Hot wind blowing through the Sahara Dessert (Studio Ghibli)

Member Name: tazzywazzy

Product:	Studio Ghibli
Date:	01/11/06 (396 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Imaginative stories and mind blowing animation

Disadvantages: Only one release a year :(

Thought I needed to write a review on the company before actually writing about the products, also, I think that most of you have heard of Studio Ghibli's work - Grave of the Fireflies? Spirited Away? Yes? Then you need to read this review, if you haven't heard of them, then you need to read this review! So let's get started!

~How do I say it?~

Ok, this might sound dumb, but as it is a jolly foreign word, so the phonetics might not translate that clearly, and I must admit that if I need to ask a sales clerk for something and don't know how to say it, I either spend hours looking around the shop aimlessly, give up and then curse myself for not asking - but hey I don't want to look dumb in front of the spotty yoik of a teenager that can only just about manage a grunt!

"Ghibli" is an Italian word and pronounced jee-blee, but in this case, as it is a Japanese Company it is pronounced ji-bu-ri.

*Attention - Tazzy Fact Alert*
Ghibli means "hot wind blowing through the Sahara Desert" and was the name given to Italian scouting planes during World War II, which interestingly enough is when Manga style became what it is today.

~Studio Who?~

Studio Ghilbli originally began in 1983 as a small studio for Tokuma Shoten, one of the largest entertainment publishers in Japan - other products include music, computer and game software, movies, magazines, manga, books yadeeyadeeya...

The Studio was set up to produce an anime called "Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind", which was to be directed by Hayao Miyazaki & produced by Toshi Suzuki. Miyazaki began serializing Nausicaa as a manga in a publication called Animage, he published his first chapter in February 1982.

This is where things get a bit fuzzy, some think that Suzuki was unable to get funding for a film that was not based on a manga, others say the original screenplay got rejected & some say that Miyazaki only worked on the manga on the condition that it would never be made into a film - either way this was the birth of an amazing, magical studio, and all magical things need to have an element of mystery about them. Anyway, it operated under it's parent company Tokuma until 2005 when it became independent.

~What's the difference between Manga & Anime?~

Thought that I would clear this up once and for all, I hear people talking about Manga films all the time, and once and for all I want people to get their terminology right so here goes:

MANGA
This is the Japanese word for comics, literal translation = "random/whimsical pictures" - we should use it to specifically refer to Japanese comics only, I hear a lot of people using it to describe Japanese animation as well. Manga is normally printed in black and white, only the cover is printed in colour and maybe a couple of the pages at the beginning. An exception to this rule is animanga when all the pages can be printed in colour.

ANIME
An abbreviation of the word animation, in Japan used to describe any form of animation from anywhere in the world, outside of Japan used to describe the animation of Japanese origin.

ANIMANGA (AniManga/ani-manga/manganime)
A fusion of the words Anime & Manga - so in essence all things based on or influenced by anima and manga.

~Who ARE Studio Ghibli? Who ARE they?!~

Studio Ghibli are basically three Dappa Dons of Japanese animation - Hayao Miyazaki (Director & Screenwriter), Isao Takahata (Studio Executive Managing Director) & Toshi Suzuki (Producer), so far sounds good, sounds like a good combination.

The film that shot Studio Ghibli to international fame was probably Princess Mononoke (also known as Mononoke Hime), which was released by Miramax in 1999, it was the highest grossing film in Japan, that is until Titanic came along, but have no fear, in 2001 Spirited Away was released which soon became the highest grossing film in Japanese history and the first Anime to ever win an Oscar, it was also named Best Animated Feature at the 75th Academy Awards!

Studio Ghibli was created with the sole purpose of creating films, this is because TV anime have really tight turn arounds, Miyazaki is a man that is just doing something that he loves, and as a result can't meet the tight production schedules. Miyazaki has been in the past compared to Walt Disney himself, but sees himself as an animator lucky enough to just do what he loves, he has no interest in building an empire, even though, I think he inadvertently has! As a result, Studio Ghibli only release about one film a year - if you check the DVD boxes, they are all numbered at the top of the spine - i.e. Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind is Number 1. So far there have been sixteen films (I believe, if I have miscounted, please let me know!) released since Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind has been released - 11 were directed by Miyzazki & 4 directed by Takahata oh and 1 by Goro Miyazaki (2006).

*Attention Tazzy Fact Alert*

Miyazaki has a son named Goro, Suzuki persuaded him to work at the Ghibli Museum and soon he became involved with the Studio - Goro drew a storyboard for a film called "Tales from Earthsea" and he was, again, persuaded by Suzuki to direct the film - Daddy Miyazaki was not happy and a family feud ensued. Goro did direct the film and his father turned up to see the preview, the film did well and ended up in the 63rd Venice Film Festival - Daddy later accepted Son and I think all is now well!

~How do the films translate into English? Are they any good?~

Studio Ghibli are now well known for their strict "no-edits" policy, this was a result of Nausicaa being released in the States, and the yanks' Americanisation, which went as far as re-naming the anime to "Warriors of the Wind" - It is rumoured that when Miramax were licensing Princess Mononoke, a samurai sword was sent by Miyazaki with a little note that read "no cuts".

In 1996 Disney acquired the globalisation rights for Princess Mononoke & eight other Ghibli movies, I have a feeling that these are the ones that you can get in the UK at the moment. I believe that the Disney deal has been good for Studio Ghibli, as it has seen high profile actors/actresses playing roles in the film and the translations seem very fluid, the dubbing is very smooth and soundtracks are brilliant.

The stories are all brilliant and can capture the imagination of anyone, many are about survival, mans relationship with nature and women being independent, strong beings. All good stories must have villains and most villains have many likeable or redeeming qualities.

If you have never heard of Studio Ghibli, I highly recommend that you check a film out, I am going to be controversial and if asked to recommend any Studio Ghibli film, I would choose Howl's Moving Castle. Check out HMV as they are doing most of the films for £8.99 including postage and packing, I know that Virgin Megastores had a huge Ghibli sale on where all the DVDs were between £5-£8, boyfie and I went mad and bought as many as we could carry! Also check out http://www.studioghiblidvd.co.uk/

~If you ever happen to be in the area~

Try visiting the Ghibli Museum that opened in 2001, I have tried to find information on how to get to it, all I can find out is that you need to buy your ticket in advance and that it is closed ever Tuesday, I have posted the most helpful link that I could find about how to get a ticket, I didn't try it out, as it looked well complicated!! LOL

http://digilander.libero.it/joe.chip/ghibli_e.htm


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I have tried not to babble on for too long, but if you want anymore information added, please drop me a message and I will edit the review, I look forward to reading your comments!

Also thanks to Wikipedia, where I got some of the more random information & definitions and www.nausicaa.net for information on Studio Ghibli (that was actually in English).

Thanks for reading xxx

Summary: Animation ain't just for kids - it's for big people too!