Posted by Ben Huber on Aug 4, 2014 in
Anime 
No, Ghibli is not dead. However, it appears that When Marnie Was There could be the final film animated in-house at Studio Ghibli — at least for the immediate future — if a planned restructuring happens. Producer Toshio Suzuki spoke on the MBS program Jounetsu Tairiku and said that the production studio is considering shutting down, as no new films are in the pipeline. Goro Miyazaki is directing a CGI TV series made by Polygon Pictures, Hayao Miyazaki has retired, Isao Takahata will probably not be making another film, and Hiromasa Yonebayashi’s Marnie didn’t do well in theaters. All of this means that (if true) Ghibli will essentially be taking a break, and the animators will be let go for now. If the studio comes up with another film to do, they may bring everyone back, or they could simply remain as a company shell solely for licensing merchandise and film rights. Time will tell! Read more…
Tags: Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, Studio Ghibli, Toshio Suzuki
Posted by Ben Huber on Jun 15, 2014 in
Animation,
Anime 
Good news, Studio Ghibli fans! The documentary about the famous Japanese animation studio, “The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness,” will be getting a theatrical release here in the US thanks to GKIDS. The doc, directed by Mami Sunada, follows the production of the most recent two Ghibli releases, The Wind Rises (from Hayao Miyazaki) and The Tale of Princess Kaguya (by Isao Takahata). Sunada was granted unprecedented access to the studio while they toiled, getting a surprisingly up-close look at their work. It’s unusual to see such unfettered access to a Japanese studio, much less Ghibli themselves. GKIDS did not specify a release date, but did say that it will come this year. This is one that any animation fan will not want to miss. Read more…
Tags: Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, Studio Ghibli
Posted by Ben Huber on Aug 17, 2013 in
Anime 
There’s a lot of Ghibli goodness in the pipeline. The Wind Rises, Hayao Miyazaki’s latest feature film, is already out in Japan and doing well, but we’re only just now getting a subtitled trailer for the film. Tiff has uploaded the trailer we shared before, but now with subtitles. Also, Isao Takahata’s upcoming movie, Kaguya-hime no Monogatari, has gotten some new images on Japanese TV. It looks absolutely gorgeous, and I love the style that they’ve adapted here — it really contributes to the storybook feel of everything. Check out the videos for both after the break. Read more…
Tags: Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, Studio Ghibli
Posted by Ben Huber on Dec 15, 2012 in
Anime 
Been wondering what the Ghibli folks are up to? We had heard inklings from the domain names register earlier and Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata’s comments over the past few years, but now we have official word on the next two Ghibli films. The first will be Miyazaki’s Kaze Tachinu, based on the life of Jiro Horikoshi, the designer of the Mitsubishi A6M fighter plane. Miyazaki has already done a 2-part manga series on the man, so presumably he’ll be drawing upon that and the book Kaze Tachinu by Tatsuo Hori. Isao Takahata is returning to the director’s chair as well, with Kaguya-hime no Monogatari, based on the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. Both films will be released on the same day this summer in Japan, something that hasn’t happened since Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies in 1988. Wow! Read more…
Tags: Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, Studio Ghibli
