The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness

Despite the title, the emotional fireworks are decidedly muted in filmmaker Mami Sunada's fly-on-the-wall portrait of Japan's venerated Studio Ghibli animation powerhouse and its founder/leading filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki. The low-key approach here is far from a slick Tinseltown-PR piece, with barely any clips from Miyazaki classics such as My Neighbor Totoro, Castle in the Sky, Kiki's Delivery Service, etc. (the studio maintains an onsite museum, mostly unseen here, devoted to the works). And forget gossip about box-office earnings, awards, or red-carpet premieres. Instead, the leisurely narrative focuses on the inner circle of Miyazaki's creative team in a quiet, homey office building, as they embark on what he decides will be his last production before retiring, the historical aviation anime The Wind Rises (about a pacifist young engineer who would help develop the Zero warplane). Miyazaki, a nature-loving gentle curmudgeon at 72, finds disfavor with the 21st century (citing the Fukushima nuclear disaster), wonders if movies are really worth all the fuss, and speaks both cuttingly and respectfully of fellow animator Isao Takahata, under whom he apprenticed in his youth (Takahata's Oscar-nominated The Tale of the Princess Kaguya is also being produced at the same time under Ghibli's aegis alongside The Wind Rises). Viewers without prior interest or exposure to Miyazaki and his sublime art may not be attracted, but many anime fans will be eager to see this behind-the-scenes profile of the beloved studio. Extras include the short film “Digest” and a featurette. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady)