Studio Ghibli

Studio Ghibli, Inc. (株式会社スタジオジブリ) is a Japanese animation film studio, and previously was a subsidiary of Tokuma Shoten. The company's logo features the character Totoro from Hayao Miyazaki's film My Neighbor Totoro.

Several anime features created by Studio 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.

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.

Short films (TV, Theatrical, Ghibli Museum, and OVA)

 * Ghiblies (2000) (TV short film)
 * Ghiblies Episode 2 (2002) (Shown theatrically before The Cat Returns)
 * Koro's Big Day Out (コロの大さんぽ) (2003) (Shown at the Ghibli Museum)
 * The Whale Hunt (くじらとり) (2003) (Shown at the Ghibli Museum)
 * Mei and the Kittenbus (めいとこねこバス) (2003) (Shown at the Ghibli Museum)
 * Looking for a Home (やどさがし) (2005) (Shown at the Ghibli Museum)
 * The Day I Harvested a Planet (星をかった日) (2005) (Shown at the Ghibli Museum)
 * Water Spider Monmon (水グモもんもん) (2005) (Shown at the Ghibli Museum)
 * The Night of Taneyamagahara (種山ヶ原の夜) (2006)
 * Iblard Jikan (イバラード時間) (2007)

Music videos (Theatrical and TV)

 * On Your Mark (1995) (a promotional music video for Chage & Aska directed by Hayao Miyazaki)
 * Portable Airport (2004) (a music video created by Studio Kajino for Capsule directed by Yoshiyuki Momose)
 * Space Station No. 9 (2004) (a music video created by Studio Kajino for Capsule directed by Yoshiyuki Momose)
 * A Flying City Plan (2005) (a music video created by Studio Kajino for Capsule directed by Yoshiyuki Momose)
 * Doredore no Uta (2005) (a promotional music video for Meiko Haigou directed by Osamu Tanabe)
 * piece (2009) (a promotional music video for Yui Aragaki directed by Yoshiyuki Momose)

Commercials

 * "Sora Iro no Tane" (The Sky-Colored Seed) (1992) (TV spot for Nippon TV)
 * "Nandarou" (1992) (TV commercial for NHK)
 * "Hotaru No Haku" (1996) (Kinyou Roadshow houeikokuchi spot)
 * "Kinyou Roadshow" (1996) (Announcement spot for Kinyou Roadshow opening)
 * "Umacha" (2001) (TV commercials)
 * "Shop-One" (Online Shopping Mall Announcement Spot)
 * "House Shokuhin" (House Shokuhin Campaign Commercial)
 * "O-uchi de Tabeyou" (House Shokuhin Series Commercial, Summer Version)
 * "O-uchi de Tabeyou" (House Shokuhin Series Commercial, Winter Version)
 * "Hajimaru yo, Erai Koccha-hen" (KNB YumeDigi PR Spot)
 * "Kawaraban-hen" (Corporate commercial for Yomiuri Shinbubsha)
 * "Dore Dore Hikkoushi-hen" (Corporate commercial for Yomiuri Shinbubsha)
 * "Risona Ginkou" (Corporate commercial)

Video games

 * Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, with Level-5

Other works
The works listed here consist of works that don't fall into the above categories. Many of these films have been released on DVD in Japan.
 * Sekai Waga Kokoro no Tabi (1998) (documentary following Isao Takahata to Canada to meet Frédéric Back)
 * Sekai Waga Kokoro no Tabi (1999) (documentary travelling with Hayao Miyazaki as he follows the footsteps of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)
 * Lasseter-san, Arigatou ("Thank You, Mr. Lasseter") (2003) (thank you video created for John Lasseter)
 * Miyazaki Hayao Produce no Ichimai no CD ha Koushite Umareta (2003) (A film about Tsunehiko Kamijo's Okaasa no Shashin CD)
 * Otsuka Yasuo no Ugokasu Yorokobi (2004) (A documentary about animator Yasuo Otsuka)
 * Miyazaki Hayao to Ghibli Bijyutsukan (2005) (A film featuring Goro Miyazaki and Isao Takahata touring the Ghibli Museum)
 * Jiburi no Eshokunin - Oga Kazuo Ten - Totoro no Mori o Kaita Hito ("A Ghibli Artisan - Kazuo Oga Exhibition - The Man Who Painted Totoro's Forest") (2007) (A documentary to commemorate an exhibtion at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, featuring the work of Studio Ghibli background artist Kazuo Oga)
 * Ghibli no Fuukei ("Scenery of Ghibli") (2009) (A documentary hosted by Japanese actresses Tsuruta Mayu, Natsukawa Yui and actor Tetsuta Sugimoto, that follows them around Europe and Japan matching Miyazaki's storyboards to the real world scenery and attractions that served as inspiration to the settings of his animated films)
 * Suzuki Toshio no Ghibli Asemamire, 99 no Kotoba  ("Suzuki Toshio's Ghibli Asemamire, 99 Words") (2009) (A compilation of 49 interviews conducted by Toshio Suzuki on his weekly radio program Ghibli Asemamire, broadcasting on Tokyo FM)