As we wind down Mubi Monday, we’re going to take a look at the humble beginnings for a famed director. Hayao Miyazaki has made quite the name for himself over the years, both as a director and as the co-founder of Studio Ghibli. Today we going all the way back to his first solo directorial effort. That’s right, clocking in at a whopping 5 minutes…Yuki’s Sun (1972).
Title: Yuki’s Sun
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Released: December 29, 1972 (Japan)
Runtime: 5 minutes
Available to stream: Exclusively on Mubi
Yuki is an orphan who decides to always try to see the bright side of things. She’s taken in by a family that loves and cares for her. The only “issue” with Yuki is that she has this nasty habit of hitting people when she’s happy.
Things are going well for Yuki, that is, until the father of her new family is taken into custody. At this point, Yuki decides she’s going to seek out her birth parents. She rides a wild horse, hitches a ride on a train, and shows us that she’ll do whatever it takes.
Going into Yuki’s Sun (1972), I saw the runtime and wasn’t sure if I’d be able to review something that is just 5 minutes long. And even now, I’m still not sure what all there is to say. The story itself is very simple. I am honestly not familiar enough with animation from the 1970s to weigh-in on how this compares. But I can say that you can very clearly see the groundwork for what would become Miyazaki’s signature style.
Seeing as this was originally to be a pilot episode for an unmade series, it’s a little difficult to try and view this as a standalone animated short.
If anything, it’s worth checking out just to be able to see the solo directorial debut of Hayao Miyazaki.
So, if you’ve seen Yuki’s Sun (1972), what did you think of it?
Leave a comment below or reach out on Bluesky and let me know!
You can also check out my Letterboxd account to see my quick thoughts on everything else that I’ve been watching.