According to Andrew Sarris' “Notes on the Auteur Theory in 1962” Interior meaning is the most important quality defining what an Auteur is, with recurring themes offering a glimpse at the world through the directors eyes, Sarris quotes Renoir when he says “a director spends his life on variations of the same film”, so it is important for my argument that there be a set of core values behind all Ghibli’s animations. Which luckily there are many of, the main and most prominent topic is that of growing to maturity, mental change, and the search for identity.

This is most often shown through female characters, Miyazaki has reason for this, as he says in an interview -“I find girls more grounded in reality and confident in themselves,” he explains. “It’s quite difficult to make films about boys. That’s because stories about an 8-year-old boy, for example, inevitably become tragic.” He does use male characters occasionally though, most fittingly with this statement is Grave of the Fireflies tragic main character Seita, and even then the story develops as much around his younger sister Setsuko. Similarly in Ocean waves, the narrator is male, but all events revolve around his interest in female character Rikako.

Both of these films also deal with maturity, as do almost all of Miyazaki’s thus far, Seita is pushed into it when his mother dies, and he is forced to care for young sister Setsuko, whereas Ocean Waves portrays a more common sort of transition into adulthood, as Taku deals with the end of his high school education and a growing affection for Rikako. Whisper of The Heart has a very similar narrative in this respect and Only Yesterday deals with the same themes but from the perspective of the older Taeko looking back nostalgically at her younger self.

All these films are grounded firmly in reality, however many of Ghibli’s others, such as Kiki’s Delivery Service and Spirited Away also look at the approach to adulthood in a more abstract way. In Spirited Away Chihiro’s traversal through the spirit realm removes her complacent childlike manner and forces her to grow into a more selfless character.

References:

Filmography

Grave Of The Fireflies (1988) directed by Isao Takahata. JPN, Studio Ghibli [video:DVD]

Ocean Waves (1993) directed by Tomomi Mochizuki. JPN, Studio Ghibli [DVD]

Whisper Of The Heart (1995) directed by Yoshifumi Kondo. JPN, Studio Ghibli [video:DVD]

Only Yesterday (1991) directed by Isao Takahata. JPN, Studio Ghibli [video:DVD]

Kiki's Delivery Service (1989) directed by Hiyao Miyazaki. JPN, Studio Ghibli [video:DVD]

Spirited Away (2001) directed by Hiyao Miyazaki. JPN, Studio Ghibli [DVD]

Online References

Animator Hayao Miyazaki worries about children's future [Internet], Japan Today. Available from:http://www.japantoday.com/category/entertainment-arts/view/animator-hayao-miyazaki-worries-about-childrens-future [accessed 8, May, 2010]

Printed References

Sarris, A. (1962) "Notes on the Auteur Theory in 1962," in The Film Artist, P.564 Adams Sitney, ed. New York: Cooper Square Press,