The animations of Japan's Studio Ghibli are among the most respected in the movie industry. Their delightful films rank alongside the most popular non-English language films ever made, with each new eagerly anticipated release a guaranteed box-office hit. Yet this highly profitable studio has remained fiercely independent, producing a stream of imaginative and individual animations. The studio's founders, the late Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki, have created timeless masterpieces. Although their films are distinctly Japanese, their themes are universal: humanity, community, and a love for the environment. No other film studio, animation or otherwise, comes close to matching Ghibli for pure cinematic experience. Studio Ghibli examines all their major works, including “Laputa: Castle in the Sky,” “Grave of the Fireflies,” “My Neighbour Totoro,” “Kiki's Delivery Service,” “Only Yesterday,” “Porco Rosso,” “Pom Poko,” “Whisper of the Heart,” “Princess Mononoke,” and “Howl's Moving Castle” as well as the critically acclaimed “Spirited Away” and “The Tale of Princess Kaguya.” Odell and Le Blanc's informed analysis also considers Studio Ghibli features such as Hayao Miyazaki's Oscar-nominated final masterpiece “The Wind Rises,” “When Marnie Was There,” and the recent co-productions “Ronja the Robber's Daughter” and “Red Turtle.”
