Jerry Beck, over at his CARTOON BREW blog (one of the best sources for animation news on the ‘net) reports that this January, Turner Classic Movies will be showing nine movies by the master of Japanese animation, Hayao Miyazaki. The titles include Spirited Away, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro, Nausicaa: Valley of the Wind(seen at right), Castle in the Sky, Porco Rosso, and Whisper of the Heart.

While more recent than most of TCM’s usual fare, these films all fall under the umbrella of “classic.” This is great news for those of us who are too cheap to buy the DVDs of these great works of modern animation. America first took notice of Miyazaki when a US release of My Neighbor Tortoro became a cult hit. In 2003 Spirited Away won the Academy Award for best animated feature. I’ve been a fan since I first found an English translation of the Nausicaa manga 20 years ago. Miyazaki is a genius who deserves much more exposure in this country.

Jerry Beck is also the author of many indispensable reference books about animation, which you can read about via links at Cartoon Brew. Along with his co-Brewmaster, Amid Amidi, Jerry Beck makes Cartoon Brew a daily must-read for animation fans everywhere.