6 1/2 minutes. That's a record for Miyazaki. But despite its length and the fact that not one word was spoken during its entire duration, this short music film still managed to show the magic that's seen in all of Hayao Miyazaki's feature-length films.This short film is accompanied by a song of Chage and Aska's. When I think of a film about two policemen teaming up to help give freedom to a girl with wings, my choice of music would have been very different from what was given. But it worked! The music went great with Miyazaki's animation and the storyline itself.Boy, if this was turned into a real feature-length film, how great would that be? Lots of questions would be answered and we'd have a better background on our characters and the story itself. But I guess the beauty of this film comes from the fact that it still managed to deliver a whole set of emotions even if it was just under 7 minutes.Some may find that their understanding of the film changes after a succeeding viewing, and I think they're right. This film definitely deserves more than one viewing, as to better understand the concept of the film.Viewed on: May 4, 2011

This is the shortest of Hayao Miyazaki's films that I've seen which isn't surprising as it is six and a half minutes long. Like all his work it is beautifully animated. To go along with the animation is the song of the same name sung by Chage and Aska, I'm not familiar with their work but this song goes well with the animation.It is surprising that s film this short and with no dialogue could have an interesting story but it does: It starts with police storming a cult headquarters and after a fire-fight finding a girl in chains, she clearly isn't an ordinary girl as she has wings, She is soon whisked off my men wearing protective suits. The two policemen who found her decide to rescue her from the scientists but trip an alarm as they flee with the girl.While crossing a very high bridge they are intercepted and the bridge brakes leaving them falling, they try to get the girl to fly but it appears that despite having wings she doesn't know how... as the impact the story resets to the point where they find her however this time when the bridge is broken instead of falling the vehicle flies. After crashing into a large building they escape by car through a tunnel which leads out of the city into a supposed danger zone. The two policemen then coax her to fly and the film ends with her soaring high above them looking down.Unfortunately it isn't on DVD in the west, hopefully one day it will be included as an extra on a later release, till then it can be seen on line, if you haven't seen it yet it is certainly worth looking for.

It must have been a small but extreme labor of love to make On Your Mark, a short film directed by the great Hayao Miyazaki with his Studio Ghibli crew working at full throttle. It gets right to the heart of the idea in seven minutes through an immediate array of strange but deliriously exciting images, and its story gains momentum by the end. The end, also, is one of the happiest I've seen in Miyazaki's work (if a little fuzzy with an angel flying high into the sky). On Your Mark tells of such a winged being who becomes prey to the horrors of civilization, plague, technology, when she only got there through a tremendous blunder. But when two men finally decide they've seen enough, they go through the security, through the swarms of bio-chemical suited soldiers, and through a desperate escape they make it through the explosions and action. All through this Miyzaki and his team create small wonders frame by frame, with small details like falling rocks just as fascinating as the large-scale amazements like the 'city' at night in neon, or the shots of the getaway vehicle running along the highway, with the helicopters chasing afterwords. How or why this has happened to the angel is never made clear, but in such an amount of time Miyazaki can only show so much. What comes through best, in the end, is the immense talents of his team, his collaborators who transform such a near fairy tale into a one-of-a-kind show. The music, too, is a curious addition, as I don't think I would've cared for it much taken apart from the animation. With it, the song works on a romantically charged, epic scale (if it were in English, I might've mistaken it for an 80s power ballad). It won't remain as a true landmark achievement for Miyazaki like Princess Mononoke, but if you're already a fan of his &/or Studio Ghibli's works and you can find it (online is the best bet), it's more than worth it, it's a must-see.

On Your Mark is a music video created by Miyazaki Hayao for a song by the popular duo Chage and Aska. It tells a story (of sorts) which is a little confusing, owing to how it does not follow a linear time-flow, and has no dialogue. However, the stunning visuals and amazing sound-effects enable the viewer (even if unfamiliar with Japanese) to create their own story. Definitely more entertaining if you are familiar with Miyazaki's work, as certain motifs (the face of the angel, flight, etc.) reappear from his earlier work.I frequently show people unfamiliar with Japanese animation my copy of this video to change their opinion of what is possible in animation, which usually helps removed those negative pre-conceived notions people pick up from American animation. I have created a number of anime fans with this method.