Studio Ghibli Question Time: why does Sophie dress like Yubaba?

A head and shoulders portrait of Sophie Hatter from Howl's Moving Castle in her 90-year-old cursed form. She wears a very old-fashioned blue dress with a high collar and a straw hat with a narrow brim and plum coloured hatband adorned with small pink bobbles.

I get some absolutely fantastic questions from audiences for my Seed Talks on Studio Ghibli. They often raise points I hadn’t thought about before, or give me completely new angles on topics I’ve been over many times. Having let so many of these brilliant insights vanish down Memory Lane I thought I’d try and recall […]

LATEST ON THE NEW EDITION OF “HAYAO MIYAZAKI: MASTER OF JAPANESE ANIMATION”

The cover of the 1999 Stone Bridge Press edition of "Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation". On a gradated orange background, a head and shoulders profile image of San wielding her long knife, facing right, with the title to the right above the blade and the subhead and author name below.

Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation was published by Stone Bridge Press in 1999. It was the first book on Miyazaki in English and I had so much fun writing it.  In 2026, over a quarter of a century later, McFarland & Company, Inc., will publish an updated edition covering Miyazaki’s 21st century works. That, […]