Academy Museum details plan for inaugural Miyazaki exhibit

FILE - Hayao Miyazaki arrives at the 6th annual Governors Awards in Los Angeles on Nov. 8, 2014. The Academy of Motion Pictures announced a temporary exhibition "Hayao Miyazaki" with over 300 objects exploring each of Miyazaki's animated films. The exhibition will open on April 30, 2021. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File) (Chris Pizzello)

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is finally opening its doors in Los Angeles in April with an exhibit celebrating the works of the legendary Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki. Envisioned as a journey through his six-decade career, itā€™s the first of its kind in North America and will have over 300 objects on display, organizers said Thursday. Some have never been shown outside of Japan.

ā€œMiyazakiā€™s genius is his power of remembering what he sees,ā€ said Studio Ghibli co-founder Toshio Suzuki. ā€œIt is our hope that visitors will be able to experience the entire scope of Hayao Miyazakiā€™s creative process through this exhibition.ā€

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Curator Jessica Niebel said she hopes that it will appeal to both the most avid Miyazaki fans and newcomers.

Visitors will enter the temporary exhibit, which is organized thematically into seven sections, following Mei, the four-year-old heroine of ā€œMy Neighbor Totoro,ā€ into the ā€œTree Tunnelā€ gallery. From there, they will emerge into the ā€œCreating Charactersā€ gallery featuring original character design drawings from films like ā€œKikiā€™s Delivery Serviceā€ and ā€œPrincess Mononoke.ā€

The next gallery, ā€œMaking Of,ā€ will highlight his collaboration with the late Isao Takahata, who co-founded Studio Ghibli, as well as his early works including the TV series ā€œHeidi, Girl of the Alpsā€ and his first feature ā€œLupin the 3rd: The Castle of Cagliostro,ā€ from 1979.

In ā€œCreating Worlds,ā€ which is described as a space that ā€œevokes Miyazakiā€™s fantastical worlds,ā€ audiences can delve into the bathhouse from ā€œSpirited Awayā€ and the underwater world in ā€œPonyo,ā€ before taking a moment to pause in the ā€œSky Viewā€ installation which is touted as a highlight of the exhibit. The final two galleries are ā€œTransformations,ā€ exploring character and setting metamorphosis, and the ā€œMagical Forest.ā€

There will also be an accompanying 256-page catalog with production materials from his early television work and his feature films and essays by the likes of ā€œInside Outā€ director Pete Docter. The museum will also organize film screenings in Japanese and English.

Museum director Bill Kramer said that this is a fitting way of opening their doors, ā€œsignifying the global scope of the Academy Museum.ā€

Designed by architect Renzo Piano, The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is located at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue in the historic Saban Building and is currently set to open on April 30, 2021.

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Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr


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