Get Spirited Away With a Four-Part Hayao Miyazaki Documentary, Now Streaming Free Online

Hayao Miyazaki

“10 Years With Hayao Miyazaki” chronicles the life and decades of work of the iconic filmmaker.

If you’re seeking a flight from reality in these challenging times, Studio Ghibli is here to help. Courtesy of Japanese broadcaster NHK, a new, four-part documentary on the career of animation master and Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki is now available to watch in its entirety, and for free, online. Watch all four parts here.

Released in 2019, “10 Years With Hayao Miyazaki” chronicles the life and decades of work of an iconic filmmaker, from “My Neighbor Totoro” and “Ponyo” to “Spirited Away” and “The Wind Rises.” The documentary also illuminates aspects of Miyazaki’s personal life, and his reflections on aging, as well as his relationship with his son, fellow filmmaker Gorō Miyazaki. “10 Years” also takes a look at how Studio Ghibli and its projects reckoned with the earth-shaking 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami that set off a nuclear disaster.

Studio Ghibli movies began streaming exclusively for the first time outside of North America on Netflix back in February. But as announced last year, HBO MAX secured streaming rights to Ghibli’s epic catalogue in North America, and 21 of those films will be available to stream once the service goes live in May.

According to Studio Ghibli producer and erstwhile president Toshio Suzuki, Miyazaki signed off Ghibli films heading to streaming platforms partially because he’s not aware of what a streaming service is. “Hayao Miyazaki doesn’t know what streaming services are. He doesn’t use computers or smartphones,” Suzuki said while promoting the Studio Ghibli museum last month.

Suzuki also implied that future Ghibli projects would likely head to streaming platforms. “I am interested in the new movies that are being made on Netflix,” the producer said. “It’s more likely that new films will be created for Netflix’s service. As a film creator, even though I think that cinemas and DVD’s are important for a film release, I also think that digital distribution is important.”

Miyazaki is reportedly working on a new film, his first animated feature project since the release of “The Wind Rises” back in 2013. While the director said he would be retiring from feature filmmaking, he reemerged with a short film for Japan’s Studio Ghibli museum titled “How Do You Live?,” which is based on a 1937 book penned by Genzaburo Yoshino.

IndieWire recently featured Miyazaki’s early “The Castle of Cagliostro” as part of its Stream of the Day column.

This article was first published here.