Studio Ghibli: The Films of Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata

By Colin Odell and Michelle Le Blanc

No other film studio, animation or otherwise, comes close to matching Japane's Studio Ghibli for pure cinematic experience. This book examines all their major works including Laputa: Castle in the Sky, Grave of the Fireflies, My Neighbour Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, Only Yesterday, Porco Rosso, Pom Poko, Whisper of the Heart, Princess Mononoke and Howl's Moving Castle, as well as the critically acclaimed Spirited Away and The Tale of Princess Kaguya. Odell and Le Blanc's informed analysis also considers Studio Ghibli features such as Hayao Miyazaki's Oscar-nominated final masterpiece The Wind Rises and the studio's most recent release When Marnie Was There.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kamera Books
• Release date: Mar 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781843444916

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.

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.