Studio Ghibli

What is Studio Ghibli?

Studio Ghibli is a Japanese film studio, which specializes in animated film headquartered in Koganei, Tokyo. Ghibli was given its name by Hayao Miyazaki from the Italian word ghibli, meaning a hot desert wind. His goal was to “blow a new wind through the anime industry,” and he did just that. The western world tends to see cartoons as for children, with themes that never seem to mature into stories that adults can relate to.

The popularity of Studio Ghibli has led to the opening of its very own museum in Mitaka, Tokyo.

When did it start?

On June 15, 1985. Their films have regularly taken the title of Japan's highest-grossing films, and one of its most famous films, Spirited Away, also won an Oscar for the 2003 Best Animated Picture and is remembered as the only non-English film to do so. The film studio has also collaborated with Disney and Pixar to produce dubbed English versions of their films.

What makes it so special?

One of Studio Ghibli's most recognized qualities is its visual style. Given the fact that the studio has been making films for more than 30 years, the visual style has remained the same, giving both it's younger and older audiences a sense of nostalgia; this is something that even Disney can't refute. Studio Ghibli also prides itself on making all of its films by hand. Although it is time-consuming and difficult to fund, the results are phenomenal and never disappoint their fans.

Moreover, Studio Ghibli films often feature strong female protagonists, a concept that doesn’t even happen with the Disney princesses until 1992 when Aladdin was released. This can be attributed to the fact that Hayao Miyazaki, mentioned above, considered himself a strong feminist and believed that the film industry needed more strong female leads.

The music is just another cherry on top. Composer Joe Hisaishi, who has provided many of the soundtracks for Ghibli’s movies, stands behind you as you watch and sends you on a rollercoaster of emotions with his magical baton. Music creates the ambiance and moves the feelings, and Joe Hisaishi perfectly accomplishes this.

How many SG films are there?

They have a total of 22 movies.

Trivia:

Three of their works are included in the highest-grossing anime films. They are Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, and Ponyo.

So if you're going to watch or have a marathon for this, I suggest you watch first the Spirited Away. It's a fantasy story that will leave you engrossed.

Here's the checklist if you want to have a marathon of it ^^

Thank you for reading :)