FILMS with powerful environmentally centred narratives can transform our thinking and connect us with nature in ways that scientific papers cannot. For example, Studio Ghibli, a renowned Japanese film studio co-founded by animator Hayao Miyazaki, creates complex visual stories about human-nature relationships that transcend barriers of culture or age. A key message of Miyazaki’s work is that we must respect nature — or face our own destruction.

Miyazaki’s films offer viewers moments of escape into fantastical worlds that nonetheless echo problems of modernity, demonstrating that it’s possible to portray complex environmental issues through animation in a way that retains mainstream appeal.

As a conservation scientist and Studio Ghibli enthusiast, I’ve looked at the environmental themes in three of its most well-known films: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984), My Neighbour Totoro (1988) and Princess Mononoke (1997).