[1] Among his best-known works are the animated adaptations of the Raymond Briggs books When the Wind Blows and The Snowman.

[2] At age 9, following the signing of Executive Order 9066, Murakami was interned with his Japanese-American family at the Tule Lake War Relocation Center, a concentration camp in northern California.

[2][3] After the end of World War II, Murakami and his family settled in Los Angeles, California.

[5] He also directed the music video for "King of the Mountain", the single from Kate Bush's album Aerial.

[4] He also worked on 3 films for Roger Corman in the 70s-80s, including directing Battle Beyond The Stars, as well as Les pêcheurs de perles for Pascavision in 1993.