It’s been a while since we’ve done a list, but something about our love of Studio Ghibli has us thinking about their films as we usher in the New Year. Maybe it’s our positive feelings about 2022, maybe it’s the unfailing hope in each of these films or just nostalgia for the heartwarming and fanciful tales. Coincidentally, there are a total of 22 in the studio’s catalog. Perhaps the stars are aligning for this list. Regardless, Ghibli’s works showcase wondrous landscapes and are propelled by unassuming heroes, inspiring themes and quirky humor. Whatever is loved about these is really seemingly loved by the whole planet. So as we take another…
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Off the Shelf…’Porco Rosso’
Of all the fanciful adventures Hayao Miyazaki has taken the world on, fan-favorite Porco Rosso might just be the odd member of the family. A male-centric story about a fighter pilot, cursed to live life as a pig, doesn’t seem that odd or whimsical when you stack up the film’s brief synopsis against any other Studio Ghibli title. But while this story comes across as a breezy mix of ideas (and a quasi love-story), there’s a real sweetness to the themes, a fun sense of adventure, and lots of laughs. There are also plenty of lovable characters in Miyazaki’s love letter to the films right out of Hollywood’s golden age. At GoSeeTalk, we are…
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Ohhh, Look…New Clips from Miyazaki's Oscar-Nominated 'The Wind Rises'
While the animation world is still getting over the fact that The Wind Rises signals the officially official retirement of the legendary Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki his final bow has been met with a very deserving Oscar nomination for “Best Animated Feature”. The Wind Rises is quite a departure from the fantastic fare he’s known for and is, in a way, a metaphor for his career. In fact, the film, whether intentionally or not, echos his efforts to create peerless animation. In The Wind Rises, Jiro Horikoshi dreams of flying and designing beautiful airplanes, inspired by the famous Italian aeronautical designer Caproni. Nearsighted from a young age and unable to be a…
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Ohhh, Look…The Simpsons' Tribute to Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli
They say that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery and by that token Hayao Miyazaki (and his little animation house Studio Ghibli) must be chuckling at the cleverly placed Ghibli-themed elements in this weekend’s episode of The Simpsons (where Comic Book Guy gets married to a Japanese girl). In this segment of ‘Married to the Blob’ Homer’s drunken night on the town with CBG’s future father-in-law starts to wear on them when the snake wine they drank begins to transform Springfield into a cornucopia of references to numerous classic movies in the famous Ghibli library. If you’re a fan of all things Miyazaki, you have to see this…
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English-Language Voice Cast Revealed for Studio Ghibli's 'The Wind Rises'
While we at G-S-T are among the most fervent supporters of Studio Ghibli, and purists in respect to the Japanese language track, we have never been fond of dubbed versions of their films. That said when the studio, largely supported by the Walt Disney company, goes all out on major league talent they really shoot for and grab big stars. Whether or not they are particularly right for their character is another matter but one thing is for sure, big names can be huge drawing power. Especially for a film that signals the end of the Miyazaki era. Today we learn who will voice the dub for what is Miyazaki’s final…
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Sweet Trailer…Hayao Miyazaki's 'The Wind Rises'
Legendary animator and founder of the world-renowned Studio Ghibli Hayao Miyazaki announced earlier this year that he is finally, yes finally going to retire. He tried before, twice but now it’s official. His final animated film is called The Wind Rises and is about Jirō Horikoshi, the designer of Japan’s famous Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter plane. The film made the festival rounds and if you missed it you’ll have to wait until next year to catch it. But Ghibli films are worth the wait…even if they are dubbed. So for those of you who have been looking forward to anything and everything from the house that Hayao built enjoy this…
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Ohhh, Look…Teaser Posters For Studio Ghibli's Upcoming Features
It’s no secret that we at G-S-T adore the famous animation powerhouse that Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata and Toshio Suzuki built. In fact, I should say ジブリさん愛. Anyway if you, like us, can’t get enough from those animation Gods, then we have FANTASTIC news for you. Both Miyazaki-san and Takahata-san are at the helm for the two upcoming features from Studio Ghibli. I thought 2013 was going to be awesome enough and now we get a pair of Ghibli features too?? The only thing that could make this better is if Joe Hisaishi will again be scoring…*gets handed a small post-it note from the producer*…what’s this? *reads with wide eyes* Good news everyone! Hisaishi will be…
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At Least Three New Studio Ghibli Projects Supposedly In Development
Studio Ghibli is never content to rest on their laurels or let the ink dry. Their charming and wonderful film from 2010 The Secret World of Arrietty will finally hit U.S. theaters this Friday (look for a G-S-T review then as well). Also, From Up On Poppy Hill (the second effort from Hayao Miyazaki’s son Goro Miyazaki) was released last July in Japan. It has been making its way around the world, stopping at a Film Festival or two and has been very well received. But word from the other side of the world is that the studio, as suspected, is hard at work developing some new projects. For those of you ever hungry for the latest work from little animation…
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Sweet Trailer…'The Secret World of Arrietty'
Calling all you Ghibli fans!! After nearly 2 years of waiting we’re going to finally get a US theatrical release of The Arrietty (originally The Borrowers) aka Kari-gurashi no Arietty. Inspired by Mary Norton’s children’s fantasy novels this was released by The Toho Company in Japan last summer and Walt Disney is bringing this, like the UK release before now, to our theaters next year. Hand picked by Miyazaki himself, this feature is directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi who is another in the series of Studio Ghibli artists/animators making his directorial debut. Have a look at the beauty, wonder and spectacle in what looks to be another gem from the world famous Studio…
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"Miyazaki Madness" Is Over!!
Well friends, “Miyazaki Madness” is officially over. We’ve had 4 weeks of match ups, voting, comments and best of all, appreciation for the films of Studio Ghibli! In total, the tournament brought in nearly 10,000 visitors, racked up nearly 300 votes and I have to say it was a tremendous turnout! Thank you all for stopping by to participate in this event (I bet you’ll be glad to see an end to my Twitter and Facebook updates, huh?). So who gets to wear the winner’s crown and strut their stuff all around the animation world?? Well click the image below (for a hi-rez version) and find out for yourself…
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"Miyazaki Madness" Championship Round [POLLS CLOSED]
Well Ghibli fans, it all comes down to this!! The last three weeks have seen some heartbreaking losses as the polls have yielded some surprising upsets. But more importantly we have a finals round that really gives a great cross section of diversity of the films from Studio Ghibli. I asked for a tournament to give us “The Greatest Miyazaki/Takahata/Ghibli Film” and I think we’re gonna get it. So funny that the two films vying for the title are one of Ghibli’s most fantastic and fun films pitted against one of their most realistic and emotional films. There’s really not a true loser in the entire tournament. Further, this was all done to celebtrate…
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Off the Shelf…'Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'
In Hayao Miyazaki‘s 1984 epic Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind we find our titular heroine on a quest to save what’s left of a post-apocalyptic world from being destroyed as it was hundreds of years earlier. A true product of the 80’s (see: The Dark Crystal, Dune, Conan, etc) Nausicaä carves a nice place in the fantasy genre, but more importantly it is a bit of an anomaly in the Ghibli resume. Not only will you find giant monsters, bizarre plants and animals, prophecies and a host of fantastic elements but even Nausicaä herself is the type of character seldom seen in Ghibli films. You could argue that Nausicaä…
