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is a
Japanese animation is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening ...
studio headquartered in
Koganei, Tokyo is a city located in the western portion of Tokyo, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 123,698 in 61,832 households. The total area of the city is so the population density is about 11,000 persons per km². Geography Koganei appro ...
."Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment". ''Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment''. Retrieved 2020-12-14. It is best known for its animated feature films, and has also produced several short subjects, television commercials, and two television films. Its mascot and most recognizable symbol is a character named Totoro, a giant spirit inspired by
raccoon dogs The common raccoon dog (''Nyctereutes procyonoides''), also called the Chinese or Asian raccoon dog, is a small, heavy-set, fox-like canid native to East Asia. Named for its raccoon-like face markings, it is most closely related to foxes. Common ...
(''tanuki'') and cats from the 1988 anime film ''
My Neighbor Totoro is a 1988 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten. The film—which stars the voice actors Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, and Hitoshi Takagi—tells the story o ...
''. Among the studio's highest-grossing films are ''
Spirited Away is a 2001 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Nippon Television Network, Dentsu, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Tohokushinsha Film, and Mitsubishi and distrib ...
'' (2001), ''
Howl's Moving Castle ''Howl's Moving Castle'' is a fantasy novel by British author Diana Wynne Jones, first published in 1986 by Greenwillow Books of New York. It was a runner-up for the annual Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, and won the Phoenix Award twenty years ...
'' (2004) and ''
Ponyo is a 2008 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, animated by Studio Ghibli for the Nippon Television Network, Dentsu, Hakuhodo DY Media Partners, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Mitsubishi, and distributed by ...
'' (2008). The studio was founded on June 15, 1985, by directors
Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, director, producer, screenwriter, author, and manga artist. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Japanese animated feature films, and is widel ...
and
Isao Takahata was a Japanese director, screenwriter and producer. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he earned international critical acclaim for his work as a director of Japanese animated feature films. Born in Ujiyamada, Mie Prefecture, Takahata joined Toe ...
and producer Toshio Suzuki, after the successful performance of
Topcraft Topcraft (トップクラフト ''Toppukurafuto'', also written as "Top Craft") was an animation studio established on February 1, 1972 by former Toei Animation producer Toru Hara, and located in Tokyo, Japan. It was famous for the production of ...
's ''
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind may refer to * Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (manga), ''Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'' (manga), a manga series by Hayao Miyazaki * Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (film), ''Nausicaä of the Valle ...
'' (1984). It has also collaborated with video game studios on the visual development of several games. 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 a 1997 Japanese animated epic historical fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Nippon Television Network and Dentsu. The film stars the voices of Yōji Matsuda, Yuriko Ishida ...
'' is fourth, grossing 20.18 billion yen. Many of their works have won the Animage Grand Prix award. Four have won the
Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. Five of their films have received
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
nominations. ''Spirited Away'' won the 2002
Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The winn ...
and the 2003 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. On August 3, 2014, Studio Ghibli temporarily suspended production following Miyazaki's retirement. In February 2017, Suzuki announced that Miyazaki had come out of retirement to direct a new feature film, '' How Do You Live?'' (2023), which he intended to be his last film.


Name

The name "Ghibli" was chosen by Miyazaki from the
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
noun (also used in English), based on the
Libyan Arabic Libyan Arabic ( ar, ليبي, Lībī) is a variety of Arabic spoken mainly in Libya, and neighboring countries. It can be divided into two major dialect areas; the eastern centred in Benghazi and Bayda, and the western centred in Tripoli and M ...
name for hot desert wind (, ), the idea being the studio would "blow a new wind through the anime industry".''The Birth of Studio Ghibli'', ''Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'' DVD, Walt Disney Home Entertainment, 2005. It also refers to an Italian aircraft, the Caproni Ca.309. Although the Italian word would be more accurately transliterated as "Giburi" (), with a
hard g In the Latin-based orthographies of many European languages, the letter is used in different contexts to represent two distinct phonemes that in English are called hard and soft . The sound of a hard (which often precedes the non-front vowel ...
sound, the studio is romanised in Japanese as ''Jiburi'' (, ).


History


Tokuma Shoten era

Founded on June 15, 1985, Studio Ghibli was headed by directors Hayao Miyazaki and
Isao Takahata was a Japanese director, screenwriter and producer. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he earned international critical acclaim for his work as a director of Japanese animated feature films. Born in Ujiyamada, Mie Prefecture, Takahata joined Toe ...
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! is a children's Japanese animated film, first released in 1972. It was created by the team of Isao Takahata (director), Hayao Miyazaki (writer, layout, scene design), Yoichi Kotabe (animation director) and Yasuo Otsuka (animation director, ...
'' films in 1972 and 1973. In 1978, Suzuki became an editor at
Tokuma Shoten is a publisher in Japan, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. The company was established in 1954 by Yasuyoshi Tokuma in Minato, Tokyo. The company’s product portfolio includes music publishing, video game publishing, movies, anime, magazines, ...
's '' Animage''
manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
magazine, where the first film he chose was ''Horus''. A year after his phone call with Takahata and his first encounter with Miyazaki, both about ''Horus'', he made a phone call about the first film Miyazaki ever directed: ''
The Castle of Cagliostro is a 1979 Japanese animated action-adventure comedy film co-written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, with animation produced by Tokyo Movie Shinsha (TMS). It is the second feature film featuring Monkey Punch's master thief Arsène Lupin III, ...
''. The studio was founded after the success of the 1984 film ''
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind may refer to * Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (manga), ''Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'' (manga), a manga series by Hayao Miyazaki * Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (film), ''Nausicaä of the Valle ...
''. Suzuki was part of the film's production team, and founded Studio Ghibli with Miyazaki, who also invited Takahata to join them. The studio has mainly produced films by Miyazaki, with the second most prolific director being Takahata (most notably with ''
Grave of the Fireflies is a 1988 Japanese animated war tragedy film based on a 1967 short story by Akiyuki Nosaka. It was written and directed by Isao Takahata, and animated by Studio Ghibli for Shinchosha Publishing. The film stars , , and . Set in the city ...
''). Other directors who have worked with Studio Ghibli include
Yoshifumi Kondō was a Japanese animator who worked for Studio Ghibli in his last years. He was born in Gosen, Niigata Prefecture, Japan. He worked as an animation director on ''Anne of Green Gables'', '' Sherlock Hound'', ''Kiki's Delivery Service'', '' Only Yes ...
,
Hiroyuki Morita is a Japanese animator and director. He is best known for working as director on the Studio Ghibli film ''The Cat Returns''. History Morita was born in Fukuoka Prefecture and graduated from Fukuoka Kenritsu Chikushikoto School. During his high ...
,
Gorō Miyazaki is a Japanese director. He is the son of animator and film director Hayao Miyazaki, who is one of the co-founders of Studio Ghibli. Described as "reluctant" to follow his father's career, Goro initially worked as a landscaper for many years befo ...
, and
Hiromasa Yonebayashi , nicknamed , is a Japanese animator and director, formerly for Studio Ghibli. After his directorial debut with Studio Ghibli ('' The Secret World of Arrietty''), he became the youngest director of a theatrical film produced by the studio. He was n ...
. Composer
Joe Hisaishi , known professionally as , is a Japanese composer, musical director, conductor and pianist, known for over 100 film scores and solo albums dating back to 1981. He is also known for his piano scores. Hisaishi's music has been known to explore ...
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". At one time the studio was based in Kichijōji, Musashino, Tokyo."The Animerica Interview: Takahata and Nosaka: Two Grave Voices in Animation." ''
Animerica ''Animerica'' was a monthly magazine published by Viz Media VIZ Media LLC is an American manga publisher, anime distributor and entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ ...
''. Volume 2, No. 11. Page 11. Translated by ''Animerica'' from: Takahata, Isao. ''Eiga o Tsukurinagara, Kangaeta Koto'' ("Things I Thought While Making Movies") ''
Tokuma Shoten is a publisher in Japan, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. The company was established in 1954 by Yasuyoshi Tokuma in Minato, Tokyo. The company’s product portfolio includes music publishing, video game publishing, movies, anime, magazines, ...
'', 1991. Originally published in '' Animage'', June 1987. This is a translation of a 1987 conversation between Takahata and
Akiyuki Nosaka was a Japanese novelist, singer, lyricist, and member of the House of Councillors. As a broadcasting writer he used the name and his alias as a chanson singer was . Early life Nosaka was born in Kamakura, Kanagawa, the son of Sukeyuki Nosak ...
. "Kichijoji is the Tokyo area where "Studio Ghibli," frequent Takahata collaborator Hayao Miyazaki's studio, is located.
In August 1996,
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
and Tokuma Shoten formed a partnership wherein Walt Disney Studios would be the sole international distributor for Tokuma Shoten's Studio Ghibli animated films. Under this agreement, Disney also agreed to finance 10% of the studio's production costs. 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. 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. 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 Saeko is a feminine Japanese given name. Possible writings *サエコ in katakana *さえこ in hiragana is a Japanese syllabary, part of the Japanese writing system, along with ''katakana'' as well as ''kanji''. It is a phonetic letterin ...
's novel ''Umi ga Kikoeru'' was serialised in the magazine and subsequently adapted into ''
Ocean Waves In fluid dynamics, a wind wave, water wave, or wind-generated water wave, is a surface wave that occurs on the free surface of bodies of water as a result from the wind blowing over the water surface. The contact distance in the direction o ...
'', Studio Ghibli's first animated feature-length film created for television. It was directed by
Tomomi Mochizuki , sometimes incorrectly romanized as Tomomichi Mochizuki, is a Japanese storyboard artist, screenwriter, and director, known for having collaborated with leading animation studios such as Studio Ghibli, Nippon Animation, Pierrot, and Sunrise. He so ...
. In October 2001, the
Ghibli Museum The is a museum showcasing the work of the Japanese animation studio Studio Ghibli. It is located in Inokashira Park in Mitaka, a western city of Tokyo, Japan. The museum combines features of a children's museum, technology museum, and a fine a ...
opened in
Mitaka, Tokyo 260px, Inokashira Park in Mitaka is a city in the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 190,403, and a population density of 12,000 persons per km². The total area of the city was . Geography Mi ...
. 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''. The "no cuts" policy was highlighted when
Miramax Miramax, LLC, also known as Miramax Films, is an American film and television production and distribution company founded on December 19, 1979, by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein, and based in Los Angeles, California. It was initially a leadi ...
co-chairman
Harvey Weinstein Harvey Weinstein (; born March 19, 1952) is an American former film producer and convicted sex offender. He and his brother, Bob Weinstein, co-founded the entertainment company Miramax, which produced several successful independent films includ ...
suggested editing ''
Princess Mononoke is a 1997 Japanese animated epic historical fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Nippon Television Network and Dentsu. The film stars the voices of Yōji Matsuda, Yuriko Ishida ...
'' to make it more marketable. A Studio Ghibli producer is rumoured to have sent an authentic Japanese sword with a simple message: "No cut.".


Independent era

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. Suzuki still serves on the company's board of directors. Two Studio Ghibli short films created for the
Ghibli Museum The is a museum showcasing the work of the Japanese animation studio Studio Ghibli. It is located in Inokashira Park in Mitaka, a western city of Tokyo, Japan. The museum combines features of a children's museum, technology museum, and a fine a ...
were shown at the Carnegie Hall Citywise Japan NYC Festival: "House Hunting" and "Mon Mon the Water Spider" were screened on March 26, 2011. Takahata developed a project for release after Gorō Miyazaki's (director of ''
Tales from Earthsea ''Tales from Earthsea'' is a collection of fantasy stories and essays by American author Ursula K. Le Guin, published by Harcourt in 2001. It accompanies five novels (1968 to 2001) set in the fictional archipelago Earthsea. . Retrieved 2012-02 ...
'' and Hayao's son) ''
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya The Tale of the Princess Kaguya may refer to: *'' The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter'', a 9th or 10th century Japanese story * ''The Tale of the Princess Kaguya'' (film), a 2013 film based on the story {{DEFAULTSORT:Tale of the Princess Kaguya, Th ...
'' – an adaptation of ''
The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter is a (fictional prose narrative) containing elements of Japanese folklore. Written by an unknown author in the late 9th or early 10th century during the Heian period, it is considered the oldest surviving work in the form. The story detail ...
''. The last film Hayao Miyazaki directed before retiring from feature films was ''
The Wind Rises is a 2013 Japanese animated historical drama film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, animated by Studio Ghibli for the Nippon Television Network, Dentsu, Hakuhodo DY Media Partners, Walt Disney Japan, Mitsubishi, Toho and KDDI. It was rele ...
'' which is about the
Mitsubishi A6M Zero The Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" is a long-range carrier-based fighter aircraft formerly manufactured by Mitsubishi Aircraft Company, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and was operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy from 1940 to 1945. The A6M w ...
and its creator. 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." In 2013, a documentary directed by Mami Sunada called 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. On January 31, 2014, it was announced that Gorō Miyazaki will direct his first anime television series, ''
Sanzoku no Musume Rōnya is a Japanese Cel shading, cel-shaded computer animation, computer-animated television series, based on the novel ''Ronia, the Robber's Daughter'' (''Ronja Rövardotter)'' written by Astrid Lindgren. Produced by Polygon Pictures, Studio Ghib ...
'', an adaptation of
Astrid Lindgren Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren (; ; 14 November 1907 – 28 January 2002) was a Swedish writer of fiction and screenplays. She is best known for several children's book series, featuring Pippi Longstocking, Emil of Lönneberga, Karlsson-on- ...
's ''
Ronia the Robber's Daughter ''Ronia, the Robber's Daughter'' ( Swedish: ''Ronja rövardotter'') is a children's fantasy book by the Swedish author Astrid Lindgren, first published in 1981. The book has been adapted as a prize-winning 1984 film, a Danish and a German musi ...
'' for
NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...
. The series is computer-animated, produced by
Polygon Pictures is a Japanese 3DCG animation studio. Polygon has animated a wide variety of content, from commercials for Shiseido featuring the studio's original penguin characters , to the 3D CG anime television series ''Digital Tokoro-san'' and the 3DCG ani ...
, and co-produced by Studio Ghibli. In March 2014, Toshio Suzuki retired as producer and assumed the new position of general manager. Yoshiaki Nishimura replaced Suzuki in the producer role. 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. 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." Lead producer Yoshiaki Nishimura among several other staffers from Ghibli, such as director
Hiromasa Yonebayashi , nicknamed , is a Japanese animator and director, formerly for Studio Ghibli. After his directorial debut with Studio Ghibli ('' The Secret World of Arrietty''), he became the youngest director of a theatrical film produced by the studio. He was n ...
, left to found
Studio Ponoc is a Japanese animation studio based in Musashino, Tokyo, Japan. The company was founded in April 2015 by Yoshiaki Nishimura, former lead film producer of Studio Ghibli. Its first feature film, ''Mary and The Witch's Flower'', was released on Ju ...
in April 2015, working on the film ''
Mary and the Witch's Flower is a 2017 Japanese animated fantasy film co-written and directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, produced by Studio Ponoc founder Yoshiaki Nishimura, animated by Studio Ponoc, and distributed by Toho in Japan. Based on the 1971 book ''The Little Bro ...
''. The 2016
animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...
fantasy film Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered a form of speculative fiction alongside science fiction f ...
''
The Red Turtle ''The Red Turtle'' (french: La Tortue Rouge; ja, レッドタートル ある島の物語, Reddo Tātoru: Aru Shima no Monogatari) is a 2016 animated fantasy drama film co-written and directed by Dutch animator Michaël Dudok de Wit and produce ...
'', directed and co-written by Dutch-British animator
Michaël Dudok de Wit Michaël Dudok de Wit (; born 15 July 1953) is a Dutch animator, director and illustrator based in London. He won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for '' Father and Daughter'' (2000) and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best ...
in his feature film debut, was a co-production between Studio Ghibli and
Wild Bunch The Wild Bunch, also known as the Doolin–Dalton Gang, or the Oklahombres, were a gang of American outlaws based in the Indian Territory in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They were active in Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma Terr ...
. In February 2017, Toshio Suzuki announced that Hayao Miyazaki had come out of retirement to direct a new feature film with Studio Ghibli. 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. 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 is a 2020 Japanese computer-animated fantasy film directed by Gorō Miyazaki and with a screenplay by Keiko Niwa and Emi Gunji. It is based on the novel of the same name by Diana Wynne Jones. The original voice cast includes Shinobu Terajima, ...
'' by
Diana Wynne Jones Diana Wynne Jones (16 August 1934 – 26 March 2011) was a British novelist, poet, academic, literary critic, and short story writer. She principally wrote fantasy and speculative fiction novels for children and young adults. Although usually d ...
. The film was announced as the first full 3D CG animated Ghibli film and slated for a television premiere on
NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...
in late 2020.


Distribution rights


Theatrical and home media rights


Japan

In Japan, the company's films (along with ''
The Castle of Cagliostro is a 1979 Japanese animated action-adventure comedy film co-written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, with animation produced by Tokyo Movie Shinsha (TMS). It is the second feature film featuring Monkey Punch's master thief Arsène Lupin III, ...
'' and all other ''
Lupin the Third , also written as ''Lupin the Third'', ''Lupin the 3rd'', or ''Lupin the IIIrd'', is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Monkey Punch. It follows the endeavors of master thief Arsène Lupin III, the grandson of Arsèn ...
'' titles for movie theaters as well as ''
Mary and the Witch's Flower is a 2017 Japanese animated fantasy film co-written and directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, produced by Studio Ponoc founder Yoshiaki Nishimura, animated by Studio Ponoc, and distributed by Toho in Japan. Based on the 1971 book ''The Little Bro ...
'') are distributed by
Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer ...
theatrically, except for '' Castle in the Sky'', ''
Kiki's Delivery Service is a 1989 Japanese Anime, animated fantasy film written, produced, and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, adapted from the Kiki's Delivery Service (novel), 1985 novel by Eiko Kadono. It was animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Yamato Transpor ...
'' (which were distributed by
Toei Company () (also styled TOEI) is a Japanese film, television production, and distribution and video game developer and publishing company. Based in Tokyo, Toei owns and operates thirty-four movie theaters across Japan (all but two of them operated by i ...
along with ''
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind may refer to * Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (manga), ''Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'' (manga), a manga series by Hayao Miyazaki * Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (film), ''Nausicaä of the Valle ...
'', with Toei producing '' The Great Adventure of Horus, Prince of the Sun''), and ''
My Neighbors the Yamadas is a 1999 Japanese animated comedy film written and directed by Isao Takahata, animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Nippon Television Network, Hakuhodo and Buena Vista Home Entertainment, and distributed by Shochiku. ...
'', which was distributed by
Shochiku () is a Japanese film and kabuki production and distribution company. It also produces and distributes anime films, in particular those produced by Bandai Namco Filmworks (which has a long-time partnership—the company released most, if not ...
. 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 Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind may refer to * Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (manga), ''Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'' (manga), a manga series by Hayao Miyazaki * Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (film), ''Nausicaä of the Valle ...
'', ''
The Castle of Cagliostro is a 1979 Japanese animated action-adventure comedy film co-written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, with animation produced by Tokyo Movie Shinsha (TMS). It is the second feature film featuring Monkey Punch's master thief Arsène Lupin III, ...
'' and ''
Mary and the Witch's Flower is a 2017 Japanese animated fantasy film co-written and directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, produced by Studio Ponoc founder Yoshiaki Nishimura, animated by Studio Ponoc, and distributed by Toho in Japan. Based on the 1971 book ''The Little Bro ...
''.
Pony Canyon , also known by the shorthand form , is a Japanese mass media publishing company founded on October 1, 1966. The company publishes mainly physical home media on compact discs, including music, films and TV shows and video games. It is affiliate ...
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 is a 2020 Japanese computer-animated fantasy film directed by Gorō Miyazaki and with a screenplay by Keiko Niwa and Emi Gunji. It is based on the novel of the same name by Diana Wynne Jones. The original voice cast includes Shinobu Terajima, ...
'' on home media. Before the Disney deal, Tokuma Shoten released Ghibli movies themselves through their "Animage Video" imprint, as well as all
Laserdisc The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...
releases of the movies, as the Disney deal did not include that format.


North America

Manson International and Showmen, Inc. produced a 95-minute English dub of ''
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind may refer to * Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (manga), ''Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'' (manga), a manga series by Hayao Miyazaki * Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (film), ''Nausicaä of the Valle ...
'', titled ''Warriors of the Wind'', which was released theatrically in the United States by
New World Pictures New World Pictures (also known as New World Entertainment and New World Communications Group, Inc.) was an American independent production, distribution, and (in its final years as an autonomous entity) multimedia company. It was founded in 197 ...
on June 13, 1985, followed by a VHS release in December 1985. In the late 1980s,
Vestron Video Vestron Video was the main subsidiary of Vestron, Inc., a home video company based in Stamford, Connecticut, that was active from 1981 to 1993, and is considered to have been a pioneer in the home video market. The name is now used for a collect ...
would re-release the film and First Independent Video would re-release it again in 1993, with another minute cut from the film. The voice actors and actresses were not credited and were not even informed of the film's plot line, and the film was heavily edited to market it as a children's action-adventure film, although the film received a PG rating just like Disney's later English dub. Due to the heavy editing of the film in an attempt to appeal to American audiences, much of ''Nausicaä'' was cut out, including much of the environmentalist themes, which were diluted. The main subplot of the Ohmu was similarly altered to arguably portray them as aggressive. Most of the characters' names were changed, including the titular character who became Princess Zandra. The United States 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. ''Warriors of the Wind'' also prompted Miyazaki to allow translator
Toren Smith Toren V. Smith (April 12, 1960 – March 4, 2013) was a Canadian manga translator and founder of Studio Proteus. Early life Smith learned to read by the age of four, and by the age of 12 had won his first award for writing from the Calgary St ...
of Studio Proteus to create an official, faithful translation of the ''Nausicaä'' manga for
Viz Media VIZ Media LLC is an American manga publisher, anime distributor and entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ M ...
. In the late 1980s, an English dub of '' Castle in the Sky'' was produced by Magnum Video Tape and Dubbing for international
Japan Airlines , also known as JAL (''Jaru'') or , is an international airline and Japan's flag carrier and largest airline as of 2021 and 2022, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Haneda Airport, as w ...
flights at the request of Tokuma Shoten. The ''Castle'' dub was briefly screened in the United States by Streamline Pictures.
Carl Macek Carl Frank Macek (September 21, 1951 – April 17, 2010) was an American screenwriter, script editor, producer and voice actor on numerous English language adaptations of anime during the 1980s and 1990s. His work is considered by many to hav ...
, the head of Streamline, was disappointed with this dub, deeming it "adequate, but clumsy". Following this, Tokuma allowed Streamline to dub their future acquisitions ''
My Neighbor Totoro is a 1988 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten. The film—which stars the voice actors Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, and Hitoshi Takagi—tells the story o ...
'' and ''
Kiki's Delivery Service is a 1989 Japanese Anime, animated fantasy film written, produced, and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, adapted from the Kiki's Delivery Service (novel), 1985 novel by Eiko Kadono. It was animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Yamato Transpor ...
''. In April 1993,
Troma Films Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974. The company produces low-budget independent films, primarily of the horror comedy genre. Many of them pl ...
, 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 is a 1992 Japanese animated adventure-fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It is based on '' Hikōtei Jidai'' ("The Age of the Flying Boat"), a three-part 1989 watercolor manga by Miyazaki. It stars the voices of Shūichirō M ...
'' 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. In addition, Walt Disney Studios Japan agreed to contribute 10% of the funding for all future releases, starting with ''
My Neighbors the Yamadas is a 1999 Japanese animated comedy film written and directed by Isao Takahata, animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Nippon Television Network, Hakuhodo and Buena Vista Home Entertainment, and distributed by Shochiku. ...
'', in exchange for right of first refusal regarding international distribution. Disney continues with this practice to this day, even extending it to the works of
Studio Ponoc is a Japanese animation studio based in Musashino, Tokyo, Japan. The company was founded in April 2015 by Yoshiaki Nishimura, former lead film producer of Studio Ghibli. Its first feature film, ''Mary and The Witch's Flower'', was released on Ju ...
and to co-productions like ''
The Red Turtle ''The Red Turtle'' (french: La Tortue Rouge; ja, レッドタートル ある島の物語, Reddo Tātoru: Aru Shima no Monogatari) is a 2016 animated fantasy drama film co-written and directed by Dutch animator Michaël Dudok de Wit and produce ...
'' in Japan. It was said to have taken 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 is a 1989 Japanese Anime, animated fantasy film written, produced, and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, adapted from the Kiki's Delivery Service (novel), 1985 novel by Eiko Kadono. It was animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Yamato Transpor ...
''. 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 Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind may refer to * Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (manga), ''Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'' (manga), a manga series by Hayao Miyazaki * Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (film), ''Nausicaä of the Valle ...
'', through the
Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Pictures is an American film production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Studios uni ...
, Buena Vista Home Video,
Miramax Miramax, LLC, also known as Miramax Films, is an American film and television production and distribution company founded on December 19, 1979, by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein, and based in Los Angeles, California. It was initially a leadi ...
and Touchstone Pictures banners. 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. 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''. In 2011,
GKIDS GKIDS is an American film distributor based in New York with, according to the ''Los Angeles Times'', a focus on "sophisticated, indie" animation. GKIDS releases critically acclaimed, mostly hand-drawn, international films—such as the works o ...
acquired the North American theatrical distribution rights of the aforementioned Ghibli films, with
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc., doing business as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, is the home entertainment distribution arm of The Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films, television series, an ...
retaining the home video rights. Afterwards, in 2013, GKIDS acquired the US and Canadian distribution rights to '' From Up on Poppy Hill''. The film, which Disney passed on to GKIDS due to dealing with potential incest, marked the first time since 1996 that Disney handed a Studio Ghibli film off to another distributor. Afterwards, GKIDS would go on to distribute the films Disney found to be too mature or unmarketable for American audiences: '' Only Yesterday'', ''
Ocean Waves In fluid dynamics, a wind wave, water wave, or wind-generated water wave, is a surface wave that occurs on the free surface of bodies of water as a result from the wind blowing over the water surface. The contact distance in the direction o ...
'', ''
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya The Tale of the Princess Kaguya may refer to: *'' The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter'', a 9th or 10th century Japanese story * ''The Tale of the Princess Kaguya'' (film), a 2013 film based on the story {{DEFAULTSORT:Tale of the Princess Kaguya, Th ...
'' and ''
When Marnie Was There is a 2014 Japanese animated psychological drama film co-written and directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, produced by Studio Ghibli and distributed by Toho. It is based on Joan G. Robinson's 1967 novel of the same name. The film follows Anna Sas ...
''. Finally, in July 2017, Disney relinquished its home video rights (with the exception of ''
The Wind Rises is a 2013 Japanese animated historical drama film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, animated by Studio Ghibli for the Nippon Television Network, Dentsu, Hakuhodo DY Media Partners, Walt Disney Japan, Mitsubishi, Toho and KDDI. It was rele ...
'', which remained with Disney until 2020 due to a distribution clause) to GKIDS, which handles all theatrical and home media distribution of Ghibli films in North America along with ''
Mary and the Witch's Flower is a 2017 Japanese animated fantasy film co-written and directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, produced by Studio Ponoc founder Yoshiaki Nishimura, animated by Studio Ponoc, and distributed by Toho in Japan. Based on the 1971 book ''The Little Bro ...
''. Nevertheless, Disney still continues to handle select distribution in Japan (home media), Taiwan and China. GKIDS' home media releases have been handled by multiple distributors. Cinedigm distributed the home media release of ''Poppy Hill'',
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (formerly Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Video, MCA/Universal Home Video, MCA Home Video, MCA Videodisc and MCA Videocassette, Inc.) is the home video distribution division of Am ...
distributed the home media releases of ''Kaguya'', ''Marnie'', ''Mary'', ''Yesterday'' and ''Waves'', and Shout! Factory all subsequent releases thus far. The Ghibli films owned by GKIDS were made available for digital purchases on most major services in the United States and Canada on December 17, 2019, through Shout! Factory.


International

Outside Asia (including Japan) and North America since 2003,
Wild Bunch The Wild Bunch, also known as the Doolin–Dalton Gang, or the Oklahombres, were a gang of American outlaws based in the Indian Territory in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They were active in Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma Terr ...
has held international sales rights to Ghibli's film library and serves as a distributor itself in France and Belgium along with home media rights released under the Wild Side Vidéo label (distributed by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment France). The company also sells distribution rights to separate distributors across the world, including
StudioCanal UK StudioCanal Limited, operating as StudioCanal (formerly Optimum Releasing), is the official branch of StudioCanal in the British Isles. The company releases many films, including foreign, anime (mostly Studio Ghibli), independent, art, Britis ...
/Elysian Film Group (United Kingdom and Ireland), Leonine (Germany),
Lucky Red Lucky may refer to: *An adjective of luck Lucky may also refer to: Film and television * '' Lucky: No Time for Love'', a 2005 Hindi-language romance starring Salman Khan, Sneha Ullal, and Mithun Chakraborty * ''Lucky'', a 2005 short film by Av ...
(Italy), Vértigo Films (Spain) and
Madman Entertainment Madman Entertainment Pty. Ltd., also known as Madman Films, is an Australian distribution and rights management company headquartered in East Melbourne, Victoria, specialising in feature films, documentaries and television series across theatr ...
(Australia and New Zealand). Notably, ''
The Secret World of Arrietty ''Arrietty'', titled in Japan and ''The Secret World of Arrietty'' in North America, is a 2010 Japanese animated fantasy film directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi as his feature film debut as a director, animated by Studio Ghibli for the Nippon Te ...
'' received a second dub exclusive to the United Kingdom, produced by StudioCanal, likely due to the film's origins being from Mary Norton's British novel ''
The Borrowers ''The Borrowers'' is a children's fantasy novel by the English author Mary Norton, published by Dent in 1952. It features a family of tiny people who live secretly in the walls and floors of an English house and "borrow" from the big people in ...
''. Disney formerly held the international sales rights as well until Wild Bunch's purchase in 2003. Disney kept the French distribution rights to Ghibli's library until September 2020, when it had expired and transitioned off to Wild Bunch. Since 2021, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment serves as the home media distributor of Studio Ghibli's catalog via its distribution deal with Wild Bunch through the Wild Side Vidéo label.


Streaming rights

Prior to 2019, Studio Ghibli opted not to make its films available digitally, feeling that physical media and theatrical events like
GKIDS GKIDS is an American film distributor based in New York with, according to the ''Los Angeles Times'', a focus on "sophisticated, indie" animation. GKIDS releases critically acclaimed, mostly hand-drawn, international films—such as the works o ...
' Studio Ghibli Fest would work more towards their goal of mindful care and curation for their films. Disney had previously lobbied for a streaming deal with Ghibli during their distribution tenure, but such attempts were never materialized. The studio heads changed their minds after hearing a quote from American actor and director
Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...
about how there should be multiple outlets for feature films. On October 17, 2019,
WarnerMedia Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...
's
HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...
announced it had acquired exclusive streaming rights to Studio Ghibli's catalogue in the United States as part of a deal with
GKIDS GKIDS is an American film distributor based in New York with, according to the ''Los Angeles Times'', a focus on "sophisticated, indie" animation. GKIDS releases critically acclaimed, mostly hand-drawn, international films—such as the works o ...
; these films were available when the service launched in May 2020. On January 20, 2020, it was announced that
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
acquired the exclusive streaming rights to this catalogue in all regions where it operates except for the United States (in which Netflix does have streaming rights to ''
The Castle of Cagliostro is a 1979 Japanese animated action-adventure comedy film co-written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, with animation produced by Tokyo Movie Shinsha (TMS). It is the second feature film featuring Monkey Punch's master thief Arsène Lupin III, ...
'' and ''
Mary and the Witch's Flower is a 2017 Japanese animated fantasy film co-written and directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, produced by Studio Ponoc founder Yoshiaki Nishimura, animated by Studio Ponoc, and distributed by Toho in Japan. Based on the 1971 book ''The Little Bro ...
''), as part of a deal with Ghibli's international sales rights partner
Wild Bunch The Wild Bunch, also known as the Doolin–Dalton Gang, or the Oklahombres, were a gang of American outlaws based in the Indian Territory in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They were active in Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma Terr ...
. Seven of twenty-one films in the studio's catalogue were released on February 1, 2020, with the others following on March 1 and April 1. Netflix then struck a separate deal with GKIDS for streaming rights in Canada which was announced on June 22, and came into effect on June 25 for most films. Currently, no streaming rights deals have been announced for Studio Ghibli's home country of Japan, nor for markets such as China where neither Netflix nor HBO Max is available.


''Grave of the Fireflies''

Most of the above deals exclude ''
Grave of the Fireflies is a 1988 Japanese animated war tragedy film based on a 1967 short story by Akiyuki Nosaka. It was written and directed by Isao Takahata, and animated by Studio Ghibli for Shinchosha Publishing. The film stars , , and . Set in the city ...
''; unlike most of the other films, which were published by
Tokuma Shoten is a publisher in Japan, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. The company was established in 1954 by Yasuyoshi Tokuma in Minato, Tokyo. The company’s product portfolio includes music publishing, video game publishing, movies, anime, magazines, ...
, ''Grave of the Fireflies'' was produced and is owned by
Shinchosha is a publisher founded in 1896 in Japan and headquartered in Yaraichō, Shinjuku, Tokyo. Shinchosha is one of the sponsors of the Japan Fantasy Novel Award. Books * Haruki Murakami: '' Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World'' (19 ...
, which also had published the short story it was based on, and as such, fell into different rights holdings. ''Grave of the Fireflies'' was released in Japan on VHS by Buena Vista Home Entertainment under the ''Ghibli ga Ippai'' Collection on August 7, 1998. On July 29, 2005, a
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
release was distributed through
Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video ...
. Walt Disney Studios Japan released the complete collector's edition DVD on August 6, 2008. WDSJ released the film on
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
twice on July 18, 2012: one as a single release, and one in a two-film set with ''
My Neighbor Totoro is a 1988 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten. The film—which stars the voice actors Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, and Hitoshi Takagi—tells the story o ...
''. It was released on VHS in North America by Central Park Media in a subtitled form on June 2, 1993. They later released the film with an English dub on VHS on September 1, 1998 (the same day Disney released ''
Kiki's Delivery Service is a 1989 Japanese Anime, animated fantasy film written, produced, and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, adapted from the Kiki's Delivery Service (novel), 1985 novel by Eiko Kadono. It was animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Yamato Transpor ...
'' in North America) and an all-Regions DVD (which also included the original Japanese with English subtitles) on October 7 the same year. It was later released on a two-disc DVD set (which once again included both the English dub and the original Japanese with English subtitles as well as the film's storyboards with the second disc containing more extensive Bonus Features) on October 8, 2002. It was released by Central Park Media one last time on December 7, 2004. Following the May 2009 bankruptcy and liquidation of Central Park Media, ADV Films acquired the rights and re-released it on DVD on July 7, 2009. Following the September 1, 2009 shutdown and re-branding of ADV, their successor,
Sentai Filmworks Sentai Filmworks, LLC or just Sentai, is an American entertainment company owned by AMC Networks. Located in Houston, the company specializes in the dubbing and distribution of Japanese animation and Asian cinema. Its post-production arm is S ...
, rescued the film and released a remastered DVD on March 6, 2012. A
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
edition was released on November 20, 2012, featuring an all-new English dub produced by
Seraphim Digital Sentai Studios is an American postproduction studio of Sentai Filmworks located in Houston, Texas owned by AMC Networks. It was founded as Industrial Smoke & Mirrors, the in-house studio of ADV Films. It was renamed ADV Studios in 2005; and then ...
, along with a digital release that same year.
StudioCanal StudioCanal S.A.S. (formerly known as Le Studio Canal+, Canal Plus, Canal+ Distribution, Canal+ D.A., Canal+ Production, and Canal+ Image and also known as StudioCanal International) is a French film production and distribution company that owns ...
released a Blu-ray in the United Kingdom on July 1, 2013.
Madman Entertainment Madman Entertainment Pty. Ltd., also known as Madman Films, is an Australian distribution and rights management company headquartered in East Melbourne, Victoria, specialising in feature films, documentaries and television series across theatr ...
released the film in Australia and New Zealand.


Works

While not technically Studio Ghibli films, '' The Great Adventure of Horus, Prince of the Sun'' (1968), ''
Panda! Go Panda! is a children's Japanese animated film, first released in 1972. It was created by the team of Isao Takahata (director), Hayao Miyazaki (writer, layout, scene design), Yoichi Kotabe (animation director) and Yasuo Otsuka (animation director, ...
'' (1972), ''
The Castle of Cagliostro is a 1979 Japanese animated action-adventure comedy film co-written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, with animation produced by Tokyo Movie Shinsha (TMS). It is the second feature film featuring Monkey Punch's master thief Arsène Lupin III, ...
'' (1979), ''
Jarinko Chie is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Etsumi Haruki. It was serialized by Futabasha in ''Manga Action'' between 1978 and 1997 and collected in 67 bound volumes, making it the 45th longest manga released. ''Jarinko Chie'' ...
'' (1981), ''
Gauche the Cellist is a short story by the Japanese author Kenji Miyazawa. It is about Gauche, a struggling small-town cellist who is inspired by his interactions with anthropomorphized animals to gain insight into music. The story has been translated into English, ...
'' (1982), ''
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind may refer to * Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (manga), ''Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'' (manga), a manga series by Hayao Miyazaki * Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (film), ''Nausicaä of the Valle ...
'' (1984), ''
The Red Turtle ''The Red Turtle'' (french: La Tortue Rouge; ja, レッドタートル ある島の物語, Reddo Tātoru: Aru Shima no Monogatari) is a 2016 animated fantasy drama film co-written and directed by Dutch animator Michaël Dudok de Wit and produce ...
'' (2016), ''
Mary and the Witch's Flower is a 2017 Japanese animated fantasy film co-written and directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, produced by Studio Ponoc founder Yoshiaki Nishimura, animated by Studio Ponoc, and distributed by Toho in Japan. Based on the 1971 book ''The Little Bro ...
'' (2017) and ''
Modest Heroes is a 2018 Japanese animated anthology film produced by Studio Ponoc. The film is the first volume in the studio's ''Ponoc Short Films Theatre'' anthology, and includes films written and directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, Yoshiyuki Momose, and Akih ...
'' (2018) are sometimes grouped together with the Studio Ghibli library (particularly with the ''Ghibli ga Ippai'' home video collection released by Walt Disney Studios Japan) due to their ties to the studio. ''Horus'' and ''Cagliostro'' were the feature-length directorial debuts of Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki respectively, and were produced by
Toei Animation () is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including ''Sally the Witch,'' ''GeGeGe no Kitarō,'' ''Mazinger Z'', ''Galaxy Express 999'', ''Cutie Honey'', ''Dr. Slump'', ' ...
and
TMS Entertainment , formerly known as the , also known as or , is a Japanese animation studio established on October 22, 1946. TMS is one of the oldest and most famous anime studios in Japan, best known for numerous anime franchises such as '' Lupin the Third' ...
years before the founding of Studio Ghibli. ''Nausicaä'' was directed by Miyazaki at
Topcraft Topcraft (トップクラフト ''Toppukurafuto'', also written as "Top Craft") was an animation studio established on February 1, 1972 by former Toei Animation producer Toru Hara, and located in Tokyo, Japan. It was famous for the production of ...
, a studio which Miyazaki, Takahata and Toshio Suzuki later purchased and renamed Studio Ghibli. As a result, the film has often been rereleased and marketed as a Studio Ghibli movie. ''The Red Turtle'' was a collaborative effort by Studio Ghibli with Dutch animator
Michaël Dudok de Wit Michaël Dudok de Wit (; born 15 July 1953) is a Dutch animator, director and illustrator based in London. He won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for '' Father and Daughter'' (2000) and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best ...
and was branded as a Studio Ghibli release internationally. It was distributed by
Sony Pictures Classics Sony Pictures Classics Inc. is an American film production and distribution company that is a division of Sony Pictures. It was founded in 1992 by former Orion Classics heads Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloom. It distributes, produc ...
in North and Latin America. For the purposes of the list below, films that appear in Studio Ghibli's official filmography are listed. Other Studio Ghibli productions are listed
here Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to: Software * Here Technologies, a mapping company * Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here Technologies, Here Television * Here TV (form ...
.


Feature films


Television


Style and themes

Whether the stories have been adapted from manga comics or written from scratch, they all have the tendency to connect with the audience on a human level. Studio Ghibli films are mostly hand-drawn using rich water and acrylic colors and the films have less that ten percent use of modern technology such as CAD. Even today, with the technological advancement in the field of filmmaking, the studio still believes in using the old and traditional method of making animated films. All the Studio Ghibli films are rich in color, and they tend to use intricate watercolor and acrylic 2D animation with vivid colors (particularly greens), and have a "whimsical and joyful aesthetic". The main focus of the films is emotions and character strengths and flaws. The stories of Studio Ghibli films usually focus on the lives of youth, especially school children. The characters are young and restless, eager to prove themselves to the world. The signature style and recurrent themes of the studio reflect those of Miyazaki and the other directors and creatives. Common themes include the risks posed by progress to tradition, environmentalism and the natural world, independent female protagonists, the cost of war, and youth.


Notable animators and character designers

*
Masashi Ando is a Japanese animator, character designer and filmmaker. He is known for working with Hayao Miyazaki, Satoshi Kon and Makoto Shinkai. He was the animation director and character designer for three of the four anime films in the top five box ...
(''
Paranoia Agent is a Japanese anime television series created by director Satoshi Kon and produced by Madhouse about a social phenomenon in Musashino, Tokyo caused by a juvenile serial assailant named Lil' Slugger (the English equivalent to ''Shōnen Bat' ...
'' and '' Paprika'') * Makiko Futaki ('' Akira'', '' Angel's Egg'') *
Katsuya Kondō is a Japanese manga artist, character designer In visual arts, a model sheet, also known as a character board, character sheet, character study or simply a study, is a document used to help standardize the appearance, poses, and gestures of ...
(''
Kiki's Delivery Service is a 1989 Japanese Anime, animated fantasy film written, produced, and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, adapted from the Kiki's Delivery Service (novel), 1985 novel by Eiko Kadono. It was animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Yamato Transpor ...
'', ''
Howl's Moving Castle ''Howl's Moving Castle'' is a fantasy novel by British author Diana Wynne Jones, first published in 1986 by Greenwillow Books of New York. It was a runner-up for the annual Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, and won the Phoenix Award twenty years ...
'') *
Kitarō Kōsaka is a Japanese animator and film director. Profile He began his career in 1979 with the studio Oh! Production. He left the studio in 1986 to become a freelance, and soon went on to work on numerous projects as a key and supervising animation d ...
('' Monster'', ''
Master Keaton is a Japanese manga series created by Hokusei Katsushika, Naoki Urasawa, and Takashi Nagasaki. It was serialized in '' Big Comic Original'' from 1988 to 1994, with the 144 chapters collected into 18 ''tankōbon'' volumes by Shogakukan. An ...
'', and '' Nasu'') *
Kazuo Oga is an art director and background artist for many Madhouse Studio and Studio Ghibli anime films. Oga has worked with major directors Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, Yoshiaki Kawajiri, Osamu Dezaki. He also published two artbooks and directed a sh ...
(''
The Night of Taneyamagahara is a short anime film directed by Kazuo Oga and released by Studio Ghibli. A DVD version was released for Japan on July 7, 2006. It is based on a short story of the same name by Kenji Miyazawa.This was a personal film for director Oga, as he cit ...
'', ''
My Neighbor Totoro is a 1988 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten. The film—which stars the voice actors Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, and Hitoshi Takagi—tells the story o ...
'') * Kenichi Yoshida (''
Overman King Gainer is an anime television series, created by Yoshiyuki Tomino, written by Ichirō Ōkouchi, and featuring character designs by Yoshihiro Nakamura, Kinu Nishimura and Ken'ichi Yoshida. The series ran from September 7, 2002 to March 22, 2003 on ...
'' and ''
Eureka Seven ''Eureka Seven'', known in Japan as , is a 2005 Japanese anime series created by Bones. The series was directed by Tomoki Kyoda, with series composition by Dai Satō, character designs by Kenichi Yoshida and music by Naoki Satō. ...
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Akihiko Yamashita is a Studio Ghibli animator who is famous for ''Howl's Moving Castle'' and ''Giant Robo (OVA)''. As a character designer * ''Urotsukidōji'' (1987-1994) * ''Relic Armor Legaciam'' (1987) * '' Giant Robo'' (1992-1994) (with Toshiyuki Kubooka) * '' ...
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Tide-Line Blue is a Japanese anime series created by Satoru Ozawa and Umanosuke Iida. The series was produced by Bandai Visual and animated by Telecom Animation Film. Background ''Tide-Line Blue'' is set after an environmental disaster later called the "Ham ...
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Princess Nine ''Princess Nine'', known in Japan as , is a 26-episode Japanese anime television series and 3 manga volume set. Synopsis The series is about the trials of nine girls at the Kisaragi School for Girls who form a baseball team for the purpose of ...
'', '' Strange Dawn'', and ''Relic Armor Legacium'') *
Hideaki Anno is a Japanese animator, filmmaker and actor. He is best known for creating the anime series ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' (1995)''.'' His style is defined by his postmodernist approach and the extensive portrayal of characters' thoughts and emotio ...
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Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind may refer to * Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (manga), ''Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'' (manga), a manga series by Hayao Miyazaki * Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (film), ''Nausicaä of the Valle ...
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Neon Genesis Evangelion , also known simply as ''Evangelion'' or ''Eva'', is a Japanese mecha anime television series produced by Gainax and animated by Tatsunoko, directed by Hideaki Anno and broadcast on TV Tokyo from October 1995 to March 1996. ''Evangelion' ...
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Takashi Nakamura is an accomplished Japanese animator and anime director. He is also a founding member of the Japan Animation Creators Association (JAniCA) labor group. Nakamura's 2001 film ''A Tree of Palme'' was an official selection of the Berlin Film Fes ...
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Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind may refer to * Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (manga), ''Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'' (manga), a manga series by Hayao Miyazaki * Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (film), ''Nausicaä of the Valle ...
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Robot Carnival is a Japanese anthology original video animation (OVA) and anime film released in 1987. The film consists of nine shorts by different well-known directors, many of whom started out as animators with little to no directing experience. Each has ...
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Catnapped! , known outside Japan as ''Catnapped!'', is a 1995 Japanese anime feature film, directed, created and written by Takashi Nakamura, who was also its character designer. The animation was produced by Triangle Staff. The theme song of the film was ...
'') * Atsushi Takahashi (''
Spirited Away is a 2001 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Nippon Television Network, Dentsu, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Tohokushinsha Film, and Mitsubishi and distrib ...
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Takashi Watanabe is a Japanese animator, storyboard artist, and director. He is best known for directing the anime series ''Slayers'', '' Boogiepop Phantom'', and '' Shakugan no Shana''. Filmography Director *''Aria the Scarlet Ammo'' *'' Boogiepop Phantom'' *' ...
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Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind may refer to * Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (manga), ''Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'' (manga), a manga series by Hayao Miyazaki * Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (film), ''Nausicaä of the Valle ...
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Slayers is a Japanese light novel series written by Hajime Kanzaka and illustrated by Rui Araizumi. The novels have been serialized in ''Dragon Magazine'' since 1989, before being published into individual volumes. They follow t ...
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Boogiepop Phantom is an anime television series animated by Madhouse, based on the '' Boogiepop'' light novel series by Kouhei Kadono. The series is directed by Takashi Watanabe, from a screenplay by Sadayuki Murai, with original character designs by the lig ...
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Shakugan no Shana , also known simply as , is a Japanese light novel series written by Yashichiro Takahashi with illustrations by Noizi Ito. ASCII Media Works published 26 novels from November 2002 to November 2012 under their Dengeki Bunko imprint. The ...
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See also

*
Ghibli Museum The is a museum showcasing the work of the Japanese animation studio Studio Ghibli. It is located in Inokashira Park in Mitaka, a western city of Tokyo, Japan. The museum combines features of a children's museum, technology museum, and a fine a ...
in
Mitaka, Tokyo 260px, Inokashira Park in Mitaka is a city in the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 190,403, and a population density of 12,000 persons per km². The total area of the city was . Geography Mi ...
* Studio Kajino, a subsidiary of Studio Ghibli *
Yasuo Ōtsuka was a Japanese animator who worked with Toei Animation, Nippon Animation, TMS Entertainment, and Studio Ghibli. He was considered to be one of Japan's foremost animators, and he was an important mentor to both Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata. ...
*
Studio Ponoc is a Japanese animation studio based in Musashino, Tokyo, Japan. The company was founded in April 2015 by Yoshiaki Nishimura, former lead film producer of Studio Ghibli. Its first feature film, ''Mary and The Witch's Flower'', was released on Ju ...
, founded by former members of Studio Ghibli *
List of Japanese animation studios This is a list of Japanese animation studios. A * * * * * * * * * * * * * * B * Bandai Namco Pictures (株式会社バンダイナムコピクチャーズ) * * Bibury Animation Studios (合同会社バイブリーアニメー ...


Notes


References


Further reading

* Alpert, Steve. ''Sharing a House with the Never-Ending Man: 15 Years at Studio Ghibli''. Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press, 2020. . * Cavallaro, Dani. ''The Animé Art of Hayao Miyazaki''. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2006. . . * McCarthy, Helen. ''Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation: Films, Themes, Artistry''. Berkeley, Calif.: Stone Bridge Press, 1999. . . 2001 reprint of the 1999 text, with revisions: . * Miyazaki, Hayao. ''Starting Point: 1979–1996''. Beth Cary and Frederik L. Schodt, trans. San Francisco: VIZ Media, 2009. . . ** Miyazaki, Hayao. . Tokyo: Studio Ghibli/Hatsubai Tokuma Shoten, 1996. . . Original Japanese edition. * Miyazaki, Hayao. ''Turning Point: 1997–2008''. Beth Cary and Frederik L. Schodt, trans. San Francisco: VIZ Media, 2014. . . ** Miyazaki, Hayao. . Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 2008. . . Original Japanese edition. * Napier, Susan. ''Miyazakiworld: A Life in Art''. New Haven, CT: Yalue University Press, 2019. . * Odell, Colin, and Michelle Le Blanc. ''Studio Ghibli: The Films of Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata''. Harpenden, Hertfordshire, England: Kamera, 2009. . . * Suzuki, Toshio. ''Mixing Work with Pleasure: My Life at Studio Ghibli''. Tokyo: Japan Publishing Industry Foundation for Culture, 2018. . Documentaries * '. 1998 documentary,
Nippon TV JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as , is the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned-and-operated by the which is a subsidiary of the certified broadcasting holding company , itself a listed su ...
, 28 min. * '. 2013 documentary by Mami Sunada, 118 min. * '. 2016 documentary by Kaku Arakawa, 70 min.


External links

* * * {{Authority control Japanese companies established in 1985 Animation studios in Tokyo Film production companies of Japan Japanese animation studios Koganei, Tokyo Mass media companies established in 1985 Topcraft Western Tokyo