Me and Studio Ghibli: The Wrap Up

Over the past couple of months I've been delving into the works of my favourite international movie house. And now in the final installment of the series I've decided to take a look at the company as a whole, where it is now and where it is headed in the future. But first, as with every story, we start at the beginning, its history.

Studio Ghibli was set up by Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki, a now prolific producer at the Studio. Miyazaki had worked on a few projects with Isao Takahata, including Panda! Go Panda ! and  Hols:Prince of the Sun. Its was Suzuki San however, who invited Takahata into the Ghibli stable. The name    Ghibli came from Miyazaki's fascination with aviation.  Ghibli  was the name of a particular type of plane used in WW2.  It means hot wind blowing through the Sahara desert. It was the Studio's intention to blow a wind of change into Japanese animation. according to Suzuki San.

Me and Studio Ghibli: Part 8

Welcome to the penultimate edition of my me and Studio Ghibli feature. To day we are going to look at the two latest Ghibli releases on this side of the world in a Miyazaki double bill. However, the first of the two sees Hayao taking a break from the director's chair and letting his son have a go.

2006-Tales From Earthsea
Tales From Earthsea is the directorial debut of Goro Miyazaki, who must surely be commended for following in the footsteps of his father in the face of the obvious scrutiny and inevitable criticism he was going to face

The film is set in the fictional land of Earthsea where two dragons in the sky have appeared and are seen to eat each other an omen of impending disaster. The story follows the journey of the young Prince Arren rescued by Lord Archmage Sparrowhawk as they venture to find the source of the imbalance. They track it down to Cob who's drive to find the secrets of immortality  threatens to destroy the land.

Me and Studio Ghibli: Part 7

In the 7th part of our Studio Ghibli film we approach the middle of the 21st century with the directorial debut of Hiroyuki Morita, the Cat Returns and Miyazaki's second to latest Howl's Moving Castle.

2001-The Cat Returns
The Cat Returns is the second theatrical feature by Studio Ghibli not to  be directed by either Takahata or Miyazaki. It has a rather fascinating history based on Whisper of the Heart (detailed in Part 5) which I'll explain later.

The plot deals with the story of Haru, an average high school student in Japan who has the bizarre ability to talk to cats. When she saves the cat prince's son from being run over by a car she is offered his hand in marriage and numerous gifts. When she doesn't refuse outright she is whisked away to the land of cats. As she slowly herself begins turning feline she must plan her escape and return home with the help of the Baron.

Me and Studio Ghibli: Part 6

In this, part 6 of my Studio Ghibli Feature we will be crossing into the 21st century and there is no finer way to get there than weith the critically lauded Spirited Away. But first let us take a look at one of the Studio's and Takahata's most overlooked gems, My Neighbours the Yamadas.

1999-My Neighbours the Yamadas

My Neighbours the Yamadas is Isao Takahata's fourth film for the studio and the most instantly stylistically different from the other films in the Ghibli canon.  It has a look of a moving water-colour painting and has the accolade of being the first Ghibli feature ever to be entirely computer animated.

Me and Studio Ghibli: Part 5

Today's edition of Me and Studio Ghibli sees us at the mid-nineties with the realease of Whisper of the Heart and one of the studio's most popular works Princess Mononoke. If you have missed any of the other parts of the series you can find the links at the bottom of this post past the page break.

1995-Whisper of the Heart

Whisper of the Heart is interesting in that it is the studio's only work besides Tales from Earthsea and the direct to TV movie Ocean Waves to not be directed by Isao Takahata or Hayao Miyazaki. Instead it was the work of Yoshifumi Kondo who had previously worked at the studio as an animation director. His work can be seen in Only Yesterday and Kiki's Delivery Service. He also worked on Princess Mononoke before his death from overwork by a ruptured aneurysm in 1998. He was tipped to become one of the directors who would take over from an ageing Miyazaki and Takahata.

Me and Studio Ghibli: Part 4

It has been a while since my last entry in this series and I apologise for past design quirks (which remain unfix-able despite my best efforts). So having looked at the studio's first 6 masterpieces we will now turn to look at Porco Rosso and Pom Poko, films with a pig and raccoon lead respectfully. If you've missed any of the other parts of this feature you can find links at the bottom of this post.

1992-Porco Rosso

Porco Rosso could be described as a labour of love for Hayao Miyazaki, its creator and director. The film is interesting in that it has a clearly defined historical and geographical setting. It is set between the two World Wars in a town probably near to Fiume (a former independent state before its annexation  back to Italy).

Me and Studio Ghibli:Part 3

As promised, here is part three of my Studio Ghibli feature. If you need to catch up here is the link to part one (covering Naussica and Laputa) and here is part two (where I write about Grave of the Fireflies and My Neighbour Totoro). Today I have two more delectible morsels of Ghibli magic.

1989-Kiki's Delivery Service

Released in Japanese cinemas on the 29th of July Kiki's Delivery Service is Miyazaki's  second children's film and as Totoro is completely his own work, written and directed by the Anime genius.

Me and Studio Ghibli: Part 2

If  you missed part one of my Me and Studio Ghibli series you can catch up at the link provided. Today, for part two, I move onto two film's that could not be more different in tone. Both were released in 1988 astonishingly as a double feature. They are Grave of the Fireflies and My Neighbour Totoro.

1988- Grave of the Fireflies
The first film of Isao Takahata to be released by the studio and most certainly one of his most celebrated. The film is based on a popular semi-autobiography by Akiyuki Nosaka, of the same name. I have already posted on the film. Catch it in my World Cinema link at the end of the post. But for the continuity of the series I shall continue.

Me and Studio Ghibli

I figured its been a good few days since my last post unrelated to current affairs so I decided that Id write about something close to my heart, the movies of Studio Ghibli.  This brilliant animation studio was founded in June 1985 by the studio's two current major directors, Hayao Miyazaki and the less celebrated but certainly no lesser genius, Isao Takahata. Over the course of the next couple of weeks I will be running a series of blog posts covering all of the studio's breathtaking catalog of releases over the past twenty five years. I hope that my profiling each of the films gives you an insight into both my own personality and the magic of the worlds greatest animation studio (in my opinion : ) ).