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| Hand-painted watercolour background featured in Howl's Moving Castle, 2004 |
The Basics
Studio
Ghibli is a Japanese film studio that produces
feature-length and short animated (or ‘anime’ – the animation style exclusive
to Japan) films. These films are known for their unique hand-drawn style and
vibrant palate and instantly recognisable. It is not only their visual style
that makes these masterpieces so recognisable, but their adventurous and
intricate plots – which on surface level may be taken as children’s stories,
where in reality these heart-felt tales often have a much more complex and
contain a deeper message!
Conception
The Tokyo-based
studio was established in 1985 by producer Suzuki Toshio, and directors
Takahata Isao and Miyazaki Hayao – each of whom prior to the studio’s founding
held prominent careers in publishing, television and animation. The studio was
conceived after the release of Miyazaki’s Nausicaa
of the Valley of the Wind in 1984, a feature-length film which a gained
favourable reception and success in Japan and thus was released the subsequent
year in America (where unfortunately in underwent not only a title change, but
heavy editing/‘Americanisation’).
In 1986,
Studio Ghibli released its first film to success among Japanese audiences; Laputa: Castle in the Sky - written and
directed by Miyazaki. However, it was not until the studio’s second release
1988, Grave of the Fireflies, (this
time written/directed by Takahata) did they gain recognition abroad. Released in
the same year, once more Miyazaki took the director’s role for My Neighbour Totoro, which remains as
one of the studio’s most iconic productions (literally - Totoro being the
symbol/company logo of Studio Ghibli).
Critical Acclaim
From their
founding to present day, Studio Ghibli has earned a multitude of awards and
achievements for their productions, the most prominent of which including:
the 2003
75th Academy Awards Best Animated Feature for Spirited Away, the 2005 Tokyo
Anime Awards Best Director, Best Voice Actor/Actress, Best Music for Howl’s
Moving Castle, the 2009 Japanese Academy Award Best Animated Film for Ponyo.
What You Might Not Know…
In regards
to the studio’s name; Miyazaki, a noted aircraft enthusiast chose ‘Ghibli’ as
it is is derived from the Arabic name for the Mediterranean wind (sirocco) or ‘hot
wind blowing through the Sahara Desert’, used for Italian scouting planes
during World War. The notion behind being the studio would "blow a
new wind through the anime industry".
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References:
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