We’ve all been there. We have an idea. A great one. Maybe even a beautiful one. And we move heaven and earth to make it a reality. And then we’re disappointed at how little it matches up to the perfect notion in our head.
Watch great director Hayao Miyazaki grumble as he tries to animate his most recent film
Emily St. James was a senior correspondent for Vox, covering American identities. Before she joined Vox in 2014, she was the first TV editor of the A.V. Club.
Even some of our greatest artists struggle with this. Take, for instance, this exclusive clip from the new film The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness. In the clip, the animator and director Hayao Miyazaki, who is responsible for some of the finest films ever made — films like My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away — grumbles over how he can’t get his drawings of a Japanese Zero plane to resemble the image he has in his head. (He’s working on The Wind Rises, which was released in the US last year.) As producer Toshio Suzuki (the other voice speaking here) tells us, it can’t just be good enough. It has to be perfect. And even Mizayaki can’t always get it there.
Kingdom of Dreams and Madness, directed by Mami Sunada, follows Miyazaki’s career, alongside the history of Studio Ghibli, where he has made his home since he began making films. It’s a particularly poignant time to release the film, as Ghibli is facing rumors that it might be shuttered soon and Miyazaki announced his retirement last year. If you’re a fan of Ghibli and Miyazaki, then, this might be the perfect holiday treat.
The film opens in New York on Friday, and will be available for digital download on Tuesday, December 9.
