Studio Ghibli: The Films of Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata

By Colin Odell and Michelle Le Blanc

The animations of Japan's Studio Ghibli are amongst the highest regarded in the movie industry. Their delightful films rank alongside the most popular non-English language films ever made, with each new eagerly-anticipated release a guaranteed box-office smash. Yet this highly profitable studio has remained fiercely independent, producing a stream of imaginative and individual animations. The studio's founders, long-time animators Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki, have created timeless masterpieces. Although their films are distinctly Japanese their themes are universal—humanity, community, and a love for the environment. No other film studio, animation or otherwise, comes close to matching Ghibli for pure cinematic experience. All their major works are examined here, as well the early output of Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, exploring the cultural and thematic threads that bind these films together.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kamera Books
• Release date: Sep 1, 2009
• ISBN: 9781842433584

Colin Odell

Colin Odell is a freelance author and film critic. He has co-authored books with Michelle Le Blanc about John Carpenter, Tim Burton, Horror Films, Jackie Chan, Vampire Films, Anime and Studio Ghibli and contributed to Wallflower Press's Alter Image and The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy. He is an editor and contributor to the online film review salon Kamera.co.uk and Vector Magazine.

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

A teenage witch, her hair ruffled by the wind, rides her mother’s broom through the open skies. A giant robot unleashes molten destruction on the soldiers who have awakened him from centuries of slumber. A city worker recalls her childhood growing up in the 1960s. The skies above Kōbe are filled with buzzing agents of death, raining down fire upon a terrified population. A burgeoning writer finds inspiration in a quaint antiques shop. A travelling warrior becomes infatuated with a feral wolf-child in a land scarred by war. A group of young people discover love and loss during their turbulent high-school years. A girl’s parents are turned into slobbering pigs. A father turns superhero, if only for a moment, when he stands up to a local biker gang. Two elated girls soar through the air inside a grinning cat bus, its headlight eyes tracing yellow streaks in the sky above the forest. Gods and monsters. Love and loss. Jubilation and despair. The horrors of war. Childhood wonder. Welcome to the heart-soaring, euphoric, whimsical, terrifying, compassionate and, above all else, emotional world of Studio Ghibli.

The remarkable films of Studio Ghibli show, without a shadow of a doubt, that cinema can be art. Often the terms ‘art’ and ‘cinema’ result in products that distance audiences, but Ghibli makes films that touch the soul, that can enrapture and delight everyone from toddlers to pensioners. Crucially, they retain the one thing that’s frequently lacking in commercial cinema – integrity. It is this, combined with an unprecedented box-office might in their native Japan, that has allowed the animators at Studio Ghibli to continue their work without compromising their artistic vision, telling the stories they want to tell, the way they want to tell them. Animation has often been dismissed, particularly in the West, as simplistic and aimed at children but, despite their appeal to children, Ghibli’s films are universal. Put simply, Studio Ghibli is the finest animation company working today, a bold claim perhaps when comparing them with the mighty Pixar (huge Ghibli fans themselves), but one that holds.

Studio Ghibli was founded in 1985 when Miyazaki Hayao brought together Takahata Isao and producer Suzuki Toshio in order to make animated films the way they wanted to make them. Years of working for various companies producing film and television programmes had left the trio eager for artistic freedom, unhindered by external studio pressures. Now, outside Hollywood, Studio Ghibli is the most profitable animation company in the world. In Japan their films regularly break box-office records and run in cinemas for months on end. On the international stage they are highly regarded, having won numerous prestigious awards, including the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for Spirited Away (2001), the only non-English-language film to have won in this category. Their box-office clout is indeed formidable, with no less than three of their features in the top-ten-grossing non-English-language films of all time. Their artistry is an inspiration to filmmakers the world over. Despite making films for their home market, they are among the most critically acclaimed studios in the world.

WHAT IS AND ISN’T A STUDIO GHIBLI FILM?

Confusion often arises as to what is and is not a Studio Ghibli film. This is because Takahata and Miyazaki’s styles are so distinctive and the Ghibli brand so ubiquitous that many of the films the pair worked on prior to forming the studio are often claimed as Ghibli’s. This view is further clouded because an increasing number of these works are now released under the Ghibli banner, most notably Miyazaki’s Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984), Takahata’s Gōshu the Cellist (1982) and the pair’s breezy Panda Kopanda films (1972 and 1973), none of which are technically Ghibli films. Further confusion has been created by the addition of the Studio Ghibli logo, a profile of their mascot Totoro, to many of the films acquired later by the studio. In this book we will be covering the major pre-Ghibli works by Takahata and Miyazaki because they are crucial to understanding the artists’ development and the emergence of the Ghibli ‘house style’.

BACKGROUND

There are, of course, many people working for Studio Ghibli, but the most notable are its founders. Takahata Isao was born on 29 October 1935 in Ise, the city that hosts the most sacred shrine of Japan’s indigenous religion Shintō. Miyazaki Hayao was born in the modern capital Tōkyō on 5 January 1941. These were difficult and turbulent times for Japan; the long campaigns of World War II had left the country devastated and hungry. Following Japan’s defeat in 1945 the country was occupied by the United States and, although it would eventually become one of the world’s leading economic powers, the early post-war years were particularly harsh.

Takahata attended the University of Tōkyō, graduating in French Literature. It was French animator Paul Grimault’s unfinished Le Roi et l’oiseau (1948, but finally finished in 1980) that intrigued him as to the possibilities of working in animation. Perhaps it was for this reason that he applied for a job as assistant director at the fledgling Tōei Dōga studio, working on features and TV shows.

Miyazaki grew up with his three brothers, father and mother, the latter a free-thinking spirit who inspired her sons to question everything. As a result of his mother’s long-term illness, the family had to move around the country seeking the best medical support, a situation many commentators have linked to the genesis of My Neighbour Totoro (1988). Miyazaki’s father worked for his brother at Miyazaki Airplane, and Hayao developed a love of flying machines. He began drawing what he saw as well as imagining new forms of aviation. These roots would later see him designing flying machines not only for his animated movies but also specialist modeller magazines. Miyazaki expanded his drawing skills from vehicles to people when, like many growing up in the post-war years he became inspired by manga, Japanese comics that had been popularised by artist Tezuka Osamu. Initially, Miyazaki was only an enthusiastic hobbyist, but all that changed when, following graduation in political science and economics at Gakushuin University, he too joined the growing ranks of workers at Tōei Dōga.

Although Japan had made animated films (anime) before, the tidal wave of production really took off in the early 1960s, partly because of the work of Tezuka Osamu and partly on the back of what is often acknowledged as Japan’s first feature-length colour anime Hakujaden (Legend of the White Serpent, 1958). An offshoot of its parent company Tōei, one of Japan’s big movie studios, Tōei Dōga quickly established itself as a major player in the burgeoning market, making feature films and, most importantly, TV anime.

Work was very labour intensive in the factory-like studio and the workers formed a strong union. It was through these union activities that Takahata met Miyazaki, the two of them being under the wing of Ōtsuka Yasuo, their mentor at the studio. It was Ōtsuka who recommended that Takahata be promoted to director on Horusu: Prince of the Sun (1968), his first feature. Takahata brought in Miyazaki as designer. Unfortunately, the film was a financial flop and Takahata eventually left Tōei along with some of the staff who had worked on Horusu, including Miyazaki. The pair continued to have a strong working relationship over the years although their paths would often diverge. Their first real breakthrough came with Panda Kopanda, which Takahata directed and for which Miyazaki provided the story, design and key animation. The mid-70s were a particularly busy time for the pair as they fine-tuned their skills, notably on a series of immensely popular adaptations of classic literature for Nippon Animation. Miyazaki took the director’s chair, and a few more besides, in the ambitious science-fiction fantasy Conan, the Boy in Future (1978), working once more with Ōtsuka Yasuo, as well as Takahata.

As the pair’s reputations grew, opportunities arose to branch out into feature-film production. Takahata returned with Downtown Story (aka Chie the Brat, 1981) and the charming fable Gōshu the Cellist (1982). Miyazaki, meanwhile, had been given his first chance at feature directing on the action comedy Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro (1979), but, despite the film’s critical success, it didn’t lead to any further film work so he returned to television animation. A slowdown in his animation workload led to Miyazaki drawing an ad hoc manga, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Part way into the series, Miyazaki had to suspend creating the manga because its success had led the magazine’s production company to green-light a modestly budgeted anime of the as-yet-unfinished saga. Miyazaki brought in Takahata to produce the film. Other people involved in the project, including composer Joe Hisaishi and Suzuki Toshio, would become crucial to the look, feel and running of Studio Ghibli. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind was an unqualified commercial and artistic success. The company that had bankrolled the film agreed to help fund a new venture, an animation studio where the artists and directors called the shots, where freedom of expression would be the driving force over commercial considerations. All the work would be produced in Japan and the studio’s employees would be treated as artists. Together with Takahata and Suzuki, Miyazaki formed Studio Ghibli.

With hindsight it is easy to see how Studio Ghibli became so successful – its simple manifesto of commitment to artistry, the diverse range of films it has produced – but the ride has not always been easy. Producing a quality animated film is very costly and has a long gestation time. A single failure at the box office would have signalled the end of the company and it was to be a number of years before Ghibli would enjoy financial security. Although regarded as classics now, the early films of Studio Ghibli did not match the box-office dynamite of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986) and the double bill of Grave of the Fireflies (1988) and My Neighbour Totoro (1988) did reasonably well at the box office but were not stellar hits and the studio only started to show a respectable return on its product after the release of Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989). After that, a series of hugely successful films followed which, coupled with the revenue generated by merchandise sales following the belated accolades given to My Neighbour Totoro, enabled the studio to become buoyant enough to take financial knocks with experiments like the TV movie Ocean Waves (1993) and Takahata’s ambitious, all-digital My Neighbours the Yamadas (1999).

Ghibli had become a national treasure, its films frequently topping Japan’s box-office charts, with even Western countries finally taking note following an Oscar win for Miyazaki’s Spirited Away. However, as Ghibli has become more renowned, its films have become more intricate and demanding. Miyazaki has often announced his ‘retirement’ from directing and the handing over of the baton to the next generation. So far, however, he has kept coming back to direct ‘one more film’. Meanwhile, Takahata has been away from the director’s chair for a decade but has worked on producing and translating Japanese versions of classic animated films, including the film that inspired him all those years ago, Le Roi et l’oiseau.

THEMES AND MOTIFS

Many of the films of Studio Ghibli have common themes and motifs that make for a coherent worldview, even if the films themselves can be radically different in content or tone. Although the animations often share these common elements and usually a distinctive house aesthetic, they nevertheless retain the characteristics and interests of their respective directors.

Environmentalism

A key theme is that of environmentalism or, rather, the way that mankind interacts with nature. Closely linked to the Shintō ethic is the way in which our environment is a living collection of interconnected beings that should be respected. Often Earth is portrayed as suffering as a result of human ignorance. What is particularly interesting is the way that this notion is explored from different angles and with different overall conclusions.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind shows the devastating consequences of global pollution but also depicts groups of people who are still unwilling to take responsibility for their environment – using machinery to attempt to tame nature. Nausicaä herself

Reviews for Studio Ghibli

[pennylane78 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Studio Ghibli: The Films of Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata is a book I received as an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. First, I must start off saying that I love Studio Ghibli films! So much so, that I named my cat Miyazaki! I was therefore, really looking forward to reading this book. While I did learn some facts about the studio, the men behind the films and the films themselves, I was slightly disappointed in this book. The beginning came off as a college essay (though a well-researched one). As it flows from the introduction to the meat of the book, it gets a little better. However, it still struck me as a comparison/contrast essay more than a book. A lot of the information was repetitive and I found myself nodding off more while reading it, than being interested in what the authors had to say. I ended up giving it three out of five stars, because I did learn some new facts, there are beautiful pictures near the end, and there was mention of movies that I have not yet watched. Studio Ghibi will forever hold a place in my heart, this book however, will not.

[Al Allen · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

only 16 pictures

[david_m_b · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I’m a massive fan of Japanese animation company, Studio Ghibli, so the prospect of learning more about their history and their work was too good an opportunity to pass. Since their founding in 1985 Studio Ghibli have produced numerous feature films, music videos, short films, adverts and documentaries. The output of their animating team is exceptional not just in its quantity but in its quality as well. After more than a decade of increasing their success, having the most successful film of the year in Japan in 1992 (Porco Rosso), Studio Ghibli released Princess Mononoke in 1997 which became not only Japan’s most successful box office hit at that point but saw Walt Disney agree a deal that gave them exclusive rights to distribute Studio Ghibli’s films outside Japan. After Titanic beat Princess Mononoke to become Japan’s biggest box office hit, James Cameron’s blockbuster was soon defeated in 2001 and again it was Studio Ghibli with Spirited Away. Miyazaki’s masterpiece left no doubt of Studio Ghibli’s place in animation history when it bagged the Academy Award for Best Animation. Colin Odell and Michelle LeBlanc’s book not only focuses on the history of Studio Ghibli, its initial focus is on the two founders – Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata. The two animators collaborated on the impressive but flawed Little Norse Prince (1968) and continued to work together while pursuing individual projects. Prior to Studio Ghibli, Takahata and Miyazaki worked together on the likes of Papa Kopanda (1972) Conan, the Boy in Future (1978), while alone Takahata was responsible for Downtown Story (1981) and Goshu the Cellist (1982), and Miyazaki’s credits include The Castle of Cagliostro (1979), Sherlock Hound (1982) and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984), the latter often mistaken for a Studio Ghibli film. In 1985 the two animators were given backing to form their own studio and make the films they wanted to make. After the introduction and background to the studio the majority of the book focuses on the films from Studio Ghibli beginning with the wonderful Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986) and reaching Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (2008). A handful of pages are devoted to each film, and offer discussion on content, themes and quality of individual pieces while offering some insight into their success. The earliest Studio Ghibli hits were unfortunately only modest successes which surprised me considering Laputa is, in my opinion, only narrowly bettered by Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away. Miyazaki’s iconic My Neighbour Totoro (1988) was not favoured as a project for funding and only came about when backers were assured that Takahata would take the helm in adapting a book that became the extremely moving Grave of the Fireflies (1988). Not until Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989) did Studio Ghibli have what could be deemed a big box office hit and from that point they have thrived. I haven’t seen all of Studio Ghibli’s films yet but intend to do so in the near future. It was interesting to gain insight into the films I have yet to see but also to enjoy appraisals of the films I have had the pleasure of watching. Studio Ghibli’s films have been mostly directed by Takahata or Miyazaki, with the latter releasing the most successful and famous. This is not a bad reflection on Takahata, of course, I just think Miyazaki is in a league of his own in terms of imagination and storytelling. Other directors that have taken the reins in Studio Ghibli films include Tomomi Mochizuki with Ocean Waves (1993), Yoshifumi Kondo with Whisper of the Heart (1995), Hiroyuki Morita with The Cat Returns (2002), and Miyazaki’s son, Goro, with Tales from Earthsea (2006). Ghibli’s directors are showing promise especially when the sadly inevitable day comes when Takahata and Miyazaki have both retired, the latter insisting he would after Princess Mononoke. While the bulk of the book is devoted to Studio Ghibli’s feature films, there is a final section that focuses briefly on some of their other work, including short films and music videos put together for Japanese pop stars. The highlight of this closing segment though was information concerning the Studio Ghibli Museum. First opened in 2001 the museum attracts many fans of the Ghibli films who can expect to be greeted by a giant Totoro outside, while the ticket price for entry covers a free visit to the cinema where mini films are shown, exclusive to the museum and not available anywhere else. Amongst this selection of films is a sequel to My Neighbour Totoro involving Mei and that wonderful cat bus that featured in the original film, plus Totoro himself with his umbrella. Having been to Australia and New Zealand in 2008, Japan is now my most wanted destination when I go travelling in future.I have little to complain about with this book. The only issue was, although there are a series of pictures clustered together in the centre of the book, it would have been nice not only for these to be more spread out but perhaps for the reader to have had images of Miyazaki and Takahata and the rest of their animators at work in Studio Ghibli. Those minor quibbles aside I found this a thoroughly enjoyable read from start to finish. One of my regrets is that if I eventually make it as a novelist I would love Studio Ghibli to make an adaptation of one my novels but I fear if that day comes, Miyazaki and Takahata will have long since retired. It would still be an honour to work with Studio Ghibli in some capacity though and to be a part of their achievements.Studio Ghibli: The Films of Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata is an excellent insight into Japanese anime and the work of Studio Ghibli. Existing fans will find much of interest here while newcomers will be equally enthralled in finding out why millions of Ghibli fans, me included, keep going about Totoro, Kiki, Chihiro and Haku, Ashitaka and Princess Mononoke, Patsu and Sheeta, and Howl’s Moving Castle. In conclusion, a thoroughly enjoyable read about two amazing men and their groundbreaking animation studio.