I discovered Hayao Miyazaki’s Toei Animation films as a child—films like The Wonderful World of Puss ’n Boots and series like Heidi and Marco, in which his style and influence became increasingly identifiable. Encountering My Neighbor Totoro as an adult, my mind snapped back to those earlier works, and I recognized how much this man had shaped my childhood.
Miyazaki’s work provokes that rare emotion—the shiver of recognition of a type of beauty that is impossible in the real world and thus exists only in his films. Yet he is also a brutal realist regarding greed, war, and human rage. He knows that we shape and destroy the planet and that humans are the best and the worst of our world.
He is entirely genuine. A one-of-a-kind creator who exists fully in his art. He is the single most influential animation director in the history of the medium, and one of my top 10 favorite storytellers in any audiovisual medium. The Boy and the Heron is a subtle masterpiece that exerts a gravitational pull—and many of us feel that pull intensely.
Del Toro is an Oscar-winning director and producer
More Must-Reads From TIME
- The 100 Most Influential People of 2024
- How Far Trump Would Go
- Scenes From Pro-Palestinian Encampments Across U.S. Universities
- Saving Seconds Is Better Than Hours
- Why Your Breakfast Should Start with a Vegetable
- 6 Compliments That Land Every Time
- Welcome to the Golden Age of Ryan Gosling
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time
Contact us at letters@time.com