Guillermo del Toro has established himself as a prominent and acclaimed director in Hollywood with his unique vision and storytelling. The director has made movies across genres— from superhero flicks like Hellboy and sci-fi action, Pacific Rim to his newfound interest in horror.
The director has made several horror movies including the 2006 horror masterpiece Pan’s Labyrinth. del Toro recently made a surprise appearance at the Toronto Film Festival to present Hayao Miyazaki’s latest movie The Boy and the Heron.
In Praise of a Master
Guillermo del Toro’s appearance at the festival was rather special. The director surprised the audience while presenting the Japanese master of animation and the director of Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki’s latest feature The Boy and the Heron. As per Deadline, the audience welcomed the director with a standing ovation and a huge round of applause. Of course, Miyazaki has global fans which includes del Toro as well. TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey also introduced the director as “Miyazaki’s most passionate fan.” Coming to the stage, del Toro opened with a joke, “He knows what makes my fat butt move!”
“This is the first audience to watch this movie outside of Japan. This is the world, god-damn premiere! Animation is film, and tonight’s film goes beyond that. Animation is hard,” del Toro said (via Deadline)
Further, the director compared Miyazaki to legendary classical composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. “We are privileged enough to be living in a time where Mozart is composing symphonies,” he said. “Miyazaki san is a master of that stature, and we are so lucky to be here,” he added. Miyazaki has gained a global reputation over the years for his masterful animated classics and del Toro said, he has been lucky to present the movie by the master. However, Miyazaki was not present at the event.
Hayao Miyazaki is ‘The Greatest Director of Animation Ever’— Guillermo del Toro
Miyazaki is certainly one of the most decorated and accomplished directors of animation. The director has been recognized by global fans and critics for his masterful and unique storytelling with blended emotions that touch the core of the soul. For the three-time Oscar winner, Miyazaki ranks at the top as well. “He has changed the medium that he started in, revolutionized it,” del Toro said (via Deadline). “Proved over and over again that is a tremendous work of art,” he added.
“Miyazaki, in my estimation, is the greatest director of animation ever, and he has made his films as full as dialogues and questions as he is. These are not easy films, but these are films that portray him so intimately, that you feel you’re having a conversation with him. And they are paradoxical because he understands that beauty cannot exist without horror, and delicacy cannot exist without brutality. He repeats motifs over and over again: flying, hope, despair, the power of innocence, the great of innocence.”
Miyazaki is unique because of his style and cinematic vigor. Each of his parables, “because they become parables, are full of belief in humanity and full of heartache in humanity,” del Toro said. “I believe the film we will watch tonight will be no exception,” he said of The Boy and the Heron. Remarkably, the Miyazaki movie made history by being the first Japanese feature or animated movie to open the Toronto Film Festival.
Source: CBR.
