Collected Works of Hayao Miyazaki: Review

Collected Works of Hayao Miyazaki: Review

Rating: PG
Released by Madman Home Ent

There's no disputing the fact that Hayao Miyazaki was some kind of genius.

His recent retirement, signalled by The Wind Rises, meant that some kind of retrospective was probably in the pipeline and Madman has stepped up to ensure that the memories of some of the best animation around was captured on its highest definition possible.

So, this limited edition set brings together 11 of Miyazaki's animations (but no sign of The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness the doco that goes inside the studio and features Miyazaki in his final days) and proffers up a glimpse as to why he's so beloved.

But for newcomers to some of Miyazaki's works, it's an essential dive in. And for fans, it's nothing short of compulsory, thanks to a gorgeously collected booklet, which details the films, looks at characters, adds footnotes and so on. The creme is perhaps the fact these notes detail Miyazaki's directions for the film at the early stages and give an insight into what kind of film he was wanting to make and why.

Re-released in time for Christmas 2015, if you're serious about animation, you need to own this set.

Titles included are:

• Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro (1979)
• Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
• Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986)
• My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
• Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)
• Porco Rosso (1992)
• Princess Mononoke (1997)
• Spirited Away (2001)
• Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
• Ponyo (2008)
• The Wind Rises (2013)