Hayao Miyazaki (宮崎 駿 or 宮﨑 駿, Miyazaki Hayao; [mijaꜜzaki hajao]; born January 5, 1941) is a Japanese animator, filmmaker, and manga artist. He co-founded Studio Ghibli and serves as its honorary chairman. Throughout his career, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Japanese animated feature films, and is widely regarded as one of the most influential and accomplished filmmakers in the history of animation.
I'd wanted to make a story about a little girl and a strange, wonderful creature living together in a house. It was a concept that I had even used for a short film I made in 1972, Panda! Go Panda! and its sequel. That film gave me a chance to explore some of the ideas I had, but I always felt there was more to say.