Studio Ghibli

Studio Ghibli, Inc. (株式会社スタジオジブリ, Kabushiki-gaisha Sutajio Jiburi^?) is a Japanese animation film studio, and previously was a subsidiary of Tokuma Shoten. Its provocative and emotional anime films are 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 Italian word is pronounced with hard /g/, the Japanese pronunciation of the studio's name is (IPA: [ˌdʲʑiːbɹiː] or [ˌdʲʑiːbɝiː]) listen (help·info). 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.

History

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 popularized 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 it has provided the Walt Disney Company with the video rights to all of Ghibli's output that did not have previous international distribution, including the global, non-Japan distribution rights to Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away. Miyazaki's latest film, Howl's Moving Castle, was 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. However, this is the only film on which Disney passed for distribution.

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 as Warriors of the Wind (it was heavily edited and Americanized). There is a rumor that when licensing Princess Mononoke, Miyazaki mailed Miramax a samurai sword with a note reading "no cuts", to underline their "no-editing" policy.

Toshio Suzuki, at a Studio Ghibli press conference on 2007-01-17, indicated that the title of the next Miyazaki film would be announced in March 2007.^[1] During the March, 19th edition of Japanese news program “NNN Newsリアルタイム”, the film's title was announced as Gake no ue no Ponyo, literally "Ponyo on a Cliff."^[2] It will be released in summer of 2008.

Works

Films

• Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984, pre-Ghibli)
• Laputa: 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)
• The 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)
• Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
• Tales from Earthsea (2006)
• Ponyo on a Cliff (2008)

Short films

• 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)
• Portable Aiport (a music video created for Capsule directed by Yoshiyuki Momose) (2004)
• Space Station No. 9 (a music video created for Capsule directed by Yoshiyuki Momose) (2004)
• A Flying City Plan (a music video created for Capsule directed by Yoshiyuki Momose) (2005)
• Doredore no Uta (a promotional music clip for Meiko Haigou) (2005)
• 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)
• Iblard Jikan (2007)

Commercials

• Sora Iro no Tane (The Sky-Colored Seed) (1992) (TV spot for Nippon TV)
• Nandarou (1992) (TV commercial for NHK)
• Hotaru No Haku (1996) (Kinyou Roadshow houeikokuchi spot)
• Kinyou Roadshow (1996) (Announcement spot for Kinyou Roadshow opening)
• Umacha (2001) (TV commercials)

• Shop-One (Online Shopping Mall Announcement Spot)
• House Shokuhin (House Shokuhin Campaign Commercial)
• O-uchi de Tabeyou (House Shokuhin Series Commercial, Summer Version)
• O-uchi de Tabeyou (House Shokuhin Series Commercial, Winter Version)
• Hajimaru yo, Erai Koccha-hen (KNB YumeDigi PR Spot)
• Kawaraban-hen (Corporate commercial for Yomiuri Shinbubsha)
• Dore Dore Hikkoushi-hen (Corporate commercial for Yomiuri Shinbubsha)
• Risona Ginkou (Corporate commercial)

Other works

The works listed here consist works that don't fall into the above catagories. Many of these films have been released on DVD in Japan.

• Sekai Waga Kokoro no Tabi (1998) (documentary following Isao Takahata to Canada to meet Frederic Back)
• Sekai Waga Kokoro no Tabi (1999) (documentary travelling with Hayao Miyazaki as he follows the footsteps of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)
• Lasseter-san, Arigatou (2003) (thank you video created for John Lasseter)
• Miyazaki Hayao Produce no Ichimai no CD ha Koushite Umareta (2003) (A film about Tsunehiko Kamijo's Okaasa no Shashin CD)
• Otsuka Yasuo no Ugokasu Yorokobi (2004) (A documentary about animator Yasuo Otsuka)
• Miyazaki Hayao to Ghibli Bijyutsukan (2005) (A film featuring Goro Miyazaki and Isao Takahata touring the Ghibli Museum)

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; produced by Toei Animation, Nippon Animation or other studios and featuring involvement by Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, or other Ghibli staffers; or created in cooperation with Studio Ghibli.

Pre-Ghibli

• Sally, the Witch (Mahoutsukai Sally) (1966) (by Toei Animation; Hayao Miyazaki was a key animator on this series, based on a manga by Mitsuteru Yokoyama.)
• Hols: Prince of the Sun (1968) (Takahata's directorial debut; Hayao Miyazaki was chief animator, concept artist, and scene designer)
• Himitsu no Akko-chan (1969) (by Toei Animation, directed by Hiroshi Ikeda; Miyazaki was a key animator)
• Puss'n Boots (1969) (Directed by Kimio Yabuki for Toei, written by Hisashi Inoue 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 for Toei with idea construction by Hayao Miyazaki; Hayao Miyazaki was also scene designer and chief animator)
• 20,000 Leagues under the Sea (1972) (by Topcraft for Rankin-Bass)
• Heidi, Girl of the Alps (Arupusu no Shojo Haiji) (1974, by Zuiyo Eizo, which later became Nippon Animation; directed by Isao Takahata)
• The Hobbit (1977) (by Topcraft for Rankin-Bass; won the Peabody Award; artists include: Hidetoshi Kaneko, Kazuko Ito and Minoru Nishida;)
• Conan, the Boy in Future (Mirai Shonen Konan) (1978) (by Nippon Animation; directed by Hayao Miyazaki, with one episode directed by Isao Takahata, and featured animation work by many future Ghibli staffers)
• Anne of Green Gables (赤毛のアン Akage no An) (1979) (by Nippon Animation; directed by Isao Takahata)
• 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 [1])
• The Flight of Dragons (1982) (by Topcraft for Rankin-Bass)
• Gorsch the Cellist (1982, by OH Production, directed by Isao Takahata)
• Adventures of the Little Koala (Koala Boy Kokki) (1984, by Topcraft for Tohoku Shinsha)
• Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (Topcraft, 1984)
• ThunderCats (1985) (an animated series created by Topcraft for Rankin-Bass)

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.)

Distributive works

These Western animated films have been distributed by Studio Ghibli, and now through their label, Ghibli Museum Library

• Mikres Aphrodites (1963) (a Greek film by Nikos Koundouros)
• Le Roi et l'oiseau (1980) (a French film by Paul Grimault)
• Kirikou et la sorciere (1998)
• Princes et Princesses (1999) (a French film by Michel Ocelot)
• Les Triplettes de Belleville (2002) (a French film by Sylvain Chomet)
• Azur et Asmar (2006) (Michel Ocelot)
• Moya Iyubov (2006) (a Russian film by Aleksandr Petrov)

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

See also

• The Ghibli Museum is in Mitaka, Tokyo.
• Yasuo Ōtsuka

References

Wikipedia information about Studio Ghibli This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Studio Ghibli". It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer). Help contribute to Americola and edit this article.