Animation Studio: Studio Ghibli

Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio that has been involved in producing 20 movies, 16 short films and a vast number of commercials and other forms of media. The animation studio was formed in 1985 by Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata and Toshio Suzuki.

Hayao Miyazaki began his career as an animator working in the company known as Toei Animation on an animation known in"Gulliver's travels beyond the moon." Hayao Miyazakis leadership skills and creativity immediately shined through, the ending of Gulliver's travels being his own idea. In 1979 he made his first feature length film known as "Castle", this film received positive reviews and was a short insight to Miyazakis potential through animation.  One admirable aspect Miyazaki had was that he didn't limit his own creativity, he didn't stick to one form of working but was consistently creating other forms of art, such as his Graphic novel "Valley of the wind" Which was made with the help of Toshio Suzuki. This was soon adapted into an animated film with the same name as his novel in May 31st 1983. To do this he worked alongside the producer Isao Takahata (who would later help him form Studio Ghibli). A year later in March 11th 1984 the animation was released. It received a countless number of positive reviews and made up to fifty million dollars in the box office.

It was most likely the aftermath of this production that made Miyazaki realize the power of these animated films. It was a year later in 1985 where all three came together to form the animation studio known as Studio Ghibli.

The first production they worked on was "Laputa: Castle of the sky" which was written by Miyazaki and produced by Takahata. The movie was very well received, however it did not get its western release until 1998.

"Laputa: Castle of the sky"


Around the same time two animations were in the making, "Grave of the fireflies" by Isao Takahata (1988) which was an animated war drama based on a novel with the same name by Akiyuki Nosaka, the film received critical acclaim for being able to emotionally reach and connect to audiences worldwide. It was a beautiful example of his film making abilities.






 "Grave of the fireflies"


Whilst Takahata approached his own animation with utmost seriousness, Miyazaki took a child-like and light hearted approach with the making of "My Neighbour Totoro." Which involved bright visual and concepts, at the time his staff were greatly opposed to it, however Miyazaki stuck to his own idea and thus his vision prevailed. The film was a massive success, not only did it receive such amazing reviews, become the Studio Ghibli logo, but it was also the first film of Studio Ghibli to be distributed in the west by Disney.






"My Neighbour Totoro."


Studio Ghiblis success skyrocketed with the next couple of films, such as "Kiki's Delivery service" which was produced in 1989 by Miyazaki. It was based on a novel (made in 1985) that influenced Miyazaki with themes such as independence in relation to the main character Kiki. The film was as expected a success, the difference being that this time the Disney release made just as much as the Japanese release.

"Kiki's Delivery service"

Two years later, in 1991 "Only Yesterday" was released to the public and was again based on a novel and shared the same name of the manga. This film tackled adult themes such as misogyny issues and why this was important at the time was that it proved that mature themes could still flourish in animation.

"Only Yesterday"

The following year "Porco Rosso" was released, this movie was planned to be a short film however Miyazaki was heavily inspired by real life events that changed his mind, making "Porco Rosso" a full length film.






"Porco Rosso"


Two years later in 1994 "Pom Poko" was released and directed by Takahata. It was a critical success and received many compliments for its consistent and fluid change of style throughout the movie. How there was a balance between the realistic style of animation to the quite childlike style of animation.






"Pom Poko"


The next year in 1995 "Whisper of the heart" was released and was the first production to be directed without Takahata or Miyazaki, the director for this being Yoshifumi Kondo. The movie was a success and the director did perfectly to prove his skills, as every aspect including the soundtrack (music) of the film gained a great amount of attention. Sadly the director passed away before any more collaborations could be executed.

"Whisper of the heart"

In 2002 "The Cat Returns" was produced, the film marked the end of the miniature era for Studio Ghibli as they now began to move on to more modern types of animation, regardless one thing that shall always remain is the quality of the animation that viewers look at with fondness.

"The Cat Returns"

1997 marked one of the biggest releases and most successful film production of Studio Ghibli, "The princess Mononoke". The movie not only earned a Japanese academy award, it was the first film (at the time) to produce 10 million yen in the Japanese box office. The story behind this success was a long history of developments, as the movie had been in the works since the seventies. It was initially going to be scrapped as the stroyline was far too complicated however what allowed it to exist today was the simplification computer animation, that allowed the animation to flow freely.

"The princess Mononoke"

Studio Ghibli grew fond with the use of computer animation that in 1999 they released "My neighbor the Yamadas" a comedy based on a comic strip. The use of computer animation allowed it to have a style that was never before used by Studio Ghibli, An entirely digital animation.

"My neighbor the Yamadas"

Two years later, another of Studio Ghiblis biggest releases was produced, "Spirited Away". The movie received a large majority of positive critic reviews and is held as one of the greatest movie of all time. It succeeded in being a non - American movie to win an academy award other then a foreign film. 

"Spirited Away"

In 2004, "Howls moving castle" was produced, it was based on the American Novel and to accurately represent the story via animation the author Jones herself took part in improving the story line to perfect its plot for its animated debut. The film was mapped out using physical art, the characters and settings painted and then digitized to create a hand drawn effect. The movie received positive reviews and was mainly credited for its representation of finding ones self, this aspect striking and inspiring people of all ages. 

"Howls moving castle"

In 2006, "Tales from Earthsea" was produced and was the directing debut of Miyazakis Son Goro Miyazaki. The movie did quite well but was sadly not outstanding compared to other Studio Ghibli movies. 

"Tales from Earthsea"

In 2008, "Ponyo" was released and brought back the traditional animation style of Studio Ghibli, this was done as Miyazaki believed that for the movie to reach its greatest potential, it needed to be in this style. The movie was able to carry out the combination of fantasy and comedy beautifully, most likely because the foundations of the movie were kept simple. The film was the first to hit 20 times more theaters worldwide, and was the biggest releases and success then any of the movies released before it.

 "Ponyo"

 In 2012 we saw the release of "Arrietty" which was a major success, the key purpose of this movie was to create mature scene that were able to still entertain old fans (Audiences) and to gain new (younger) fans at the same time. To create a balance within the animations emotional representation. The movie was a box office hit, the American release had around 600 more theaters than "Ponyo"

"Arrietty"

One year later "From Up On Poppy Hill" was released and was again directed by Miyazaki's son. The movie was very precise with the use of historical context, as many aspects were taken (and research) from the history of that certain time period. 

"From Up On Poppy Hill"

The next movie was something completely new to the viewers from Studio Ghibli, which was co-operative work with publisher Bandai Namco of the Japanese video game "Nino Kuni". The cut-scenes were produced by Studio Ghibli with the use of cell shaded 3D to create the graphics. Regardless of it being a video game the plot had a similar story-line to those of original Studio Ghibli movies.

"Nino Kuni"

It was the year 2013, where Miyazaki sadly announced his retirement with the production of his final film "The Wind Rises". The film was a fictional biopic of a real life figure Jiro Horikoshi, a Japanese plane engineer and notes his struggles as he progresses onto life. The movie is remarked as one of Miyazakis most emotional and amture films. The movie was a success in both Japan and America. Interestingly the movie was supposed to be a sequel to the movie "Ponyo" however he followed the advice of his fellow producers who advised him against this. What initially inspired Miyazaki to create this movie was the following quote by Jiro which was "All I wanted to do was to make something beautiful."

"The Wind Rises"

The following year "The Tale Of Princess Kaguya" was released, based on an old Japanese folk tale. The movie was highly praised for its use of a unique art style. To do this however, the film required a five year production cycle, as to make beautiful and detailed things take a lot of time and require focus and precise detail.

"The Tale Of Princess Kaguya"

In 2014, with the release of "When Marnie was there" Studio Ghibli announced that it would be closing its doors and would no longer direct films but simply exclusively distribute them. Marking the end of a beautiful and remarkable era.

"When Marnie was there"

Studio Ghibli was a perfect example of the way animation can be developed and the value of animation, how broad the viewers of animation could be and the importance it has on these viewers. As an animation as the power to change an individuals perspective, more specifically a big part of their life. From the movies I have watched of Studio Ghibli it amazes me how I am able to easily transport myself and emotionally connect with the setting of the individual movie. I'm not sure how they do it, but their animations have the power to touch your heart so easily and broaden your imagination subconsciously. Their animations remind you of the beauty of life and are somehow able to reignite the spark in ones eyes and to see the world with such a curiosity once again.