Hayao Miyazaki is one of the world's leading animation directors, even if his name isn't overly familiar to you he has enjoyed a career that has spanned over forty years.
He has been one of the driving forces behind Studio Ghibli that has brought us movies such as Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle.
He's back in the director's chair this week as his new movie Ponyo finally hit the big screen after a string of set backs.
The movie centres on a 5-year-old boy named Sosuke and his relationship with a goldfish princess named Ponyo who longs to become human.
Miyazaki began his career at Toei productions working on movies such as Hols: Prince of the Sun, Puss In Boots and Flying Phantom Ship.
He moved on to work with Isao Takahata on the Lupin III series and he made his first feature anime in the form of The Castle of Cagliostro (1979).
But his first major success came in 1984 with Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Immediately he kicked off his themes that would run through may of his movies; a strong female lead character as well as focusing on ecological issues and the impact the humans have on the natural world.
After the release Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind he co-founded Studio Ghibli with fellow filmmaker Isao. Takahata.
During the late eighties Miyazaki was behind a string of movies including Laputa: Castle in the Sky, My Neighbour Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service that established him as a real animation talent.
While these movies were very successful in his native Japan Western audiences were still ignorant of these beautiful movies.
But all that changed in 1997 when Princess Mononoke, which is widely regarded as one of Miyazaki's masterpieces was released.
While protecting his village from a rampaging boar-god, the warrior Ashitaka is cursed with a rapidly spreading scar that threatens to end his life. Seeking a cure and a reason for the animal-god's attack, he journeys into the sacred depths of the Great Forest Spirit's realm.
On the edge of this once serene forest, however, the Tatara clan have begun to destroy the surrounding land to produce iron. In retaliation, San, the adopted daughter of the wolf-god Moro has begun raiding the Tatara fortress to stop their encroachment.
Soon Ashitaka is caught in the middle and must stop the war between the humans and the forest dwellers before they destroy each other.
At the time of release 1997 it became the most expensive animation ever made in Japanese history but went on to be the highest grossing film in Japan until Titanic was released.
Despite 'retiring' after the release of Princess Mononoke this was short lived as he began working on Spirited Away.
Miyazaki's Spirited Away brought the world of Studio Ghibli anime movies to a Western audience winning Oscar for Best Animation.
A Hayao Miyazaki movie was last on the big screen back in 2004 when Howl's Moving Castel, my personal favourite, was released.
The movie followed Sophie, a diligent teenage girl working in her family's hat shop, who finds her life thrown into turmoil when she is literally swept off her feet by a handsome-but-mysterious wizard named Howl.
This innocent encounter engages the vain and conniving Witch of the Waste, who transforms into a 90-year-old woman.
Sophie's efforts to break the curse bring her to Howl's magical moving castle, where she befriends Markl, Howl's apprentice, and the hot-headed fire demon Calcifer.
Her love and support have a major impact on Howl, who can be maddeningly self-indulgent and singularly noble: He defies royal orders to participate in a meaningless war and risks his life to bring peace to the kingdom.
Howl's Moving Castle further strengthened Studio Ghibli movies in the West as the film was once again nominated for a Best Animated Feature Oscar.
And Ghibli movies seem to be all the rage at the moment with Ponyo being released this week and Ocean Waves being released on DVD outside of the Japan for the first time just last month.
Ponyo is released 12th February
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Tagged in Hayao Miyazaki Studio Ghibli