All this month on Turner Classic Movies, Thursday nights have been devouted to Hayao Miyazaki, a man who has been hailed as the “Japanese Walt Disney.” The first Thursday of the month they aired Princess Mononoke (which I’ve seen many, many times and love) and Spirited Away (which I am in the process of watching). I missed the 2 films from last Thursday, 1 of which “Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind” is my friend Gil’s favorite by Miyazaki, because I didn’t know it was “Miyazaki Month” until I started to watch Spirited Away last night. I quicked grabbed my remote and have scheduled My Neighborhood Totoro and Porco Rosso for taping this Thursday. I cannot wait to watch these well. The following Thursday they are showing 2 movies, Only Yesterday and Pom Poko, he produced that were directed by Isao Takahata. I’ll tape and watch those as well.

I’ve been a huge Miyazaki fan ever since I saw Princess Mononoke but have ben lazy in renting and watching his other films. This past summer, the MoMA held a Miyazaki exhibition and all of his films were screened over a 4 day period. I was super psyched to go but unfortunately, the exhibition happened to exactly coincide with the end of my parents’ 30 or so year marriage. My sister was staying with me while my family imploded and needless to say, neither of us made it to the museum. Its funny; on top of all the other reasons I was upset that weekend, I was upset that I missed out on seeing all these flicks. Now, when its cold and gross and I don’t want to leave my apartment, I have some fantastic movies just sitting around waiting to be watched. I can’t wait!