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Camille Brand

ENG 1201-523

Professor Stalbird

November 1, 2020

Studio Ghibli: Animation Studio Overview

Screencap from “Ponyo” that was released for everyone’s use by Hayao Miyazaki

I’ve watched countless movies throughout my childhood, but none have ever resonated

with me as much as Studio Ghibli films have. There’s something magical and entrancing about

them, and every time I watch, I get inspired to better myself and reflect. Disney movies were

always enjoyable to watch, but it felt like they always came short in comparison to how Ghibli

films have made me feel. These movies make you dig deeper into who you are. Studio Ghibli is,
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by far, one of the best animation studios because of its ability to create a strong sense of feeling,

its originality, and its keen attention to detail.

Studio Ghibli is an animation studio located in Koganei, Tokyo Japan. It is most widely

known for its captivating feature films such as “Howl's Moving Castle,” “Spirited Away,” and

“My Neighbor Totoro.” The highest-grossing Studio Ghibli film worldwide is “Spirited Away.”

The studio was established in June 1985, directed by Isao Takahata and Shun Miyazaki (Takai).

Studio Ghibli films are also known to be strikingly different from mainstream western movies

and tropes.

After watching Studio Ghibli films, many people feel a bundle of emotions, but most

prominently, nostalgia. Ghibli films have a way of reminding people of their childhood and make

you feel imaginative and carefree again. “My Neighbor Totoro,” in particular, is a good example

of recreating a sense of nostalgia. The viewer watches Mei and her sister go out and explore their

new home, finding new paths and creatures, and meeting new people and neighbors. While

watching this, the viewer gets a rush of adrenaline, as you would as a kid when you went out and

explored. People have often stated that when they watch Ghibli films, it reminds them of

memories they never even had. People can connect to these films and be reminded of their

childhood without having to have watched them growing up. Even Miyazaki said “their emotions

will become yours.” (Cafolla).

Studio Ghibli spends the time to stop and take in the little things in life. You can often

see the characters stop and look around them and admire their scenery. I feel like this puts

emphasis on appreciating the small beauties in life, and makes these movies feel more heartfelt

and deep. Studio Ghibli, unlike other animation studios, makes you feel like you are immersed in
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its world and story, instead of just watching a story. You are along for the ride alongside the

main character and it almost feels real.

Almost all the films are bittersweet; in every happy moment, there is a little melancholy

and in every sorrow, there is a hint of joy. This makes the movies have more depth because it

isn’t just black and white and there are layers of emotion. One scene in particular in “My

Neighbor Totoro” was when the kids went to see their mom, who was in the hospital. They were

overjoyed to see her and they brought her some food. It was overall a happy scene but there was

an underlying uneasiness about it. The movie never explains why she was in the hospital, but it

seems like she has been there for a long time. In “Spirited Away” as well, Chihiro was trapped in

the spirit world because her parents turned into pigs and it was her mission to save them. There

were a lot of happy and exciting moments throughout the movie but there was always the stress

of knowing that her parents could be eaten soon if she couldn’t rescue them in time. In an

interview with Roger Ebert, Miyazaki said, “What really matters is the underlying emotions--that

you never let go of those” (Ebert).

Studio Ghibli is original in the way the story is produced and told. Studio Ghibli films are

all traditional hand-drawn 2-D animation. Some of these movies took up to 8 years to produce.

So much work and time have gone into the making of these films which makes the scenes

breathtaking even if someone has rewatched them a 100 times. The art is unique and is easy to

differentiate from other studios. Miyazaki focuses on making perfect and aesthetically pleasing

scenes, giving the viewer freedom to feel how they want instead of trying to force a strong

feeling. Nearly all the stories were original or very loosely based on a book, which adds to how

unique Studio Ghibli is compared to other studios.

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The films are enjoyable for all ages, both adults and children alike. Unlike a lot of Disney

and Pixar movies that have an aimed and preferred audience, Ghibli does not have an exact

aimed audience. Miyazaki said that his target audience is 10-year-olds yet “adults found [the

movies] fascinating at the Berlin, Telluride and Toronto festivals” (Ebert). Ghibli brings people

together on something we can all relate to, like the purities of childhood and the beauty of the

world. Ghibli Studio conveys meaningful morals throughout all of its films. For example in one

scene at the end of “Howl's Moving Castle,” Sophie kisses Turnip Head in thanks for his help,

and he then turns into a prince. Sophie was Turnip Head's true love but when he realized her

heart was with Howl, he accepted that and went on his way. He wasn't resentful, bitter, or

confrontational because that's life and often time's things might not go our way. This teaches

people to accept things as they are and not to dwell on the "what ifs" or regrets and to simply

move on. As Miyazaki puts it, “You may not like what's happening, but just accept it, and let's

try to live together. Even if you feel angry, let's be patient and endure, let's try to live together.

I've realized that this is the only way forward.” (Wood).

Studio Ghibli breaks the common trope of hero and villain. In “My Neighbor Totoro”

there is no distinct villain, yet it is still enjoyable to watch, as the characters are driven by their

desires and impulses. In nearly all Disney films, there is a hero and villain trope and it would

almost feel incomplete without it. The way Ghibli tells stories is different from western

animations in that the stories are usually calm and slow-paced with a little bit of fast-paced

action thrown in here and there. It lets the viewers take in the beautiful scenery that the animators

created. In Howl's Moving Castle the main “villain” was the witch that cursed Sophie but they

eventually became friends and Sophie ended up taking care of her. This is also an example of a

meaningful message that was in the movie, that even though people caused you trouble in the
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past, doesn’t mean they don’t deserve kindness when they need it most. Ghibli princesses are

also vastly different from Disney princesses. They don’t search out love with prince charming,

but rather are fueled by their own goals and ambitions. Likewise, male leads show that there are

more valuable traits than being handsome and strong (excluding Howl who was obsessed with

the way he looked).

Finally, another reason why Studio Ghibli is one of the best animation studios is because

of its attention to detail. Miyazaki draws each frame by hand and still manages to preserve so

many details in a scene. It makes it seem like the frame has more depth and dimension. Having

each frame have so much detail, such as dirty dishes in the background with the counters

scattered full of stuff, makes the movie seem more relatable and real. In “Howl's Moving

Castle”, Howl’s room is covered from floor to ceiling in little mementos and shiny items he had

collected over the years. These small details help you understand the character more, especially

how different characters react and interact with the backgrounds the animators had created.

When Sophie first saw the state of the house, her first instinct was to clean it. This gives a bit of

insight into Sophie’s personality and to the people who were living there.

The physics of the animation makes the film realistic as well. The way the clothes are

animated and flow in the wind, or when a gust of wind comes and blows away a shawl. You can

tell which way the wind is going and when it changes directions just from watching how a

character’s hair or clothes move. It makes it seem like the frames are alive and have weight and

dimension to them, when in reality, they are only drawings. While simple motion and detail seem

insignificant to the story, this is what makes the viewer’s minds subconsciously think the world

created on their screen might indeed be real. In animation, it is often hard to perfect a realistic
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sense of realism since animation has no perception of gravity or physics, and is an unrealistic

medium.

Studio Ghibli does a great job of world-building throughout all of its movies. One thing

they have down pat is making the world feel lived in and lively. You can see how each detail and

background character work together to make the world feel more realistic rather than just an

empty, hollow world with only a few interactions with the background characters. Studio Ghibli

also can recognize and display other stories unfolding off the screen at the same time as the

current story. In “Spirited Away” the main focus is on Chihiro and there's not too much focus on

Haku except little glimpses here and there before she realizes that he is a dragon. When Haku is

being chased by the paper birds, it's revealed that he was off somewhere else, doing the witch’s

bidding. This makes it feel like you watched more than what was on screen because you can

imagine what Haku was doing. This adds to world-building because it adds dimension to the

world and it's not just a flat plane where only one event occurs at a time. Even the bathhouse in

“Spirited Away” gave the world dimension because you can see all the other workers and

imagine them going about their day, helping the customers and scrambling for gold nuggets.

Ghibli, throughout the years, has won many awards. Princess Mononoke was the first

Ghibli movie that broke records according to the ghibli website. Princess Mononoke far

outperformed how well they thought it would do. With this achievement, people around the

world started to familiarize themselves with Ghibli Studios, and was how they first gained

traction. Ghibli Collection also states that “most movies would be ranked number one at the box

office in Japan in the year in which they were released” (GKIDS). Ghibli Studios’ highest-

grossing film is “Spirited Away,” which is also the highest-grossing film in all of Japan, “earning
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over 30 billion yen (around USD 285,400,500) at the box office” (GKIDS). According to IMDb,

Miyazaki has won, in total, 78 awards and had 47 nominations overall. This is pretty amazing

considering only having released 22 titles.

Not only has the studio won many awards

across the world, but it has also become famous in

the art community. Redrawing the screencaps of

Ghibli films in the artist’s style has recently

become a trend in the art community. This shows

how famous and long-lasting Ghibli has become,

even 20+ years after the movies have come out.

With this trend going around, more and more

people are likely to watch the movies as they want

to see the context of the scenes the artists had

redrawn. This is why Ghibli is so relevant even Screencap redraw of “Howl’s Moving Castle” by
Melonkkat on Instagram
now and gaining even more traction in western

media.

Disney is a very talented animation studio. Most people grew up watching Disney movies

like “Peter Pan” and “Aladdin.” These movies take the viewers into a magical world with endless

possibilities and adventures. These movies are all feel-good movies and all have a happy ending.

They often follow princesses looking for prince charming or hero vs villain tropes. These kinds

of movies are almost all fast-paced and have a lot of action and exciting portions in them to keep

the viewers interested and on the edge of their seats. Nearly all of these fantasies came from
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well-known fairytales and have had books written about them beforehand so the movies are

already written out beforehand and don’t need to have too much planning done as far as the plot

goes.

While all this may sound good and what a normal movie should be like, Ghibli takes its

movies a step further and makes them more enjoyable. Ghibli takes parts of real-life and makes

them magical. In parts of the movies, they may feel otherworldly because of the strange creatures

scuttling around but you always know its earth. Ghibli takes parts of real-life and makes them

beautiful and exciting. It helps viewers realize that they can create their fantasies around them

and they don’t need to make up a whole new world to fulfill their dreams. Not all Ghibli movies

have a happy ending which is also what makes it more realistic because it helps viewers realize

that life won’t always have happy endings. Ghibli is overall slow-paced yet is still able to

captivate and entertain their audience the whole way through the movie. Disney, in recent years,

has been reusing old content with CGI, which will soon be outdated in the coming years. They

aren’t coming out with as much new content as they used to. Disney strayed away from their

hand-drawn 2-D animation and has been using computer animation more and more. With this, it

seems as though it has lost its touch and originality as it either, doesn't compare to the old story,

or changes the old story which can be disappointing to some viewers.

Overall, Ghibli Studio beats the competition due to its originality, attention to detail, and

ability to create a strong feeling in viewers. Every time I watch a new Ghibli movie I am in awe

of the scenery and art. The messages in the movies are inspiring for all ages and how life is

worth living no matter what difficulties might be ahead. I highly recommend giving Ghibli films

a try as you won’t be disappointed.

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Works cited:

“About.” Studio Ghibli, GKIDS, 2020, ghiblicollection.com/about.

Cafolla, Anna. “What Makes Studio Ghibli so Magically Immersive?” Dazed, Dazed Studio, 29

Nov. 2016, www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/33864/1/what-makes-studio-

ghibli-so-magically-immersive.

“Disney vs Ghibli: A Studio Comparison.” Japan Today, GPlusMedia Inc., 6 Aug. 2012,

japantoday.com/category/features/opinions/disney-vs-ghibli-a-studio-comparison.

Dolinh, Aline. “The Reflections Between Disney and Studio Ghibli.” Film School Rejects,

Reject Media 2018, 11 Apr. 2018, filmschoolrejects.com/reflections-between-disney-and-

studio-ghibli/.

Ebert, Roger. “Hayao Miyazaki Interview: Interviews: Roger Ebert.” Interviews | Roger Ebert,

Ebert Digital LLC, 12 Sept. 2002, www.rogerebert.com/interviews/hayao-miyazaki-

interview.

Melonkkat, Kristen. “Blonde Howl.” Instagram, Melonkkat, 31 Oct. 2020,

www.instagram.com/p/CHA1C68F8k7/.

Miyazaki, Hayao. “Ponyo049.” Ghibli Studio Works, Studio Ghibli, Sept. 2020,

www.ghibli.jp/works/ponyo/#frame.
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Miyazaki, Hayao. Howl’s Moving Castle. Howl’s Moving Castle, Studio Ghibli, 2001,

www.studioghibli.com.au/.

Miyazaki, Hayao. My Neighbor Totoro. My Neighbor Totoro, Studio Ghibli, 2001,

www.studioghibli.com.au/.

Miyazaki, Hayao. Spirited Away. Spirited Away, Studio Ghibli, 2001, www.studioghibli.com.au/.

Takai, Shinichi. “スタジオジブリの概要 - スタジオジブリ｜STUDIO GHIBLI.” ス

タジオジブリ ホーム, STUDIO GHIBLI Inc., 2020, www.ghibli.jp/profile/

Wood, Jennifer M. “30 Memorable Hayao Miyazaki Quotes.” Mental Floss, Mental Floss, 5 Jan.

2017, www.mentalfloss.com/article/90573/30-memorable-hayao-miyazaki-quotes