‘The Glassworker’ Review: Pakistan’s First Hand-drawn Feature Feels Like an Homage to Miyazaki

variety.com:

Siddhant Adlakha It’s a herculean task to channel Hayao Miyazaki, the Japanese animation legend behind “The Boy and the Heron” and many more.

However, Pakistani production “The Glassworker” goes beyond merely aping Miyazaki’s distinctive style. It gets to the heart of the anti-war sentiment that underscores much of his work — and that of Studio Ghibli more broadly, including “Grave of the Fireflies” director Isao Takahata — resulting in a film that, like many Ghibli productions, feels at once familiar and fresh.

The directorial debut of Usman Riaz, “The Glassworker” is Pakistan’s first fully hand-drawn feature, crafted by Mano Animation Studios under the mentorship of Ghibli producer Geoffrey Wexler.

Miyazaki’s sensibility practically runs through the movie’s veins, beginning with its setting: a vibrant early-20th-century town called Waterfront designed of a combination of European and Asian (in this case, Pakistani) influences.