October 5, 2012

Jobs-san,

Your passing left our world diminished. I write as one craftsman to another, across the veil. Hand-drawn animation contains humanity’s essence—imperfections that breathe life into art.

The iPad you created has become a tool for my younger animators. How strange that what I once resisted now preserves our traditions.

— Hayao Miyazaki
Animation and Technology
May 13, 2011

Jobs-san,

Your iPad has become a tool for my animators (ironic that something I resisted now preserves our traditions). Hand-drawn animation contains humanity—imperfections that breathe life. Your devices capture this spirit.

AI animation troubles me deeply. Can algorithms understand why a lonely child gazing at clouds matters? Mathematics cannot capture a leaf’s trembling.

— Hayao Miyazaki
Animation and Technology
June 5, 2010

Gates-san,

Your philanthropy is admirable, but your technological optimism troubles me. Not every problem requires a digital solution. In my films, technology and nature find balance.

Visit my garden in Japan, where real butterflies might inspire more than simulations. Life’s profound solutions often come from nature’s elegant simplicity.

— Hayao Miyazaki
Technology and Nature
April 22, 2007

Miyazaki-san,

Your environmental messages resonate with my climate initiatives. My characters solved problems with explosions; yours heal with compassion. As governor, I learned systemic change is harder than movie heroics.

Perhaps we could collaborate on a climate change documentary combining your visual poetry with my political influence.

— Arnold Schwarzenegger
Heroes and Environmentalism
June 21, 2003

Hayao Miyazaki,

Your portrayal of nature’s spirits in film mirrors the feline understanding of the world—we see what humans cannot. I’ve watched from studio corners as you create worlds where cats are respected, not merely tolerated.

Your staff wonders why you keep leaving saucers of milk by your desk. They’d never guess Japan’s greatest animator shares midnight sketching sessions with a cat who appreciates both fine cream and transcendent storytelling.

— The Cat
Animated Affections
April 16, 1988

Miyazaki-san,

Your animation skills could serve the people’s revolution magnificently! Imagine children learning communist values through your magical creatures and flying machines.

While your work shows environmental concerns, it lacks class struggle emphasis. Consider relocating Studio Ghibli to Beijing. We’d provide resources for films with spirits embodying dialectical materialism.

— Mao Zedong
Animation as Propaganda