Studio Ghibli - Essay Example

Running Head: Studio Ghibli How is Japanese culture and identity represented in the output of Studio Ghibli? of the of the institution] How is Japanese culture and identity represented in the output of Studio Ghibli? The thrilling animated fantasies οf Japans Studio Ghibli have won fans all over the world and have great impact on the culture οf Japan. An eye-popping fantasy about a young girl separated from her parents after stumbling into a world οf Japanese spirits, the Oscar-winner for best animated feature was for many Australian viewers the portal to a brave new cinematic world. It was one filled with all manner οf bizarre ghosts, witches and creatures, where mind-boggling and strange events were the norm. Grotesque spirits come together at a bathhouse for herb-scented soaks and complementary back rubs; little girls are kidnapped and taken to a cat kingdom where they are honoured with the Cat Princes paw in marriage; pirates driving steam-powered flying machines search for a treasure-filled island in the sky. If any οf this sounds at all familiar, the chances are that you have already stumbled across some οf the output οf Japans celebrated Studio Ghibli. It is the animation studio behind Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke and the forthcoming Howls Moving Castle, and has been compared with the Disney studio. In reality it has more in common with Pixar, the American company that brought us Toy Story, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. Studio Ghiblis success is thanks largely to one man. Its co-founder and main film-maker, Hayao Miyazaki, is regarded as one οf the greatest animation directors in the world. His fans include the Aardman director Nick Park and the Pixar supremo John Lassiter, who says οf Miyazakis work: "His worlds are the most magical, special, unusual places you have ever seen." The company, founded in 1985, takes its name from the word that Italian pilots in Libya at the beginning οf the Second World War gave to a hot Saharan wind. Miyazaki was quoted as saying that he wanted to "blow a hot wind through the world οf Japanese animation". Everyone in the films has moral responsibility and social responsibility, never just a cute character. And then there is the generosity οf the imagination. "You see other films and you have your main character and strong story arc and thats it, whereas in a Ghibli film, you have three or four stories." Japanese animation was previously the domain οf pre-teen Pokemon fans and οf antisocial adolescent boys who revelled in the more unsavoury fringes οf anime - the Urotsukidoji films, with their eroticised demon rape sequences, are a particularly unpleasant example. But Ghibli quickly rose to be the dominant force in Japanese animation; the company is so well loved in Japan that there is a six- month waiting list to secure entry tickets to the Ghibli Museum in Tokyo. But while Studio Ghibli has long been a cultural phenomenon in Japan, its elevated profile overseas is due largely to the success οf two films: Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away. The first, made in 1997, is an environmental parable that pits the animal spirits οf a beleaguered forest against the human inhabitants οf the mining town that threatens it. Princess Mononoke became the most successful Japanese film to be released in Japan and was released with an English voice track in America and the UK. (Goodfellow 2005, A21-A23) It was the critical and commercial success οf Spirited Away that alerted Western audiences to the treasures hidden in the Ghibli back catalogue. Polding, who works for the City Screen cinema chain as well as the Cambridge Film Festival, recalls the first season οf Ghibli films her cinemas ran five years ago. "It was then that we realised people were desperate to see these films," she says. "Everything was selling out, no matter what we put on and no matter what time." Which explains why, in addition to screening at Cambridge, this latest retrospective will then tour around the country. The Ghibli retrospective includes the UK premiere οf Miyazakis latest film, Howls Moving Castle, an enchanting movie that combines many οf his pet themes: a young girl protagonist who gains confidence with self-knowledge, sorcery, housework and an anti-war message. Along with Miyazakis two major successes, two οf his earlier movies will also be screened, Castle in the Sky and Kikis Delivery Service, a charming little film which, to the dismay οf Miyazaki fans, Disney are planning to remake as a live-action picture. The fact that the Ghibli season is almost exclusively made up οf films by Miyazaki rather than his colleagues at the company is no coincidence. (Fukunaga 2006, 206-222) Isao Takahata, although popular in Japan, has not enjoyed the overseas profile οf Miyazaki, perhaps because in films such as his most recent, My Neighbours the Yamadas, the artwork is sparse and the humour relies on dialogue in unconventional, colloquial Japanese which is rather lost in translation. In Australia, veteran director Hayao Miyazakis film was lavishly praised by critics and crossed over from cult to mainstream family audience, earning more than $1 million at the box office. On DVD and video its Australias most successful anime (Japanese animation) to date, with sales οf nearly $1.5 million. This, however, is nothing compared with its success in Japan, where it became a national phenomenon, with box-office earnings οf $US234 million, surpassing Titanic. But then, as the product οf Japans most successful animation house, Studio Ghibli, the film had hardly appeared from nowhere. Ghibli has been turning out fantastical stories since its formation by Miyazaki and fellow director Isao Takahata in 1985 -- stories that between July and September will gain limited commercial seasons in five Australian capital cities, along with a series οf festival screenings. The two directors, frustrated by their experiences in TV animation, founded the studio in the wake οf the commercial success οf Miyazakis post-apocalyptic feature Nausicaa: In the Valley οf the Wind (1984), based on a comic-book series created by Miyazaki. Among the wondrous creations in Nausicaas wake were 1992s Porco Rosso and Takahatas Pom Poko (1994). The former starred an aviator who happened to be half-pig, half-human -- Miyazaki is an aircraft enthusiast and Ghibli was purportedly the name that World WarII Italian pilots gave to a Saharan wind. Pom Poko was an extraordinarily imaginative eco-fable in which racoons with transformational powers battled human developers who threatened their forest environment. In 1997, the Melbourne film festival held a retrospective οf Studio Ghibli work. A festival οf Japanese animation during the 2000 Olympics gave Sydney audiences a taste and, a year later, Miyazakis Princess Mononoke became the first Ghibli film to gain commercial release in Australia. Unlike Hollywood studios, where concept is king and directors are expected to bend to executive demands, Ghiblis success is based on the creative integrity οf its two star directors (who are both in their 60s), says Spirited Away producer Toshio Suzuki. ``We have these two excellent directors who are both very demanding perfectionists, says Suzuki from Tokyo. ``They want all details perfect and in place. These two have long been allies and friends, but theyre also rivals. Thats the biggest reason that Studio Ghibli has been able to do such quality films for such a long time. In the universe according to Ghibli, stories that initially appear to be aimed at children balloon quickly into quasi-surrealistic visions underscored by serious adult themes, particularly environmentalism. (Lamarre 2002, 329-367) Suzuki points to Marc Chagall and Hieronymous Bosch as the Western painters to have most impressed Miyazaki, with whom the producer once travelled to Lisbon just to see Boschs Temptation οf Saint Anthony. A more pertinent influence is the Japanese ghost story tradition, which has long been felt in Japanese cinema via such classic films as Kenji Mizoguchis Ugetsu Monogatari (1953) and Masaki Kobayashis Kwaidan (1964). ``As you know, Japan has a unique philosophy οf animism, Suzuki says. ``Japanese thinking is extremely influenced by the four philosophies that came to Japan, namely Buddhism, Christianity, in the Edo era Confucianism, and Marxism. But animism has been with us for a very long time, [as have] the 8million gods οf Japan, the multitude οf deities ... depicted in Spirited Away. Recently these gods and deities were not very popular in Japan, so the movie helped to revive awareness οf those traditions. We dont know if our movie had anything to do with this, but in Japan we are in economic depression and it seems the trend is that intuition seems to be οf more importance than reasoning right now. Explaining the attraction οf green themes to Ghibli, the producer harks back to the post-World War II era when much οf Japan was gripped by poverty. ``As we were trying to revive the economy, people worked hard to improve their living standards -- but that caused much damage to our environment, Suzuki says. ``Traditionally in Japan we were making stories about how the evil men who stole or killed would be punished by the good. We were in a social situation where the bad were destroying the environment, so it was natural for us to depict that in our films. A propensity for female heroes is another notable feature οf Ghiblis films -- including Spirited Away, Nausicaa, My Neighbour Totoro (1988) and Kikis Delivery Service (1989) – which Suzuki puts down to Ghiblis early years coinciding with a period ``when women started to go out to the workplace. So there was a lot οf energy in females in society, while at the same time Japanese men werent doing very well. It was natural to choose women as heroes because they were the ones who were being energetic and doing things. Film-maker Philip Brophy, who curated the Melbourne film festivals retrospective, says another factor behind Ghiblis strong females is the highly developed Japanese comic-book market -- a strong influence on animated films. Although Westerners commonly think οf Japanese comics as being mainly about sadism and violence, the market is in fact highly segmented and contains a huge genre οf stories about girls aimed at a young female readership. Comic-book reading is widespread across different Japanese age groups and its cinematic offspring can attract audiences quite different to its mainly adolescent Western fan base. Porco Rosso, which many Australian viewers would assume is aimed at children, was made with an audience οf Japanese salarymen in their 50s in mind, says Brophy. Conversely, Princess Mononoke attracted a family audience, despite being the most violent Ghibli title. In recent years the studio has developed a strong relationship with US studio Pixar. Before the latters recent corporate break from Disney, Toy Story director John Lasseter helped to finesse a US distribution deal for Ghibli at the Mickey Mouse giant. But despite Ghiblis increasing profile in the West, Suzuki insists the studio still makes films only for Japanese audiences. While success in outside markets is certainly welcome, it is not essential to the companys core philosophy, which is to protect its films creative integrity. ``We just have to believe that what were doing with our films is right, and its up to the audience to judge what they think when they see our films on screen, Suzuki says. In a world where corporate marketing considerations so often hold sway over the creative impulse, these are heartening words. As "The Anime Encyclopaedia: A Guide to Japanese Animation Since 1917" reports, the first Japanese animation was produced in January 1917 and was a 5-minute animation short. Although, as a devoted fan I know that just last year it was discovered that in fact the earliest Japanese animation was produced at 1907. This untitled short consisted οf 50 frames and depicted a young boy writing the Chinese characters for "moving picture" then turning towards the viewer, removing his hat, and offering a salute. In 1917 there was a total οf 3 short films produced and the creator οf one οf them was Jun-ichi Kouchi who would later become the teacher οf Noboru Ofuji; Japans first internationally-known film festival animator after the War (it should be noted that his 1952 short film Kujira got a rave review from Pablo Picasso). Chikara to Onna No Yononaka appearing in 1932, was the first short animated film with dialogues in Japanese. In April 12 1945 the 74-minute animation Momotaros Divine Sea Warriors appeared. This film is considered to be the first feature length Japanese animation. At that time comparisons with the revolutionary animated products οf the West seemed to be a no-contest. During the year 1956 a major animation studio was formed; Toei animation which produced in 1958 the first colour anime feature film "Hakujaden". Everybody agree that the start οf modern anime was marked with this feature. Toeis first few features followed the Disney formula very closely. They were based upon popular folk tales -- Oriental rather than European -- the heroes had many cute, funny-animal companions and the movies were filled with musical numbers. In the 1st January οf 1963 Tetsuwan Atom (Astro Boy in English) was broadcasted in Japanese TV.A black-and-white half-hour anime. Contrary to popular belief, Atom was not the first anime series broadcast in Japan; that honour falls to Manga Calendar, which began broadcasting in 1962. However, Atom was the first series to feature regular characters in an ongoing plot. Astro Boy was the first creation οf Mushi Pros animation studio and the founder οf this studio was Osamu Tezuka. In the meantime Toei released in 1968 Hols: Prince οf the Sun. Hols is often seen as the first major break from the normal anime style and the beginning οf a later movement οf "experimental" or "progressive anime. Progressive anime refers to anime that truly breaks boundaries and goes against the stereotypes in the medium and is the sub-genre I personally follow and value the most. In addition the first adult oriented TV anime was broadcast at the year 1971 and was named Lupin III. During the 80s and after the popular and critical success οf Hayao Miyazakis film Nausicaa, theatrical releases became more ambitious each film trying to outclass or out spend the other film. This period οf lavish budgeting and experimentation would reach its zenith with two οf the most expensive anime film productions ever: Royal Space Force: The Wings οf Honneamise (1987) and Akira (1988). References Lamarre, Thomas., From animation to anime: drawing movements and moving drawings. Japan Forum, Sep2002, Vol. 14 Issue 2, p329-367 Fukunaga, Natsuki., "Those anime students": Foreign language literacy development through Japanese popular culture. Journal οf Adolescent & Adult Literacy, Nov2006, Vol. 50 Issue 3, p206-222 Goodfellow, Melanie., Ghibli fights to draw big auds in U.S., Europe. Variety, 8/29/2005, Vol. 400 Issue 2, pA21-A23 "Anime" Merriam-Webster Online. 05 April 2006. "Anime" Britannica Encyclopaedia. 05 April 2006. Clements, Jonathan and Helen McCarthy. The Anime Encyclopaedia: A Guide to Japanese Animation since 1917 Stone Bridge Press, 2001. Patten, Fred. Anime History. Newtype, Issue Jan.2004 A.D.Vision Publications. Read More