Studio Ghibli

Studio Ghibli, Inc. (株式会社スタジオジブリ), known simply 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.

Early Years
Founded in June 15, 1985, the studio is headed by Hayao Miyazaki along with Isao Takahata, as well as the studio's executive managing director and 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. Suzuki, who worked as a tabloid reporter before working at Animage, was the lynchpin that helped convince Miyazaki to pursue his manga work for "Nausicaä" and eventually create its film adaptation. 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. While some Ghibli films received distribution outside Japan, such as by Streamline Pictures, it was often without a wide theatrical release.

Tokuma Shoten, the parent company of Studio Ghibli, 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" (1997), "Spirited Away" (2001), "Howl's Moving Castle" (2004), "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea" (2008) and "The Wind Rises" (2013). Composer Joe Hisaishi has provided the soundtrack for all of Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli films.

Ghibli's co-founder, Isao Takahata, on the other hand, would go on to direct more down-to-earth dramas and folktales such as "Grave of the Fireflies" (1988), a film focusing on the lives of two war orphans towards the end of the Second World War in Japan, "Only Yesterday" (1991), "Pom Poko" (1994), "My Neighbors the Yamadas" (1999) and "The Tale of the Princess Kaguya" (2013). Many directors would also release works under the studio title, such as Yoshifumi Kondō's "Whisper of the Heart" (1995), Hiroyuki Morita's "The Cat Returns", Tomomi Mochizuki's "Ocean Waves" (1993) and Goro Miyazaki's "Tales from Earthsea" (2006), "From Up on Poppy Hill" (2011) and "Earwig and the Witch" (2020).

A dinner at Hotel Okura was held to celebrate the conclusion of the contract and Disney and Tokuma Shoten's historic alliance. Eight were present during the meeting, with the Disney side being company president Michael O. Johnson, chief of staff Greg Probert, senior corporate laywer Brett Chapman, and Koji Hoshino, the head of Disney of Japan, while on the Tokuma there was the president of Tokuma Shoten Yasuyoshi Tokuma, Toshio Suzuki, a liaison who worked at Tokuma International Steve Alpert, and their translator, Haruyo Moriyoshi. The contract had gone through many challenges over the course of two years, often due to turnover of staff and disputes such as Disney demanding they hold the rights to Ghibli films for ten instead of five years. Some Disney executives even scoffed at having to deal with what they saw was a small time publisher like Tokuma Shoten.

Suzuki and Mr. Tokuma wisely held on to the digital rights, which included DVD distribution rights from Disney, as they were still bullish about the VHS home market and DVD had not taken ahold of the market at the time. This was partly to do with Mr. Shoten having a business relationship with Sony, who understood where the market was headed.

The evening had gone well enough, until Mr. Tokuma gave a speech demanding a higher minimum guarantee for the distribution rights of "Princess Mononoke" (which had been the highest of any film at the time due to its prestige and reputation). This sparked anger from Michael O. Johnson, who began cursing until he was advised by his chief of staff Probert to work out the deal the day after with Suzuki.

A day later, they worked out the contract to reflect Mr. Tokuma's demands of a higher minimum guarantee, but since he never read the fine legal print, his wishes were never really actually met. It turns out Mr. Tokuma had intentionally provoked the Disney executives to be able to boast to the press that he had "achieved victory" against Disney.

Disney would later renegotiate for the DVD and digital rights from Tokuma Shoten, and in exchange, Ghibli was able to get back the rights to films in countries where Disney had declined to release them. Ghibli was then free to seek out other distributors in those countries. For Ghibli's filmmakers, nothing was more important than having all their films seen in movie theaters. Hayao Miyazaki and all the Ghibli's directors and animators think themselves as theatrical filmmakers. They see their art as meant to be seen on the big screen, with a sound system that would allow the audience to hear the nuanced and carefully mixed soundtrack. Nobody at the time could have foreseen the importance of the DVD home market, except Mr. Tokuma and Suzuki.

Localization
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 Neil Gaiman retouch the script to make "Princess Mononoke" more marketable. Steve Alpert recalls Suzuki's response in his autobiography, "Sharing a House with the Never-Ending Man: 15 Years at Studio Ghibli", by gifting an authentic katana to Weinstein personally and shouting "Mononoke Hime, NO CUT!"

Before "Princess Mononoke" was released theatrically, Disney began localizing "Kiki's Delivery Service" and "Castle in the Sky" for a home video release. Early versions of both films were sent for approval to Studio Ghibli however, Steve Alpert noticed alterations such as new music and dialogue were made against the original "no cuts" policy. The issue led to both Ghibli and Disney executives meeting to discuss a possible breach in contract. After viewing the footage of the original and altered "Castle in the Sky" side-by-side, the changes were apparent. Disney executives apologized profusely and Michael O. Johnson, president of Walt Disney International, began berating the staff responsible for the mistake. Unfortunately, the altered version of "Kiki's Delivery Service" had already been delivered and scheduled for commercial VHS release, and pulling it out of retailers would have been too costly. Disney executives then promised that any future DVD release of "Kiki's Delivery Service" would remain unaltered, and Ghibli would have firsthand approval in any future localized releases.

Disney did request however, have one request - they wanted to know if it were possible to hire Joe Hisaishi to create new music for "Castle in the Sky". Suzuki was surprised when Miyazaki was receptive to the idea, with Miyazaki clarifying that when a film is completed, he can only move on from it and not dwell. Not to mention Disney would have footed for the expense, and not Studio Ghibli.

Merger with Tokuma
In June 1997, Studio Ghibli merged with Tokuma Shoten due in part to secure profits for Tokuma's deteriorating business. The name Studio Ghibli Co., Ltd. was dissolved as it became "Tokuma Shoten Co., Ltd. / Studio Ghibli Company". In that same year following the release of "Princess Mononoke", Miyazaki left the company. He had been suffering burnout, and part of these events were covered in the NHK special "Journey of the Heart, Hayao Miyazaki"

In 1999, Tokuma Shoten introduced the newly dubbed "Tokuma Shoten / Studio Ghibli Business Headquarters". That same year saw the return of Miyazaki as the director of Studio Ghibli.

Independence, retirement and revival
By 2004, Tokuma Shoten and Studio Ghibli Business Headquarters split, with Studio Ghibli Co., Ltd finally becoming an independent studio. In April 2005, due to the company's newfound independence, the organizational structure was changed from a limited company to a joint- stock company. Studio Ghibli Co., Ltd. inherited all operational aspects from Studio Ghibli Business Headquarters. Toshio Suzuki is appointed President, Hayao Miyazaki and Steve Alpert are appointed as directors.

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 reasoned that Takahata and Goro Miyazaki were developing several projects that he wished to oversee. 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.

In April 2009, a new studio called "West Ghibli" was established in the Toyota Motor Corporation office. However, a year later, the studio was closed.

On August 2014, With the release of "The Wind Rises" and Miyazaki announcing his retirement once again, Suzuki suspended the animation production department. All production department employees were forcibly retired by the end of the year.

However, May 19, 2017 saw the revival of the production department following Miyazaki then-unannounced film project. On November 28, 2017, Kiyofumi Nakajima (former director of the Ghibli Museum) is appointed as President and Representative Director of the company. The former president, Hoshino, became chairman of the board. In addition, he announced that he is currently producing two new feature-length anime movies - the first is Hayao Miyazaki's "How Do You Live?" and Goro Miyazaki's "Earwig and the Witch", a CG feature-length film. Toshio Suzuki revealed that "How Do You Live?" is a fantasy work, unlike the novel of the same name.

Netflix deal
Netflix has struck a deal with Wild Bunch International to stream 21 films from iconic Japanese animation house, Studio Ghibli, globally outside the US, Canada and Japan. Available from February 1, the films will be subtitled in 28 languages and dubbed in up to 20 languages.

Toshio Suzuki said, “In this day and age, there are various great ways a film can reach audiences. We’ve listened to our fans and have made the definitive decision to stream our film catalogue. We hope people around the world will discover the world of Studio Ghibli through this experience”.

Wild Bunch International CEO, Vincent Maraval, said, “In finding the best digital partner for Studio Ghibli, our most valuable and faithful collaborators for 20 years, the Netflix team convinced us with their consistent love and energy for finding the best ways to promote the incredible and unique catalogue worldwide with respect to the Studio Ghibli philosophy”.

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.