyazaki went to America to accept it.
There’s some magic in Miyazaki’s work of art. If you haven’t watched any of his films, then stream Spirited Away, Ponyo, Howl’s Moving Castle, and My Neighbor Totoro on Max.
Frequently asked questions
What did Hayao Miyazaki say about AI art in the video?
After being shown an AI model that moved in a grotesque way, Miyazaki said he was “utterly disgusted,” that he would never wish to incorporate the technology into his work, and that he felt it was “an insult to life itself.” He added that humanity seemed to be “losing faith in ourselves.”
Who presented the AI animation that Miyazaki reacted to?
The presenter was Nobuo Kawakami, chairman of the Japanese telecommunications and media company DWANGO Co. & Ltd. He demonstrated an AI model that moved using its head, explaining that it felt no pain and had no concept of protecting itself, which prompted Miyazaki’s strongly negative response.
Does Studio Ghibli use AI or computer technology in its films?
Per the article, Studio Ghibli films are almost entirely hand-drawn or painted, with the team rarely relying on technological help for movement. Miyazaki has never felt the need to use AI, consistent with his long-standing commitment to traditional hand-drawn animation.
