Miyazaki's fanciful films integrate mythical figures and landscapes with characters who strive against both human foibles and the incalculable power of Nature. His works are also notable for their strong female characters, from girls asserting their independence to women exerting their power.

A recurring interest is the power of flight (and of flights of imagination), by characters gifted with magic or aided by steampunk-inspired machines.

Born in Tokyo in 1941, Hayao Miyazaki began his film career as an in-between artist for TV and feature productions at Toei Animation.

Miyazaki first came to note for his drawings for the 1965 film, "Gulliver's Travels Beyond the Moon" (left).

He was also a principal animator for "Horus: Prince of the Sun," a Japanese folk tale transplanted to Scandinavia.

Throughout the 1970s and early '70s Miyazaki continued to make his mark as an animator, concept artist, writer and director.

A scene from the 1972 short "Panda! Go Panda!," for which Hayao Miyazaki was key animator and layout artist.

Miyazaki was a layout artist for the 1970s TV series, "Anne of Green Gables" (left), "Future Boy Conan," and "Heidi: A Girl of the Alps."

Miyazaki's directorial debut was "The Castle of Cagliostro" (1979), from the "Lupin III" manga series, involving a casino robbery, assassins, hidden treasure and a daring escape by flying machine.

Hayao Miyazaki wrote and illustrated the post-apocalyptic manga series, "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind," which debuted in 1982. It became the basis of Miyazaki's second film in 1984.

In 1985 Hayao Miyazaki co-founded Studio Ghibli as an animation house for films, TV and commercials.

Their first feature was "Castle in the Sky" (1986), written and directed by Miyazaki (with a nod to Jonathan Swift), in which a city kept airborne by magical crystals is attacked by sky-pirates.

A storyboard sketch of Princess Sheeta and Pazu, from Miyazaki's "Castle in the Sky."

Two young sisters befriend the supernatural creatures inhabiting their new home, who engage them in dances and flights, and aid them in a family emergency, in the fantasy, "My Neighbor Totoro" (1988).

A storyboard sketch of adorable sprites from "My Neighbor Totoro."

In the whimsical "Kiki's Delivery Service" (1989), a young witch-in-training starts a delivery business using the best transport at hand: flying broomstick.

A former WWI flying ace who has been magically transformed into a pig continues to fly as a bounty hunter, known as the "Crimson Pig," in 1992's "Porco Rosso." And yes, there are sky pirates!

The 1997 epic "Princess Mononoke" tells a mythical tale of forest gods and of clashes with men ravaging the forest for resources. A warrior-prince gifted with magical powers joins a girl raised by wolves to confront the men in the burgeoning frontier city and protect the forest spirits.

"Princess Mononoke" was the highest-grossing film in Japan until "Titanic" came along, and was the first animated feature to win Picture of the Year at the Japan Academy Prizes.

Left: Layout art for Miyazaki's "Spirited Away" (2001).

A young girl journeys into a spirit world, where a witch transforms her parents into pigs. She must then tend to ailing ghosts in a bathhouse to win her freedom.

With its coming-of-age story blended with mystical visions, "Spirited Away" became Miyazaki's most celebrated and commercially-successful film to date.

Based on Diana Wynne Jones' novel, "Howl's Moving Castle" (2004) features a shape-shifting castle wandering across a landscape beset by war, and a young girl transformed by a witch's curse into an old woman.

The wizard Howl, in "Howl's Moving Castle."

In the comedy "Ponyo" (2008), a little girl can magically transform herself from human form into a fish, sparking a confluence of changes to the ocean and to sea life that threatens her community.

Hayao Miyazaki's sweeping 2013 epic tells the story of Jiro Horikoshi, the aviation engineer who designed the Zero, and is set in the turbulent years leading up to World War II.

"The Wind Rises" - which was announced as Miyazaki's final film as director – was his third nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

For more info:

www.oscars.org

Studio Ghibli Official Site (in Japanese)

onlineghibli.com (Studio Ghibli fan site)

Ghibli Museum, Mitaka

Exhibition: "Studio Ghibli Layout Designs: Understanding the secrets of Takahata and Miyazaki animation," at Art Ludique-Le Musée, Paris (through March 1, 2015)

      
By CBSNews.com senior producer David Morgan

On November 8, 2014, the Academy presented its Governors Award to Hayao Miyazaki, given "to honor extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences, or for outstanding service to the Academy."