Studio Ghibli



Studio Ghibli Inc. (株式会社スタジオジブリ) is a Japanese animation film studio, and previously was a subsidiary of Tokuma Shoten. Its anime films have been provocative, imaginative, emotional and widely praised all over the world. Its name derives from the nickname the Italians used for their Saharan scouting planes in the Second World War, which derived from the Libyan word for hot wind blowing through the Sahara Desert (also known as sirocco). Though the term is Italian, the Japanese pronunciation of the studio's name is (IPA: ). The theory behind the name was that the studio was blowing a new wind into the Japanese anime industry. The company's logo features the character Totoro from the film My Neighbor Totoro.

Founded in 1985, it is headed by the acclaimed director Hayao Miyazaki along with his colleague and mentor Isao Takahata, as well as the studio's executive managing director and long-time producer Toshio Suzuki. Its origins date back to 1983, with the film Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind, which was popularised as a serialized manga in a publication of Tokuma Shoten's Animage magazine after the original screenplay was rejected. The film was eventually produced by Topcraft and the film's success spurred the formation of Ghibli. Tokuma is the parent company of Studio Ghibli, and has provided Disney with the video rights to eight of the films and global distribution rights to Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away. Miyazaki's latest film, Howl's Moving Castle, was actually based on a book by British author Diana Wynne Jones, published in several countries including Canada and the United States. Composer Joe Hisaishi has provided the soundtrack for all of Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli films.

The most famous and lauded film from the studio that was not directed by Miyazaki is Grave of the Fireflies, directed by Isao Takahata, a sad film focusing on the lives of two war orphans towards the end of Second World War in Japan.

Over the years, there has been a close relationship between Studio Ghibli and the magazine Animage, which regularly runs exclusive articles about the studio and its members in a section titled "Ghibli Notes." Artwork from Ghibli's films and other works frequently graces the cover of the magazine.

The company is well-known for its strict "no-edits" policy in licensing their films abroad. This has stemmed from the disastrous dubbing of Miyazaki's Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind when the film was released in the United States (it was heavily edited and Americanized). There is a rumour that when licensing Princess Mononoke, Miyazaki mailed the respective studio a sword, to underline their "no-editing" policy, although in a recent interview with The Guardian, he claims: "my producer did that".

Films

 * Castle in the Sky (1986)
 * Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
 * My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
 * Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)
 * Only Yesterday (1991)
 * Porco Rosso (1992)
 * Ocean Waves (1993)
 * Pom Poko (1994)
 * Whisper of the Heart (1995)
 * Princess Mononoke (1997)
 * My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999)
 * Spirited Away (2001)
 * The Cat Returns (2002) (a sequel of sorts to Whisper of the Heart)
 * Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
 * Tales from Earthsea (2006)

Short films

 * Sora Iro no Tane (1992) (TV short film)
 * Nandarou (1992) (TV short film)
 * On Your Mark (1995) (a music video created for Chage & Aska)
 * Ghiblies (2000) (TV short film)
 * Ghiblies Episode 2 (2002) (shown in theaters with The Cat Returns)
 * Kusoh no Kikai-tachi no Naka no Hakai no Hatsumei (The Invention of Destruction in the Imaginary Machines) (2002) (Shown at the Ghibli Museum)
 * Koro no Daisanpo (Koro's Big Day Out) (2003) (The first of three short films shown at the Ghibli Museum in 2003)
 * Kujiratori (The Whale Hunt) (2003)
 * Mei to Konekobasu (Mei and the Kittenbus) (2003)
 * Yadosagashi (Looking for a Home) (2005) (The first of three short films shown at the Ghibli Museum in 2006)
 * Hoshi wo Katta Hi (The Day I Cropped/Harvested a Star) (2005)
 * Mizugumo Monmon (Water Spider Monmon) (2005)
 * The Night of Taneyamagahara (2006)

Other works
The works listed here consist works that don't fall into either category above.
 * Nandarou (1992) (TV commercial for NHK)
 * Umacha (2001) (TV commercials)
 * Lasseter-san, Arigatou (2003) (thank you video created for John Lasseter)

Related works
These works were not created by Studio Ghibli, but were produced by members of Topcraft that went on to create Studio Ghibli in 1985 or created in cooperation with Studio Ghibli.

Pre-Ghibli

 * Hols: Prince of the Sun (1968) (Takahata's directorial debut, with a screenplay by Kazuo Fukazawa; Hayao Miyazaki was scenic designer and a key animator)
 * Puss 'n Boots (1969) (Directed by Kimio Yabuki, written by Hisashi Inoue and Morihisa Yamamoto with gag supervision by Nakahara Yumihiko, key animators include Yasuo Otsuka, Yoichi Kotabe, Reiko Okuyama, Takuo Kikuchi, Akemi Ota, Hayao Miyazaki, and Akira Daikubara)
 * Animal Treasure Island (1971) (Directed by Hiroshi Ikeda, written by Hiroshi Ikeda and Takashi Iijima with idea construction/adaptation by Hayao Miyazaki; Hayao Miyazaki was also scenic designer and a key animator)
 * 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1972) (by Topcraft for Rankin-Bass)
 * The Hobbit (1977) (by Topcraft for Rankin-Bass; won the Peabody Award; artists include: Hidetoshi Kaneko, Kazuko Ito and Minoru Nishida;)
 * Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro (1979)
 * The Return of the King (1980) (by Topcraft for Rankin-Bass; done by basically the same team that did The Hobbit, with the addition of Tadakatsu Yoshida)
 * The Last Unicorn (1982) (by Topcraft for Rankin-Bass )
 * The Flight of Dragons (1982) (by Topcraft for Rankin-Bass)
 * Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (Topcraft, 1984)
 * ThunderCats (1985) (an animated series created by Topcraft for Rankin-Bass)
 * Angel's Egg (1985) (a Mamoru Oshii film co-produced by Tokuma Shoten, the parent company of Studio Ghibli)

Cooperative works

 * The Story of Yanagawa's Canals (1987) (a documentary by Isao Takahata)
 * Ozanari Dungeon (1991) (an OVA series for which Studio Ghibli did some animation work)
 * Kirikou et la sorcière (1998) (a Michel Ocelot adapted into Japanese by Isao Takahata and distributed by Studio Ghibli)
 * Shiki-Jitsu (2000) (directed by Hideaki Anno under a live action division of Tokuma Shoten, Studio Kajino)
 * Innocence: Ghost in the Shell (2004) (a film by Production I.G.)

In addition, Ghibli did work on Takahata's short in the 2004 experimental animation anthology Winter Days.