Studio Ghibli

Studio Ghibli, Inc. (株式会社スタジオジブリ), known colloquially as Ghibli, is a Japanese animation film studio, co-founded by Isao Takahata, Hayao Miyazaki, Toshio Suzuki and Yasuyoshi Tokuma.

The company began operations on June 1985 as a subsidiary of Tokuma Shoten Co., Ltd. for the purpose of producing animated films directed by Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki. Initially based in Kichijoji, they built their own own studio at its current location on in August 1992. In June 1997, the company merged with Tokuma Shoten Co., Ltd. and became Tokuma Shoten Co., Ltd./Studio Ghibli Company (later Studio Ghibli Business Headquarters). In April 2005, Studio Ghibli Co., Ltd. started anew by becoming independent of Tokuma Shoten Co., Ltd.

The company's logo features the character Totoro from Hayao Miyazaki's film My Neighbor Totoro.

Several anime features created by Ghibli have won the Animage Anime Grand Prix award including "Laputa: Castle in the Sky" in 1986, "My Neighbor Totoro" in 1988, and "Kiki's Delivery Service" in 1989. In 2002, "Spirited Away" won an Oscar for Best Animated Feature, the first anime film to win an Academy Award.

Representatives

 * Chairman and CEO - Koji Hoshino
 * President and CEO - Kiyofumi Nakajima
 * CEO and Producer - Toshio Suzuki

Activities

 * Planning and production of animated movies, TV commercials, TV movies, live-action movies, etc.
 * Various merchandising using characters appearing in animated movies, etc.
 * Videograms of animated films, TV shows, documentaries, etc.
 * Overseas sales, import, export and licensing of animated films.
 * Planning, editing, and production of publications.
 * Management and transfer of music copyrights, promote music, and manufacture and supply of record originals and master tapes
 * Supervising and management of "Ghibli Museum of The Mitaka Forest" (official name: Mitaka Municipal Animation Museum).
 * Exhibition of Ghibli Museum in Mitaka.
 * Operation of "Cafe" and "Shop" in "Ghibli Museum of The Forest of Mitaka".

Name
The name Ghibli derives from the nickname the Italians used for their Saharan scouting planes in the Second World War (and later for the AMX International AMX and Maserati Ghibli), which is derived from the Libyan word for hot wind blowing through the Sahara Desert (also known as sirocco).

Though the Italian word is pronounced with a hard /g/, the Japanese pronunciation of the studio's name is &#91;dʑíbɯɺi&#93;, as in with a "soft g". The theory behind the name was that the studio was blowing a new wind into the Japanese anime industry.

History
Founded in 1985, the studio is headed by the acclaimed director Hayao Miyazaki along with his faithful companion Isao Takahata, as well as the studio's executive managing director and long-time producer Toshio Suzuki. Its origins date back to 1984, with the film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, which was popularized as a serialized manga in a publication of Tokuma Shoten's Animage magazine after the original screenplay was rejected. The film was eventually produced by Topcraft and the film's success spurred the formation of Ghibli. Much of Ghibli's works are distributed in Japan by the noted film distributor Toho. Tokuma is the parent company of Studio Ghibli, and it has provided the Walt Disney Company with the video rights to all of Ghibli's output that did not have previous international distribution, including the global, non-Japan distribution rights to Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away. Miyazaki's film, Howl's Moving Castle, was based on a book by British author Diana Wynne Jones, published in several countries including Canada and the United States. Composer Joe Hisaishi has provided the soundtrack for all of Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli films.

The most famous and lauded film from the studio that was not directed by Miyazaki is Grave of the Fireflies, directed by Isao Takahata, a film focusing on the lives of two war orphans towards the end of the Second World War in Japan.

Over the years, there has been a close relationship between Studio Ghibli and the magazine Animage, which regularly runs exclusive articles about the studio and its members in a section titled "Ghibli Notes." Artwork from Ghibli's films and other works frequently graces the cover of the magazine.

The company is well known for its strict "no-edits" policy in licensing their films abroad. This was a result of the dubbing of Miyazaki's Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind when the film was released in the United States as Warriors of the Wind. The film was heavily edited and americanized, with significant portions cut and the plot rewritten. The "no cuts" policy was highlighted when Miramax co-chairman Harvey Weinstein suggested editing Princess Mononoke to make it more marketable. In response, a Studio Ghibli producer sent an authentic katana with a simple message: "No cuts".

Miyazaki's latest film, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, was released in Japan on July 19, 2008.

On February 1, 2008, Toshio Suzuki stepped down from the position of Studio Ghibli president which he held since 2005, and Koji Hoshino (former president of Walt Disney Japan) took over. Suzuki said he wanted to improve films with his own hands as a producer, rather than demanding this from his employees. He has revealed that Takahata and Goro Miyazaki (director of Tales from Earthsea and Hayao's son) are developing projects for release after Hayao Miyazaki's Ponyo. Suzuki decided to hand over the presidency to Hoshino because Hoshino has helped Studio Ghibli sell its videos since 1996, as well as helped to release the Princess Mononoke film in the United States.

Works
See List of Studio Ghibli's Films and Animes (include games)

Ghibli Academic Library
A label that sells documentary programs and non-fiction movies. Most of the works are produced by other companies. Projects include, "What Did Humans Eat?" (人間は何を食べてきたか, Produced by NHK), "The Story of Yanagawa's Canals" (a film directed by Isao Takahata and funded from the royalty revenue of "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind"), "Hotta Yoshie Jidai to Ningen" (堀田善衞 時代と人間, about novelist Yoshie Hotta, produced by NHK), etc.

Ghibli CINEMA library
A label that distributes films produced by other companies. Some works have been transferred to the "Ghibli Museum Library". Films include, "Dark Blue World" (directed by Jan Sverak, released in 2001) and "Kirikou and the Sorceress" (written by Michel Ocelot, released in 1998). They've also helped distribute "Shiki-Jitsu", a film directed by Hideaki Anno.

Studio Ghibli Records
A label established in partnership with Tokuma Japan Communications that releases the soundtracks and theme songs of Studio Ghibli films. Ghibli previously released music via the "Animage Records" label. The theme song and single CD release from "Tales from Earthsea" in 2006 was transferred to Yamaha Music Communications (sold by Avex Entertainment) and in 2013, the "Wind Rises" theme song called "Hikuoki Gumo" or "Vapor Trails" by Yumi Matsutoya was released by Universal Music.

Bunshun Bunko Ghibli
The monthly magazine "Bungeishunjū" was first published in April 2013. In addition to republishing works by Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata and new editions of books published by Tokuma Shoten's "Cinema Comics" and old editions of Animage Bunko works, they also distribute "Ghibli Textbooks" containing work theories, essays by the studio's filmmakers.

Tailor Studio Ghibli
Primegate has signed a license agreement with Studio Ghibli to plan, manufacture and sell "GHIBLI" branded clothing and accessories. It is a men's brand that began in fall / winter of 2004. The mascot of the label is Porco Rosso, the main character of "Porco Rosso" (1992). The target of the line are men in their 40's and above.