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 The logo for Studio Ghibli | |
 Headquarters in Koganei, Tokyo | |
Native name | 株式会社スタジオジブリ |
|---|---|
Romanized name | Kabushiki-gaisha Sutajio Jiburi |
| Company type | Subsidiary (Kabushiki-gaisha) |
| Industry | Motion pictures Video games TV commercials |
| Genre | Anime |
| Predecessor | Topcraft |
| Founded | June 15, 1985 in Tokyo, Japan |
| Founders |
|
| Headquarters | Kajino-chō, , Japan |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Toshio Suzuki (chairman) Gorō Miyazaki (managing director) Kiyofumi Nakajima (director) Hayao Miyazaki (director) |
| Products | Animated feature films, animated short films, television films, commercials, live-action films |
 ¥3.43 billion (2023)[1] | |
| Total assets | ¥31.179 billion (2023)[1] |
Number of employees | 190[2] (2023) |
| Parent | Tokuma Shoten (1985–2005) Nippon Television (2023–present, 42.3%) |
| Subsidiaries | Studio Kajino |
| Website | www |
Studio Ghibli, Inc. (Japanese: 株式会社スタジオジブリ, Hepburn: Kabushiki-gaisha Sutajio Jiburi)[3] is a Japanese animation studio based in Koganei, Tokyo.[4] It has a strong presence in the animation industry and has expanded its portfolio to include various media formats, such as short subjects, television commercials, and two television films. Their work has been well-received by audiences and recognized with numerous awards. Their mascot and most recognizable symbol, the character Totoro from the 1988 film My Neighbor Totoro, is a giant spirit inspired by raccoon dogs (tanuki) and cats (neko).[5] Among the studio's highest-grossing films are Princess Mononoke (1997), Spirited Away (2001), Howl's Moving Castle (2004), Ponyo (2008), and The Boy and the Heron (2023).[6] Studio Ghibli was founded on June 15, 1985, by the directors Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata and producer Toshio Suzuki, after acquiring Topcraft's assets.
Five of the studio's films are among the ten highest-grossing anime feature films made in Japan. Spirited Away is second, grossing 31.68 billion yen in Japan and over US$380 million worldwide, and Princess Mononoke is fourth, grossing 20.18 billion yen. Three of their films have won the Animage Grand Prix award, four have won the Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year, and five have received Academy Award nominations. Spirited Away won the 2002 Golden Bear and the 2003 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.[7] The Boy and the Heron won the 2024 Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film,[8] BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film,[9] and the 2024 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.[10]
Name[edit]
The name "Ghibli" was chosen by Miyazaki from the Italian noun ghibli (also used in English), the nickname of Italy's Saharan scouting plane Caproni Ca.309, in turn derived from the Italianization of the Libyan Arabic name for a hot desert wind (قبلي qibliyy). The name was chosen by Miyazaki due to his passion for aircraft and also for the idea that the studio would "blow a new wind through the anime industry".[11][12] Although the Italian word would be more accurately transliterated as "Giburi" (ギブリ), with a hard g sound, the studio's name is written in Japanese as Jiburi (ジブリ, [dʑiꜜbɯɾi] ).[11]
History[edit]
Tokuma Shoten era[edit]
Founded on June 15, 1985, Studio Ghibli was headed by directors Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata and producer Toshio Suzuki. Miyazaki and Takahata had already had long careers in Japanese film and television animation and had worked together on The Great Adventure of Horus, Prince of the Sun in 1968 and the Panda! Go, Panda! films in 1972 and 1973. Suzuki had been an editor at Tokuma Shoten's Animage manga magazine.[13]
The studio was founded after the success of the 1984 film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Suzuki was part of the film's production team, and founded Studio Ghibli with Miyazaki, who also invited Takahata to join them.[14][15][16]
The studio has mainly produced films by Miyazaki, with the second most prolific director being Takahata (most notably with Grave of the Fireflies). Other directors who have worked with Studio Ghibli include Yoshifumi Kondō, Hiroyuki Morita, Gorō Miyazaki, and Hiromasa Yonebayashi. Composer Joe Hisaishi has provided the soundtracks for most of Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli films. In their book Anime Classics Zettai!, Brian Camp and Julie Davis made note of Michiyo Yasuda as "a mainstay of Studio Ghibli's extraordinary design and production team".[17] At one time the studio was based in Kichijōji, Musashino, Tokyo.[18]
In August 1996, The Walt Disney Company and Tokuma Shoten formed a partnership wherein Walt Disney Studios would be the sole international distributor for Tokuma Shoten's Studio Ghibli animated films.[19] Under this agreement, Disney also agreed to finance 10% of the studio's production costs.[20] Since then, all three of the aforementioned films by Miyazaki at Studio Ghibli that were previously dubbed by Streamline Pictures have been re-dubbed by Disney.[21] On June 1, 1997, Tokuma Shoten Publishing consolidated its media operations by merging Studio Ghibli, Tokuma Shoten Intermedia software and Tokuma International under one location.[22]
Over the years, there has been a close relationship between Studio Ghibli and the magazine Animage, which regularly runs exclusive articles on the studio and its members in a section titled "Ghibli Notes". Artwork from Ghibli's films and other works are frequently featured on the cover of the magazine. Saeko Himuro's novel Umi ga Kikoeru was serialised in the magazine and subsequently adapted into Ocean Waves, Studio Ghibli's first animated feature-length film created for television. It was directed by Tomomi Mochizuki.[23]
In October 2001, the Ghibli Museum opened in Mitaka, Tokyo.[24] It contains exhibits based on Studio Ghibli films and shows animations, including a number of short Studio Ghibli films not available elsewhere.
The studio is also known for its strict "no-edits" policy in licensing their films abroad due to Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind being heavily edited for the film's release in the United States as Warriors of the Wind.
Independent era[edit]
Between 1999 and 2005, Studio Ghibli was a subsidiary brand of Tokuma Shoten; however, that partnership ended in April 2005, when Studio Ghibli was spun off from Tokuma Shoten and was re-established as an independent company with relocated headquarters.
On February 1, 2008, Toshio Suzuki stepped down from the position of Studio Ghibli president, which he had 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. Suzuki decided to hand over the presidency to Hoshino because Hoshino has helped Studio Ghibli to sell its videos since 1996 and has also aided the release of the Princess Mononoke film in the United States.[25] Suzuki still serves on the company's board of directors.
Takahata developed a project for release after Gorō Miyazaki's (director of Tales from Earthsea and Hayao's son) The Tale of the Princess Kaguya – an adaptation of The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. The last film Hayao Miyazaki directed before retiring from feature films was The Wind Rises which is about the Mitsubishi A6M Zero and its creator.[26]
On Sunday, September 1, 2013, Hayao Miyazaki held a press conference in Venice to confirm his retirement, saying: "I know I've said I would retire many times in the past. Many of you must think, 'Once again.' But this time I am quite serious."[27]
In 2013, a documentary directed by Mami Sunada called The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness (Japanese: 夢と狂気の王国, Hepburn: Yume to kyōki no ōkoku) was created delving into the lives of those working at Studio Ghibli and the productions of the animated films The Wind Rises and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, including storyboard sketching, inking, painting, and voice actor selection for the films.[28]
On January 31, 2014, it was announced that Gorō Miyazaki will direct his first anime television series, Sanzoku no Musume Rōnya, an adaptation of Astrid Lindgren's Ronia the Robber's Daughter for NHK. The series is computer-animated, produced by Polygon Pictures, and co-produced by Studio Ghibli.[29][30]
In March 2014, Toshio Suzuki retired as producer and assumed the new position of general manager. Yoshiaki Nishimura replaced Suzuki in the producer role.[31]
On August 3, 2014, Toshio Suzuki announced that Studio Ghibli would take a "brief pause" to re-evaluate and restructure in the wake of Miyazaki's retirement. He stated some concerns about where the company would go in the future.[32][33][34][35] This led to speculation that Studio Ghibli will never produce another feature film again. On November 7, 2014, Miyazaki stated, "That was not my intention, though. All I did was announce that I would be retiring and not making any more features."[36] Lead producer Yoshiaki Nishimura among several other staffers from Ghibli, such as director Hiromasa Yonebayashi, left to found Studio Ponoc in April 2015, working on the film Mary and the Witch's Flower.
The 2016 animated fantasy film The Red Turtle, directed and co-written by Dutch-British animator Michaël Dudok de Wit in his feature film debut, was a co-production between Studio Ghibli and Wild Bunch.[37]
In February 2017, Toshio Suzuki announced that Hayao Miyazaki had come out of retirement to direct a new feature film with Studio Ghibli.[38]
On November 28, 2017, Koji Hoshino stepped down as president; he was replaced by Kiyofumi Nakajima (former Ghibli Museum director). Hoshino was then appointed as Chairman of Studio Ghibli.[39][40]
In May 2020, Toshio Suzuki confirmed that a new film from Gorō Miyazaki is in development at Studio Ghibli. On June 3, 2020, Studio Ghibli announced that the film would be an adaptation of the novel Earwig and the Witch by Diana Wynne Jones. The film was announced as the first full 3D CG animated Ghibli film and slated for a television premiere on NHK in late 2020.[41] The company had a net income of ¥1.253 billion, and a total asset worth ¥24.521 billion by August 2021.[42]
On November 1, 2022, the Studio Ghibli themed amusement park Ghibli Park opened.[43]
On April 4, 2023, Koji Hoshino announced that he had stepped down as chairman, and would serve as a representative director before planning to exit Studio Ghibli completely during the company's annual general shareholder's meeting in June, one month prior to the release of director Hayao Miyazaki's final movie The Boy and the Heron on July 14. He also announced that Toshio Suzuki would be replacing Kiyofumi Nakajima as president of Studio Ghibli, assuming the role for the first time since 2008, while Nakajima would continue to serve as a director.[44] This change of management came about amidst reports that Suzuki had allegedly been mismanaging company funds by directing them towards his girlfriend's failed business ventures. This reportedly created tension between Suzuki and Hoshino, with the latter reportedly citing it as a long-term internal problem at the company since the couple met in 2013 and was the reason for his planned departure from the company, although a spokesperson for Studio Ghibli in a statement to Variety denied that Hoshino's departure had anything to do with these reports.[45][46][47] The source of the allegations came from the tabloid paper, Shūkan Josei and was not corroborated by the mainstream media in Japan.[48]
Nippon Television era[edit]
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In October 2023, the studio became a subsidiary of Nippon Television Holdings, Inc.. Studio Ghibli's leadership transitioned to Hiroyuki Fukuda, a senior executive at NTV. Toshio Suzuki became Chairman and Hayao Miyazaki became Honorary Chairman. Nippon TV acquired a 42.3% stake in Studio Ghibli. The decision was driven by the advanced ages of Miyazaki and Suzuki, aged 82 and 75, respectively. The studio had considered Miyazaki's son, Goro Miyazaki, as a successor but opted for external leadership due to concerns and Goro's reluctance. NTV started to handle management, allowing Studio Ghibli to focus on creative endeavors.[49][50] The takeover took effect on October 6.[51]
In 2024, the studio received an honorary Palme d'Or at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, the first film production company to receive the award.[52][53]
Distribution rights[edit]
Theatrical and home media rights[edit]
Japan[edit]
In Japan, the company's films (along with The Castle of Cagliostro and all other Lupin the Third titles for movie theaters as well as Mary and the Witch's Flower) are distributed by Toho theatrically, except for Castle in the Sky, Kiki's Delivery Service (which were distributed by Toei Company along with Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, with Toei producing The Great Adventure of Horus, Prince of the Sun), and My Neighbors the Yamadas, which was distributed by Shochiku.
For home media, a majority of Studio Ghibli releases are distributed by Walt Disney Studios Japan. This also includes Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, The Castle of Cagliostro and Mary and the Witch's Flower.[54] Pony Canyon occasionally releases Ghibli documentaries on home media, and also distributes rental versions of Ghibli's movies under a deal with Disney. Pony Canyon also fully distributed the standalone version of Earwig and the Witch on home media.
Before the Disney deal, Tokuma Shoten released Ghibli movies themselves through their "Animage Video" imprint, as well as all Laserdisc releases of the movies, as the Disney deal did not include that format.
International[edit]
After purchasing the global distribution rights from World Film Corporation,[55] Manson International and Showmen, Inc. produced a 95-minute English dub of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, titled Warriors of the Wind,[56] which was released theatrically in the United States by New World Pictures on June 14, 1985, followed by a VHS release in December 1985.[57][58] The voice actors and actresses were not credited, and the film was heavily edited to give it a faster pace.[59] The film received a PG rating just like Disney's later English dub.[60] By removing several of the longer dialogue scenes, some of the environmentalist themes were simplified as was the main subplot of the Ohmu, altered to remove Nausicaä's childhood connection to them.[61] Most of the characters' names were changed, including the titular character who became Princess Zandra. The North American poster and VHS cover featured a cadre of male characters who are not in the film, riding the resurrected God Warrior—including a still-living Warrior shown briefly in a flashback. Overall, approximately 22 minutes was cut for North American release.[60] Warriors of the Wind also prompted Miyazaki to allow translator Toren Smith of Studio Proteus to create an official, faithful translation of the Nausicaä manga for Viz Media.[62]
In the late 1980s, an English dub of Castle in the Sky was produced for international Japan Airlines flights at the request of Tokuma Shoten. The Castle dub was briefly screened in the United States by Streamline Pictures. Carl Macek, the head of Streamline, was disappointed with this dub, deeming it "adequate, but clumsy".[63] Following this, Tokuma allowed Streamline to dub their future acquisitions My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service. In April 1993, Troma Films, under their 50th St. Films banner, distributed the Totoro dub as a theatrical release, and the dub was later released onto VHS and eventually onto DVD by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. In the early 1990s, an English dub of Porco Rosso was produced by an unknown company, again for international Japan Airlines flights. The original dubs can be seen on the 1996 Ghibli ga Ippai Laserdisc set, and on the initial copies for the Japanese DVD releases of Totoro, Laputa and Porco.
In 1996, Walt Disney Studios acquired worldwide distribution rights to the Studio Ghibli library, with Disney redubbing all previously dubbed films.[19][64] In addition, Walt Disney Studios Japan agreed to contribute 10% of the funding for all future releases, starting with My Neighbors the Yamadas, in exchange for right of first refusal regarding international distribution.[20] Disney continues with this practice to this day, even extending it to the works of Studio Ponoc and to co-productions like The Red Turtle in Japan. It reportedly took four years for Disney and Studio Ghibli to reach a distribution deal. Originally, the Ghibli films were meant to headline a line of videos called Animation Celebration, highlighting critically acclaimed animated films from around the world. These plans never materialized in full, but the Animation Celebration logo can be seen on Disney's original VHS release of Kiki's Delivery Service. During Disney's tenure, the studio produced the English dubs and released 15 of Ghibli's films, plus Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, through the Walt Disney Pictures, Buena Vista Home Video, Miramax and Touchstone Pictures banners.[65]
Disney and Ghibli have also selectively chosen not to promote and record an English-dubbed version for films and works deemed less internationally marketable, including some of Takahata's more developmental and obscure pieces.[66] Although the Studio has a "No cuts" policy in terms of international versions and dubs, this does not apply to promotional posters, etc., for which the film makers collaborate with Disney to produce cultural appropriate international versions. The Studio has not shied away from slight rebranding on the international stage in order to convey slightly tweaked promotional imagery for different cultural norms. One example of these slight tweaks to international promotional materials can be seen between the Japanese and English versions of the movie poster for Spirited Away (2001). For American and other English-speaking audiences, the name of the film was changed from the Japanese version, which directly translates roughly to, "The Disappearance of Chihiro and Sen", to Spirited Away to suggest more mystical, otherworldly themes, since the direct Japanese translation could be taken to mean that Chihiro/Sen disappeared due to some more dangerous reason. On the American movie poster, more pictures of spirits from the film were added to the background to further pique the viewer's interest with more supernatural themes, creating an association between the pictures spirits and what most American people would think of as "ghosts". For the Japanese poster, there are fewer spirits as the Japanese Shinto religion normalizes the existence of spirits, so less emphasis is needed to convey the importance of non-human spirits. Also, Disney enlarged the "Studio Ghibli" and "Hayao Miyazaki" labels on the poster, helping to bring greater awareness to the studio through the success of Spirited Away.[67]
In 2011, GKIDS acquired the North American theatrical distribution rights of the aforementioned Ghibli films, with Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment retaining the home video rights.[68] Afterwar