Original subtitles

Good morning!

Who are you talking to?

The residents.

- The residents? - Yes.

I don't know them, but they are there.

The trap is set.

Please sit down

Today, the old woman has not come.

Can't hang around waiting.

I still don't like these.

It's not work, it's for fun.

I have to press this button?

Yes.

Are you going to put it in the car?

I want to film what I am seeing every day.

In these are ordinary, everyday scenes.

I discover extraordinary things.

I can't wait to see.

It should be filmed lower down.

You can only see from the sky.

I know what I want.

I can't stay glued to my desk.

Most of my ideas do not come from my workplace.

It has nothing to do with work.

It's fun, nothing more.

How is your next film coming along?

It's on the back burner.

I don't have time for it.

No time at all!

Am I worried?

They sorting out colours.

You're still alive?

I came to see a friend,

but when I saw Goro,

I slipped away.

I hope they finish soon.

Are you avoiding each other?

Let's say I keep my distance.

Why?

Because he makes me uncomfortable.

I'm not very grown-up.

Okay, coming.

It would be nice if we could do it.

But I have my doubts.

You have to do this to open.

Once you have a structure, you can build on it.

If you don't have a beginning,

you start to stress and you start to doubt.

It becomes an energy source.

This is the story of Ponyo,

a fish with a human face.

Ponyo washes up on a beach and is saved by a boy named Sosuke.

He likes Sosuke.

Ponyo.

This is the key to the film.

"Ponyo on the Cliff By the Sea"

I haven't thought about the details yet,

but I want to make a fun film,

entertaining to the max.

It's an off day.

Don't waste time filming this.

You won't always capture what you want.

I feel sleepy.

I'm going for a nap.

Good night.

Do you have anything?

I don't know, it's difficult.

This morning I thought we had found a starting point.

But now I have my doubts.

I keep changing my mind.

Maybe, we should start with Sosuke.

But we need one with Ponyo sticking her head into a bottle.

Shall we start with Sosuke?

I'm not interested in conventional opening scenes.

Simple stories bore me.

Overly logical plots stifle creativity.

My aim always is to break conventions.

Kids understand.

They don't work logically.

It would be fun to start with a swarm ofjellyfish,

like in a science fiction film.

They are strange jellyfish.

They have a funny shape, but I can see them like that.

Ponyo is somewhere around here. Not here, that would be weird.

I won't put her here.

The opening scene should clearly show

that this is not a regular film.

One morning,

a fishing boat blowing its horn.

The noise wakes up Ponyo.

No, that's not right.

It's not that at all.

It's not that simple.

It doesn't work...

Well, well, well...

Back to square one.

I need to get back to it.

- Hello. - How are you?

Surviving.

Hello.

This is an crazy opening.

- I like it. - Really?

Starting with the ocean should work.

If the producer says so, it must be right.

You have to use this.

Let's go for it.

Look, Suzuki is hooked.

It doesn't matter, if it's just an illusion.

The important thing is to keep it interesting.

If people are bored, it's over.

I can't get my head around it.

I feel like I am drifting.

"It is the carcass of a toku."

Compared to these artists, my work felt clumsy.

I was impressed.

Then, it became clear to me,

that our animation style had to evolve.

We kind of sensed that...

Meaning, I am at a dead end.

No.

I know it's not right.

Talent is eroded day by day.

The most important thing is inspiration.

I don't know what's wrong.

You have to work sincerely, without pretensions.

Even though we are making entertainment,

a film reflects the director's thoughts,

whether you like it or not.

Even if I hid my thoughts,

I would feel remorse.

I would regret not making a film that was true to myself.

If I wasn't true to myself,

I could no longer create.

Thank you for your help.

It's really heavy.

She helped us a lot.

Nice beard.

Goodbye.

Thankyoufor Howl's Moving Castle.

You're welcome.

You have to be realistic without losing your ideal.

Realists without dreams are a dime a dozen.

That's true.

Pure realists are the worst.

I don't want a team of realists.

Every day I feel my limits.

It takes so much time to do things nowadays.

That's just how it is.

No point dwelling on it.

It's sunnier today.

The world is beautiful, as always.

Am I overdoing it?

Ponyo chases Sosuke. Scary.

Maybe too much?

Where did this idea come from?

Probably from The Ride of the Valkyries.

I can't wait to see how it turns out.

It's all new to me.

It doesn't work on these light shadows.

It's different. It's interesting.

It is frightening. Curious image.

Let's try this pencil...

I need to simplify the design.

I could add shading

or highlighting in certain places,

but I don't want to.

No change from the previous style.

I've done enough.

I don't hate pastels, but not for this film.

No, it's not scary, it's cute.

I want this mix to work.

Let's find a good place for it.

It's over there.

You did it!

Can you see how I did it?

No.

It looks good, but it's hard to touch up.

The essence of this film is in this one drawing.

I have drawn many pictures, but they are all superficial.

"Ponyo is here" is the drawing that captures the essence.

So, I finally found the definitive image.

It'll boost my imagination.

This is the first image of our film.

A bit strange.

Come on, let's go.

Can we go in?

Without further ado, we present...

The Tales of Earthsea by Goro Miyazaki.

Please enjoy.

Arren, let's go.

What's your name?

Sparrowhawk.

Don't make a movie based on your emotions.

It's never-ending.

I'm going back.

Don't you think Goro has made a philosophical film?

What do you want?

Your opinion on the film.

I was watching my kid.

Your kid?

He is not an adult yet.

That's all.

"Good for a first film" is considered insulting.

Making a film is about changing the world.

Even if nothing is changed.

That's what being a filmmaker is all about.

Hello, it's me again.

Welcome back.

It's been a while.

Hello.

Nice to run into you.

I thought it was you.

My wife forbids me to eat this dish.

Too salty, she says.

Oh really?

Do you cook with ginger?

It's salty.

Salty!

Don't film, it's not work related.

Isn't that part of yourjob?

- Don't film me today. - Okay.

Can't you tell when someone wants to be left alone?

As a director, you should know better.

You're right.

You keep asking me how I feel...

Mr. Miyazaki, may I come in for a moment?

What?

I have one small thing to ask.

To make a film,

is there an absolute need for

moments of solitude?

What do I know? We are all different.

I am a grumpy person and I remain so.

I want to lose myself in my own thoughts.

It's not very social,

so I plaster a smile on my face.

It happens to everyone.

Basically,

why should I play nice when I am like this?

Films are made in these moments.

The closer the deadline gets, the more irritable I become.

OK, enough...

It's not that.

It's not working.

This time...

we're trying something new.

That's why he is...

more nervous than usual.

But the challenge is worth it.

He will remain in a bad mood until the end of the job.

This is perfectly normal, in my opinion.

You can feel that he is thinking more and more,

but in a different way from the beginning.

Something very new, even crazy,

may come out of that head of his.

I know that.

- I'm done for the day. - Good evening.

Miyazaki's filmography is very diverse.

But, how can I put it...

His character is by far the most popular,

as you know, it's Totoro.

Nothing he can create can surpass Totoro.

It has become an obsession.

Totoro became his enemy.

Miyazaki really wanted to do better than Totoro.

That's why he suffered so much with Ponyo,

It took him a long time to create it.

I remember it well.

He rented a house, he moved there

and worked on the preparation of the film.

This could apply to anyone,

if you don't change your surroundings occassionally,

it is difficult to change your way of thinking.

In this sense, travel can be a good stimulant.

To get Miyazaki on film, we set one condition:

the director must come alone.

In that case, it will work.

NHK agreed. That's how it started.

Director Arakawa is more than an investigator.

He is capable of fading into the background,

to the point where its presence is forgotten.

They chat with each other.

Whenever Miyazaki gets stuck, he seeks a second opinion.

Arakawa was still there, so he would talk to him.

In effect, Arakawa became a member of the team.

When Miyazaki was gloomy, the camera annoyed him.

He asked Arakawa to leave, several times.

Amazingly Arakawa managed to keep the camera rolling.

For overseas fans of Ghibli films,

this is meant as some sort of making-of documentary.

If it helps fans better understand our creative process.

I would be thrilled and honoured.