Animation at it's Best

There are many Animation studios in this world. Walt Disney Animation Studios, Dream Work's Animation studios, Pixar Animation studios, and so many more not-so well known Animation Studios. One of these studios, though not quite as famous here in United States, but in Japan, is to me the greatest animation studio there has ever been. That studios' name, is Studio Ghibli, located in the small town Koganei, Tokyo. 

Since it was founded in 1985 by head animation director and artist Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli has created 18 award winning animated films such as: Spirited Away, Kiki's Delivery Service, My Neighbor Totoro (who has become the logo for the studio), Castle in the Sky, Princess Mononoke, Ponyo, and one their latest films, The Secret World of Arrietty. 

Miyazaki created the studio with friends and fellow filmmakers Isao Takahata, and Toshio Suzuki, in intention to create animated films for a family audiance using basic moral behaviors as well as traditional Japanese Culture.

This Video contains 7 of studio Ghibli's films.

You may have noticed in the video that Disney was mentioned. Well, when Ghibli got so popular in Japan Miyazaki as well as the other two founders, thought it may be a good idea to try to bring the films to the United States Audience. In the beginning it failed due to the edits made on their biggest hit Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind for being to heavily centered on Japanese culture for the American people to understand. When Mira-Max studios wanted to cut some of the film Princess Mononoke, Miyazaki sent the director an authentic Japanese Katana with a simple message saying "No cuts" and so other than the changing of languages, the film was not altered and the United states was perfectly capable of understanding the culture, so much in fact that it has one of the highest ratings in Animation history. Disney became highly interested in Studio Ghibli and with the promise of never cutting a single thing in their films, created a partnership.

What makes Ghibli so incredible? To me, a simple admirer of animation, is how magical the worlds that are created by Miyazaki as well as the other Directors are. Miyazaki uses simple watercolor to come up with these worlds that come from both his imagination as well Japanese culture. With simple lines and hardly any detail, he creates a character even more versatile than that of a 3D animator. In preparing for a film, he studies real humans and their movements and habits. For my favorite film Spirited Away he studied his best friend's daughters and how they would do their day to day activities as small as how they put on their shoes or how so much as their facial expressions. For the scenery, he studies how trees blow in the wind and how shadows fall on the ground and every little detail of how the world reacts to nature. 

If you have never seen a studio Ghibli film, I encourage you to go to your neighborhood video store and rent one. And just sit back and notice the simplicity of this amazing Studio's work.