I recently saw the Japanese animation feature Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away. I was struck by the extraordinary sophistication and complexity of the film — and of the richness of Asian animation feature films —as compared to Hollywood animation features. Let me come clean — I was actually showing the film to my class — I teach Film and Design at the Indian School of Design and Innovation-Parsons Mumbai, which is affiliated to Parsons the New School for Design, New York. I was doubly pleased when many of the students said that the film was far richer and more nuanced than the average Disney or Hollywood animation film.

A still from Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away