“Impossible for All Viewers to Understand”: Hayao Miyazaki Reveals Creative Dissent With Inside Out Director
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For several decades, Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki has maintained an active friendship with the founders of CG-animation giant, Pixar. Recently, Miyazaki, Inside Out 2 executive producer Pete Docter and Studio Ghibli President Toshio Suzuki sat down to discuss their opinions about theatrical test screenings and whether they’re a worthwhile part of the creative process.
According to Comic Natalie, this talk was arranged by Tokyo FM’s popular radio program “Ghibli Sweaty,” which frequently invites high-profile figures within the animation industry. Following the premiere of Inside Out 2, which has performed well both domestically and overseas, Docter discussed many different elements of the creation process, including test screenings, which are used to gauge how audiences react to certain elements or scenes. When Docter asked Miyazaki if Ghibli holds test screenings for its films, Miyazaki stated that it does not. “No, it is impossible for all viewers to understand a film,” he explains. “We are the ones who take responsibility, so we can’t leave it to someone who happens to be there.”
Based on Miyazaki’s explanation, Ghibli has a more insulated approach to filmmaking than Pixar, opting to rely solely on intuition and internal dialogue to guide the creative process. In contrast, Pixar prefers a more integrative approach and, as Docter explains, often uses audience test screenings to gauge if certain emotional scenes are properly “resonating” with viewers. “In our method, test screenings are useful. Since we are in the middle of production, we can determine that this part is not resonating at all, or that the emotions we want to feel are not being felt, so we can make adjustments,” he stated.
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