Hayao Miyazaki reveals one classic Hollywood process Studio Ghibli refuses to do

Studio Ghibli and Pixar are animation powerhouses that have very different philosophies when it comes to one aspect of production.

Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli have made some of the best movies of all time, demonstrating the power and potential of anime to a global audience. Meanwhile, Pixar has consistently pushed the envelope of CG animation since debuting with Toy Story in 1995.

Hayao joined Pete Docter, Chief Creative Officer at Pixar and director of such classics as Monsters, Inc. and Up, for Toshio Suzuki’s Studio Ghibli Sweat on Tokyo FM. During the chat, they discuss editing styles, and Hayao makes clear the only hands guiding Ghibli are their own.

“No. It is impossible for all viewers to understand a film. We are the ones who take responsibility, so we can’t leave it to someone who happens to be there,” he says, on the idea of taking feedback from test screenings.

Generally, when a new movie is in post-production, the studio and producers will screen it in a discreet location with a randomly picked audience. Afterward, viewers can provide feedback, and that data, alongside the atmosphere in the room itself, helps feed into cutting decisions.

Studio Ghibli doesn’t do that, instead getting fully behind their own intuition. Docter points out that Pixar fully subscribe to testing any upcoming picture.

“In our method, test screenings are useful,” he says. “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’s an advocate of sitting down with a showing to see how they vibe with what’s going on: “At the preview, we watch it together. That way, I can feel when they are bored or when they are engrossed in the screen, so I believe that their reactions are genuine.”

Docter finishes by adding he views it as the company’s “responsibility” to make sure it finds the widest audience possible. Pixar and Disney have enjoyed massive, continued success doing this, but then Studio Ghibli hardly have a dodgy reputation either, so both methods have merit in this instance.

Test screenings have led to drastic pivots over the years. Titanic was shaved down considerably during some testing, and 28 Days Later was given a slightly less grim conclusion.

On the other end of the spectrum, Blade Runner, one of the best sci-fi movies ever, was recut with a disastrous narration from Harrison Ford after it fell flat on initial viewing.

It’s always hard to know what to trust when making art, and perhaps the lesson here is you need to choose when to listen and when to follow your gut.

To check out the latest from both sides of this conversation, we have guides on how to watch The Boy and the Heron and Inside Out 2.