In the United States, when one speaks of animation, two things almost immediately spring to mind: Disney features and Saturday morning cartoons. While there have been flashes of brilliance from the former (''Beauty and the Beast''), the latter is hardly known for its innovation.
Since the 1980s, there has been a growing appreciation among aficionados of Japanese anime (animated films) and manga (comic books). The preeminent master of anime is Hayao Miyazaki, who may not be all that familiar to
