Japan's Studio Ghibli
The Films of the Famous Animation Studio: 1995 - 2008
The films produced by Studio Ghibli continue to be some of the best loved and most critically acclaimed animated films of all time.
Following the success of their collaborative film, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Studio Ghibli was formed in 1985 by Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata and Toshio Suzuki. Studio Ghibli is one of the most successful animation studios ever, with its films being watched and loved by audiences worldwide.
Whisper of the Heart (1995)
Shizuku, a young girl who cares more about reading and music than schoolwork discovers that all the books she borrows from the library have previously been taken out by the same boy, Seiji Amasawa. In getting to know Seiji and learning of his dreams to become a violin maker in Italy, Shizuku realises that she wants to be a writer and so tests her talent by writing about Baron, a statue of a cat owned by Seiji’s grandfather.
Princess Mononoke (1998)
This epic fantasy made history as the top-grossing domestic feature ever released in Japan. Set in medieval Japan, the story concerns the struggle between nature and man. The march of technology, embodied in the dark iron forges of the ambitious Tatara clan, threatens the natural forces of the Great God of the Forest and the wide-eyed, spectral spirits he protects.
My Neighbours the Yamadas (1999)
A collection of stories, each in turn humorous and heartbreaking, about a typical middle-class Japanese family living in Tokyo.
Spirited Away (2001)
Arguably the film that introduced Studio Ghibli to a mainstream western audience. While moving to a new town, Chihiro and her family take a shortcut that leads them to a seemingly abandoned amusement park. After gorging themselves at a food stand, Chihiro’s parents are literally turned into pigs. The frightened girl then encounters a young man named Haku who explains what she must do to navigate this strange and magical place.
The Cat Returns (2002)
A welcome return for Muta, the cranky fat cat, and Baron von Gikkingen, the elegant statue, from Whisper of the Heart. On her way home from school, Haru prevents an elegant gray cat from being hit by a truck. It transpires that she has saved the life of Lune, Prince of the CatKingdom, and his royal father decides to thank her. He fills her locker with gift-wrapped mice and decides she should come to his kingdom and marry Lune.
Howl’s MovingCastle (2004)
Sophie has resigned herself to a uneventful life in her family's hat shop when the Witch of the Waste transforms her into an old woman. In her aged guise, Sophie finds employment in the Moving Castle that is home to the wizard Howl and, with the help of Howl’s apprentice Markl, a persistent scarecrow, a temperamental fire spirit called Calcifer and Heen, an out-of-shape dog, she searches for a way to release herself from the aging spell.
Tales from Earthsea (2006)
This first feature film from Goro Miyazaki, son of Hayao Miyazaki, follows the young Prince Arren as he is forced to confront his views on life and mortality following a terrible crime. Fleeing from his home at the palace, Arren falls into the company of the mysterious wizard Sparrowhawk. It is a time of great upheaval in Earthsea as people begin acting savagely, magic fades and dragons appear in the land of men. Sparrowhawk and Arren must join together with old friend Tenar and troubled orphan Therru to thwart the plans of evil wizard Lord Cob and bring peace back to Earthsea.
Ponyo on a Cliff (2008)
An eagerly anticipated watercolour and pastel style animation in which Hayao Miyazaki directs his own original story about a five-year-old boy and his relationship with a goldfish princess who longs to become human.
