Battle for the title of the One True Walt Disney of Japan

In My Humble Opinion
1

Three men have been called “the Walt Disney of Japan.” We’re going to settle once and for all who really deserves the title in a Battle Royale (poll) of Epic Proportions (open to SDMB members only.)

In the Red Corner we have:

Osamu Tezuka, 1928 - 1989

Medical doctor turned comic book creator. The Godfather of Manga. Created Astro Boy, Simba the White Lion (on which The Lion King was based), and those giant eyes that everybody associates with Japanese cartoons.

Pros:

[ul][li]Admitted a heavy influence from Disney, and in turn influenced the Walt Disney Corp []Very likely influenced the other 2 people on the list []Dead, like Walt Disney Has a freakin’ 3-story museum dedicated to him[/ul][/li]
Cons:
[ul]
[li]Probably the least well-known of the 3 in the United States, and possibly worldwide[/ul][/li]
In the Blue Corner we have:

**Hiyao Miyazaki, 1941 - **

Filmmaker and co-founder of Studio Ghibli. Made such modern-masterpieces as Princess Mononoke, Castle in the Sky, and Spirited Away.

Pros:
[ul][li]Won the first Academy Award for anime[/li][li]Makes feature animation like Disney[/li][li]His films are distributed in the US by Disney[/li][/ul]

Cons:[ul]
[li]Pacifist, environmentalist, feminist; all values in direct opposition to the Walt Disney Corp.[/ul][/li]
In the Tripped-Out Flashing Star and Magic Mushroom Corner we have:

**Shigeru Miyamoto, 1952 - **

Video game designer and producer. Creator of Mario, Donkey Kong, Zelda, et al.

Pros:
[ul][li]By far the most worldwide influence[/li][li]Near universal critical and commercial success[/li][li]Basically your personal lord and savior if you were born between 1975 and 1985 and you play video games[/ul][/li]
Cons:
[ul][li]Not an actual artist like Disney and the other two combatants. [/li][/ul]

FIGHT!

2

I voted for Shigeru Miyamoto, because like Walt he was not so mutch a artist as a creator of Icons

think the after Mickey Mouse, Mario would be one of the most recognizable figures in pop culture

3

Miyamoto because he’s the leading figure in the leading art form there, video games. He’s had far more impact around the world than the other two combined. Also, he’s known for milking old successes, much like Disney re-releasing his animated films every few years. And although Disney was nominally an artist, he is more accurately labeled as an entrepreneur, and Miyamoto seems closest to being one of those, at least to me.

Oh, and The Lion King was not really based on Kimba the White Lion, but that’s another thread.

4

I voted Miyazaki. He fits that Disney mould the most. His films are accessible to the Disney audience.

Tezuka did have Disney-esque creations like Astro Boy, but the first thing I think about when I see his name is Blackjack, which I just can’t equate with Disney.

Miyamoto is a genius and I worship the ground he walks on, but I just equate Disney with the films more than anything.

5

Miyazaki definitely for creating a richer universe. Not to say Tezuka or Miyamoto aren’t important.

6

Here’s my view: In America we have animation, in Japan they have Anime. The actual technology is same (or similar), but they are very different art forms. And Tezuka Osamu is to Anime what Walt Disney is to Animation. So it follows that Tezuka is the Walt Disney of Japan.

7

Miyazaki has made some good stuff, but the man is (was) also full of it. His films bring up tremendous questions and palm off cheap, pathetic answers which are unsatisfying even to children. I like his work, but Lord is he full of crap.

8

This isn’t actually true; Shigeru Miyamoto is an artist and created much concept art for his early games.

Anyway, for me, Shigeru Miyamoto is the only answer. Like Walt Disney, he practically invented a new art form in which to convey experiences to not just children, but adults as well.

9

Disney as the progenitor, it’s Tezuka hands down. Miyazaki roughly matches the ‘New Golden Age’ of Disney. I vote for Tezuka. I’d be more eloquent if I wasn’t somewhat drunk, but that’s the way the sushi rice crumbles.

10

The question is worded as if Walt Disney is the ne plus ultra that others must aspire to. But reverse the question and ask, who is the Osamu Tezuka of the US or who is the Miyazaki of the US, and a whole different picture emerges.

Tezuka does have parallels with Disney in that Tezuka admired Disney very much and Tezuka left behind a company that is milking his creations for all they’re worth. But Tezuka created works strictly for adults as well as works for children, and while Disney staff did educate Tezuka’s staff in the fine points of using color in animation, watch Kimba The White Lion (Tezuka’s first color TV series) and you will see a joyful and impressionistic use of color unlike anything I’ve seen in any Disney animation. Tezuka’s catalog is far, far richer than Disney’s ever will be. (And as for the Lion King-Kimba connection, I ask this question… what if late in production DisneyCo decided it would be more expedient to slip the little TezukaCo some cash behind the scenes and re-color their main character tawny and re-dub his name substituting an S for a K [watch the mouth movements in Lion King and see what you think they were originally saying], thus creating a character they could own outright?)

Miyazaki has superficial parallels with Disney in that both produce(d) feature animation. But while Disney’s output has disturbing, sinister, and nightmare-inducing overtones (ever had to comfort a kid screaming in the middle of the night after a Disney-influenced nightmare?), Miyazaki’s work has an innocence and charm that invites the viewer into a world of wonder. Did Disney ever produce a film without an evil villain, such as Miyazaki’s My Neighbor Totoro?

So I am left with no choice but to vote for Miyamoto who, like Disney, created one-dimensional characters who took the world by storm and raked in a gazillion dollars.