Where Imagination Begins
Studio Ghibli Present Best Movie
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The philosophy
Not like the classic animation studios, Studio Ghibli was born with one goal: to explore the depths of the human soul, and to offer Japanese and international audiences poetic stories that would translate all its complexity. No international commercial strategy, but a concern for integrity and exemplary quality, for which its productions are renowned.
The beginnings of the studio
Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki met in the 1960s when working for the Japanese animation studio Tôei Dôga. The two men worked together for more than a decade notably on the animation Heidi. But it wasn't until the early 1980s, when the growth of animation on television threatened the quality of productions, that these two enthusiasts decided to join forces to offer the public a quality animated feature film that would not overlook either the narration or the direction. In 1985, a first collaboration ensues, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, the animated adaptation of the manga published by Miyazaki in the magazine Animage. On the strength of this first success, and convinced that there is a place for quality animated feature films on the Japanese market, they set up a small production studio in the suburbs of Tokyo, with the help of the Tokuma Shoten publishing company. In 1986 The Castle in the Sky was released on the screens, the first film officially created by Studio Ghibli, now at the head of more than 40 film and video game productions.
The name
It was Hayao Miyazaki who came up with the idea. A avid flyer, he was inspired by the Caproni Ca.309 Ghibli, a surveillance aircraft that was developed in Italy during the Second World War. The Ghibli also refers to the hot air in the Sahara desert, symbolising the breath of fresh air being blown in to Japanese animation.
The biggest success
In 1989, Kiki's Delivery Service became the studio's first major Japanese hit as it was number one in theatres that year. Three years later, Porco Rosso, almost entirely conceived and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, dethroned Hook and Beauty and the Beast at the Japanese box office. But it was Spirited Away, the first non-English-language film to win the Oscar for Best Animated Film in 2003, that devoted the studio to its international work. It succeeds Princess Mononoke, which was to be Miyazaki's last film before he retired.
Hayao Miyazaki (Miyazaki Hayao, born January 5, 1941) is a Japanese manga artist and prominent film director and animator of many popular anime feature films.
Miyazaki began his career at Toei Animation as an in-between artist for Gulliver's Travels Beyond the Moon where he pitched his own ideas that eventually became the movie's ending. He continued to work in various roles in the animation industry over the decade until he was able to direct his first feature film Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro which was published in 1979. After the success of his next film, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, he co-founded Studio Ghibli where he continued to produce many feature films until Princess Mononoke whereafter he temporarily retired. Miramax released his 1997 film, Princess Mononoke the highest-grossing film in Japan. Miyazaki returned to animation with Spirited Away. The film topped Titanic's sales at the Japanese box office, also won Picture of the Year at the Japanese Academy Awards and was the first anime film to win an American Academy Award.
Isao Takahata is a Japanese film director, animator, screenwriter and producer who has earned critical international acclaim for his work as a director of anime films. Takahata is the co-founder of Studio Ghibli along with long-time collaborative partner Hayao Miyazaki. He has directed films such as the grim, war-themed Grave of the Fireflies, the romantic drama Only Yesterday, the ecological adventure Pom Poko, and the comedy My Neighbors the Yamadas. Unlike most anime directors, Takahata does not draw and never worked as an animator before becoming a full-fledged director. Takahata's most recent film is The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, which was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Animated Feature Film at the 87th Academy Awards.
According to Hayao Miyazaki, "Music and study are his hobbies". He was born in the same town as fellow director Kon Ichikawa, while Japanese film giant Yasujiro Ozu was raised by his father in nearby Matsusaka.
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