Early career

Miyazaki first worked with Isao Takahata in 1964, spawning a lifelong collaboration
and friendship.[31][32][33]
In 1963, Miyazaki was employed at Toei Animation;[31] this was the last year the
company hired regularly.[34] After gaining employment, he began renting a four-and-
a-half tatami apartment in Nerima, Tokyo; the rent was ¥6,000. His salary at Toei
was ¥19,500.[34][g] Miyazaki worked as an in-between artist on the theatrical
feature anime Doggie March and the television anime Wolf Boy Ken (both 1963). He
also worked on Gulliver's Travels Beyond the Moon (1964).[35] He was a leader in a
labor dispute soon after his arrival, and became chief secretary of Toei's labor
union in 1964.[31] Miyazaki later worked as chief animator, concept artist, and
scene designer on The Great Adventure of Horus, Prince of the Sun (1968).
Throughout the film's production, Miyazaki worked closely with his mentor, Yasuo
Ōtsuka, whose approach to animation profoundly influenced Miyazaki's work.[36]
Directed by Isao Takahata, with whom Miyazaki would continue to collaborate for the
remainder of his career, the film was highly praised, and deemed a pivotal work in
the evolution of animation.[37][38][39] Miyazaki moved to a residence in
Ōizumigakuenchō in April 1969, after the birth of his second son.[40]

Under the pseudonym Akitsu Saburō (秋津 三朗), Miyazaki wrote and illustrated the
manga People of the Desert, published in 26 installments between September 1969 and
March 1970 in Boys and Girls Newspaper (少年少女新聞, Shōnen shōjo shinbun).[40] He
was influenced by illustrated stories such as Fukushima's Evil Lord of the Desert
(沙漠の魔王, Sabaku no maō).[41] Miyazaki also provided key animation for The
Wonderful World of Puss 'n Boots (1969), directed by Kimio Yabuki.[42] He created a
12-chapter manga series as a promotional tie-in for the film; the series ran in the
Sunday edition of Tokyo Shimbun from January to March 1969.[43][44] Miyazaki later
proposed scenes in the screenplay for Flying Phantom Ship (1969), in which military
tanks would cause mass hysteria in downtown Tokyo, and was hired to storyboard and
animate the scenes.[45] In 1970, Miyazaki moved residence to Tokorozawa.[40] In
1971, he developed structure, characters and designs for Hiroshi Ikeda's adaptation
of Animal Treasure Island; he created the 13-part manga adaptation, printed in
Tokyo Shimbun from January to March 1971.[43][44][46] Miyazaki also provided key
animation for Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.[47]

Miyazaki left Toei Animation in August 1971, and was hired at A-Pro,[48] where he
directed, or co-directed with Takahata, 23 episodes of Lupin the Third Part I,
often using the pseudonym Teruki Tsutomu (照樹 務).[47] The two also began pre-
production on a series based on Astrid Lindgren's Pippi Longstocking books,
designing extensive storyboards; the series was canceled after Miyazaki and
Takahata were unable to meet with Lindgren, and permission was refused to complete
the project.[48][49] In 1972 and 1973, Miyazaki wrote, designed and animated two
Panda! Go, Panda! shorts, directed by Takahata.[50] After moving from A-Pro to
Zuiyō Eizō in June 1973,[51] Miyazaki and Takahata worked on World Masterpiece
Theater, which featured their animation series Heidi, Girl of the Alps, an
adaptation of Johanna Spyri's Heidi. Zuiyō Eizō continued as Nippon Animation in
July 1975.[51] Miyazaki also directed the television series Future Boy Conan
(1978), an adaptation of Alexander Key's The Incredible Tide.