Studio Ghibli

[KHCast]

So Studio Ghibli. This is a Japanese Movie Animation Company that has acquired quite the fanbase outside of it's own country. With titles Like Spirited away, My neighbor Totoro and Castle in the sky I can understand why. These movies have brought Magic, Wonder and amazement to the industry. They are visually stunning and their soundtracks move people. Spirited Away's specifically to me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCpFeE68Yjg This song and it's other versions in the movie really make me feel something special inside. Spirited Away in general has become my favorite movie actually! Studio Ghibli did a tremendous job on this. The dubbed version(Thanks to disney publishing it in other areas) Is actually pretty good imo.

So what are your thoughts on Studio Ghibli? What's your favorite movie? Discuss!

[pppp]

Since i know everyone is only gonna talk about Hayao Miyazaki(i love him put down the pitchforks) I'm gonna introduce you to Isao Takahata, the other animation master in the studio:

The best anti-war movie ever made, period.

Yoshifumi Kondo:

This movie about life is the most subtle work from the studio.

I love this studio, i love all of their work(Yes, even "Earthsea"). They're not just the best animation studio of all time, they're the best film studio of all time period.

Edited April 3, 2012 by pppp

[Gregzilla]

I've seen Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle, and I have a bunch of other Ghibli DVDs that I have yet to watch.

Howl's Moving Castle was pretty good.

Spirited Away is one of the best fucking movies I've ever seen.

It was a huge part of my childhood (I'd always watch it whenever I visited my aunt's house), and it's one of the reasons I am such a fan of animation and Japanese culture today. It is one of the most creative, heartwarming, beautiful, strange, exciting, and all-around brilliant pieces of animation - no, cinema to ever be made.And that part with the staircase made me laugh my ass off as a young'n.

Though I keep hearing that Princess Mononoke is Hayao Miyazaki's best film. It won't give me much nostalgia seeing it now, but if people say it could possibly be better than Spirited Away (easier said than done) then I obviously can't pass it up.

[Katzii]

Spirited Away probably brings the most nostalgia for me, along with The Cat Returns...

...Although that's not difficult, seeing as they're the only two Ghibli films I own. I've seen a fair few of the others, particularly when they air on Film4, such as Porco Rosso and Kiki's Delivery Service. I also saw Pom Poko at a friend's house I wasn't a huge fan of Howl's Moving Castle, though. Probably should pick up a few of the ones I did like when I can find them at reasonable prices.

I do have to say, although Miyazaki is generally the well-known "household" name of Ghibli, if you like, it's nice to see someone bringing up the fact that he's not the only name for the company. Good job, pppp.

[Milo]

I've seen Kiki's Delivery Service, My Neighbor Totoro, and Princess Mononoke. I'd have to say that the Princess Mononoke is the one I liked the most out of all of them, although I adknowledge all three of them as pretty good.

[Arle985]

Studio Ghibli really does make good movies. So far, my favorite movies from them are My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service. I'm also considering on getting both Ponyo and Spirited Away. Maybe Whisper of the Heart since that's what My Cat Returns was based on.

Edited April 3, 2012 by Arle985

[pppp]

Good job, pppp.

Thanks People seem to only talk about Miyazaki and forget about the other brilliant masters working there.

[Mollfie]

I love pretty much all of their films, my favourites being Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Whisper of the Heart, The Cat Returns, Kiki's Delivery Service and My Neighbor Totoro, of course.

The only one I dislike is Tales From Earthsea. I love the Earthsea novels so on one hand it makes me sad that they weren't adapted very well but on the other hand I can understand how difficult it would be to adapt them. I also find it sad that Ursula Le Guin didn't really like the adaptation either, and Miyazaki wasn't happy that it would be his son's first directing role, especially when it was an adaption that the studio had wanted to do for years.

I haven't watched all the Studio Ghibli films yet, I still have to watch Only Yesterday, My Neighbours the Yamada's and Ocean Wave.

Edited April 3, 2012 by Mollfie

[Tailikku]

The most recent film I have seen by Studio Ghibli was Ponyo, in its original format, which my Japanese class watched together inclass. Later on I found it interesting that Gran Mamare had the same voice as Agent Spalko in Indy 4.

Suffice to say I do want to see Ariety once it comes onto Blu-Ray and DVD.

[Tylky]

Pretty big fan of Studio Ghibli. Watched Howl's Moving Castle in the cinema when it came out. Then in 2007 watched back-to-back movies The Cat Returns and My Neighbour Totoro on television.

Didn't realise how good Spirited Away was until I decided to delve deeper into Studio Ghibli's work last year.

[Sapphire]

I've really only seen a few of these, those being Kiki's Delivery Service, Spirited Away, and Ponyo. They're all absolutely terrific movies, though. There was a point when I was a lot younger where I would watch Kiki nearly every day!

I definitely should get around to seeing Studio Ghibli's other works sometime though. I'm sure the rest are as great as the ones I've seen.

[Kevin]

I absolutely love the Studio Ghibli films! They're just so well animated with great characters and stories. My favorite films are Sprited Away, Kiki's Delivery Service, and My Neighbor Totoro.

I agree with Mollfie about Tales of the Earthsea. To me it's the weakest out of the Ghibli films. Hopefully he'll be a lot beter with From up on Poppy Hill.

[...]

 

Yes, sonny, y'know the name. Studio Ghibli. The Disney of Japan. One of the most famous and revered animation studios in the world. Founded in 1985 by Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki, the studio has come to release twenty feature films, with a majority of them finding critical acclaim and box office success worldwide, along with being nominated for or winning numeous awards. Many of their films are written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, considered one of the greatest animators and directors in Japan. The studio is also notable for creating the only anime (and traditionally animated) film to win an Oscar for Best Animated Feature, Spirited Away. It also went on to surpass Titanic to become the most successful film in Japanese history, grossing over $274 million worldwide. Two new films are set for release for this year, with The Wind Is Rising (written and directed by Miyazaki) to be released July 20. The Tale Of Princess Kaguya (directed by Isao Takahata) is set for a Fall release timeframe.

 

Many of Ghibli's films have been known for using a sizable amount of symbolism in their films, mostly related to water or flying, and having more unconventional methods of storytelling, such as avoiding the usual "good versus evil" plot where the main character rises up and eventually defeats the villain, as seen in many films. Instead having the main character going on their own journey, with the film having no clear villain or antagonists. Other themes in their films include the innocence of childhood, love, and environmentalism. The way messages are portrayed in their films can range from being subtle, or more obvious. The way these themes and messages have been potrayed is a reason as to how Ghibli's (and Miyazaki's) films have been praised and cited as being deeper than the usual animated film.

 

In my own personal view of Studio Ghibli, I've pretty much have started going into them just now. In the August of 2009, I saw Ponyo in theaters after thinking it looked cool from the trailers I saw for it. I walked into the theater having no idea of what to really expect, but a sizable amount of people were in the theater too, so I guess lots of other people liked these kind of movies. As soon as the movie began, I knew I was gonna be hooked. The visuals were some of the most beautiful I saw for an animated film, and although the storyline may have been simple, I was captivated throughout the entire experience. I never knew who directed or made it, I didn't know who Studio Ghibli was, but I knew what I saw was something amazing. Two years later, I would come to see Arrietty in theaters. Although I enjoyed it less than Ponyo, I thought it was still a quite good film.

 

I still did not know the two films had a connection to each other, so I decided to look up Arrietty on Wikipedia and learned it was made by an animation studio named Studio Ghibli. I would come to learn they also made Ponyo, and all these other animated films dating back to the 1980s. Somehow, I slowly kinda forgot about them, until some people on here told me to watch Spirited Away. After a year of procrastination, I finally got to doing so yesterday. Everything about it was pure cinematic brilliance. The animation and storytelling were top-notch, and the score by Joe Hisaishi was so soothing and bliss. I can now perfectly understand of how it's considered one of the best films ever made. It's definitely one of the best, if not the best animated film I've seen in my life, and I can't wait to watch the rest of Ghibli's films, I'm sure I'll be heavily enjoying them when I watch each film.

 

So, what do you think Studio Ghibli and their movies? What are some of your most loved? Some that you thought were lesser than others? What are some of your favorite pieces of music from any Ghibli films?

Edited June 1, 2013 by Felix

[pppp]

There's already a topic for this:

 

[Nepenthe]

Recent Ghibli topic merged with the old one. 

[MamboCat]

I first saw Castle in the Sky in the early 90s, then it was called Laputa, the Flying Island. The voice over and sound track were different and it had a few scenes shortened for television, but it was one of my favourite movies, even if the first robot scared me! I didn't like the newer dub and I got rather upset about it because some scenes of poignant silence now had music, there was more humour injected intomit, often where there was no dialogue before and I could not stand the voice acting... apart from Mark Hamill, of course. I know it was silly to be upset, but this film meant a lot to me. Other films I like are Nausicaa, Princess Mononoke, Totoro and the brilliant Grave of the Fireflies. The last one I saw was Ponyo.

[iDEATH]

First one I seen was Spirited Away which I was lucky enough to see in the cinema. It was such a richly textured film and so imaginative that I was immediatly hooked.

 

I've seen all of their films now, apart from My neighbours the Yamadas (unless there's any I've just missed). Haven't loved them all but theres been at least parts of every film that I've enjoyed.

 

My favourite is by far, Whisper of the Heart. It's such a beautifully simple film and gives such a joyful and romantic view of childhood. It's just lovely.

 

here my top 5 if anyone's interested.

http://talesfromideath.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/my-top-5-studio-ghibli-films.html

[...]

As I mentioned in my previous post, Miyazaki's latest film "The Wind is Rising", is set for a July 20th release. Here's some posters.

 

 

Maybe this'll be something related to World War II? Dunno.

Edited May 28, 2013 by Felix

[iDEATH]

those posters are soooooooo pretty. Why can't we get designs like that? *dreamworks face*

[MugiMikey]

I love Studio Ghibli! I've seen several of their films, such as Grave of the Fireflies, Kiki's Delivery Service, Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Whisper of the Heart, Arietty, Ponyo, and Howl's Moving Castle... but my favorite is still My Neighbor Totoro. I love its simplistic plot, the characters, the designs, the music, and the loveable charm that oozes throughout the whole movie. The Blu-ray was just released by Disney last week, and boy, it is beautiful.

 

There are some movies I haven't seen yet but have been wanting to, like Princess Mononoke and Porco Rosso.

Edited May 29, 2013 by MugiMikey

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

When I first saw Spirited Away, I hated it simply because of the cover. Something about it just didn't interested me, and I wanted to watch something more action oriented.

 

Then I watched the movie. I wanted to punch myself for doubting it would be any good.

 

Spirited Away is the movie that practically made me a Studio Ghibli fan, although I actually watched Kiki's Delivery Service first before seeing Spirited Away. Either way, it is a movie that I would put on equal level with the Avengers as far as being one of my favorite movies, and I don't give half a rats ass what you have to say against that.

 

That movie is like a sacred treasure to me...

[...]

So today, I just watched My Neighbor Totoro, what is most likely Studio Ghibli's most iconic film. It's notMiyazaki's best, that’s for sure, but it’s still a pretty great film and deserves the praise it gets and its status as an animation classic. The animation looks stunning to this very day, and along with Miyazaki’s other films (from what I’ve seen anyway), tastefully shows the innocence and adventure of childhood. I’m just only geniunely surprised at how Totoro and most of the other forest spirits got little screentime compared to everyone else. You’d expect them (or Totoro, anyway) to appear more seeing as to how his name is in the title.

I'll tell you one thing, seeing the bath scene with my whole family was the most akward thing to happen in my entire life. So yeah, Totoro. It’s not Ghibli’s or MIyazaki’s best film, but still a highly enjoyable and enriching one.

By the way, Catbus is the best thing to ever be concieved by the human race. No exceptions.

caaaatbussss

Edited February 1, 2014 by Felix

[Dizcrybe]

Got a chance to check out Princess Mononoke from my local library. Thought it was pretty good.

[Mollfie]

They showed My Neighbour Totoro at some select cinemas over here to celebrate the anniversary, but none around where I live =C

 

I own and have seen all of the feature films/tv films except My Neighbour the Yamadas, Only Yesterday and Ocean Waves. I also haven't seen Up On Poppy Hill or The Wind Is Rising, but they aren't out over here yet. I've also seen a few pre-Ghibli things like Panda! Go Panda! and Moomins, which Miyazaki did key animations for and is one of my favourite cartoons/comics.

 

My favourites are Spirited Away, Whisper of the Heart, Princess Mononoke and The Cat Returns.

 

Jez and I got to see Ponyo at the cinema, we had to go to the independent cinema in Bristol and it was pretty packed. Vast majority was parents and their kids and they were all super well behaved and quiet which was cool. I'm not sure I'd really want to see a Ghibli film at a big cinema? I find them to be such intimate films and I'd hate for someone to ruin that.

Edited June 2, 2013 by Mollfie

[iDEATH]

 

I’m just only geniunely surprised at how Totoro and most of the other forest spirits got little screentime compared to everyone else. You’d expect them (or Totoro, anyway) to appear more seeing as to how his name is in the title.

 

That's actually one of my favourite things about Ghibli. The world's are filled with magic but it's awlays so downplayed. Totoro's world is secret, even when he's discovered he still wants to stay hidden. The magic isn't the main focus of the stories anyway, the point of the films are to explore the joy of childhood.