Mini Film Review – The Kingdom Of Dreams And Madness

I have just watched The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness; and it was pretty pleasant! Directed by Mami Sunada, and starring Hayao Miyazaki, Yumiko Miyoshi, and Toshio Suzuki, The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness follows Miyazaki, Suzuki, and the staff at Studio Ghibli as they work on The Wind Rises, as well as briefly touching on the work of Isao Takahata‘s last Ghibli film; The Tale of The Princess Kaguya. The film’s main focus is on the life and work of Hayao Miyazaki, and shows the work and life of those at Studio Ghibli. We meet the unsung heroes of the studio’s output, as well as the studio cat. But all the way through we get a painted image of the life of Miyazaki, from how his career started, to how he got to this point, and how he conducts his work output. We discover how he reads the world, and how humble he appears in his day to day life, whilst also being this grandmaster of animation. It’s a very relaxing and pleasant film as all it does is tell the day to day life story of those working at the studio, plus the different styles of working life in comparison between the two legendary animation directors. Altogether, its just a pleasant and relaxing documentary!