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The United Kingdom-based research firm Broadband Choices has published a study on the worldwide popularity of Studio Ghibli films based on Google search data. With Netflix popularizing the Ghibli films internationally (HBO Max owns the streaming rights in the United States), this study compares the popularity of 21 Studio Ghibli films in different countries. The pre-Ghibli Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is included in the study, while the TV films Ocean Waves and Earwig and the Witch are excluded.
Howl’s Moving Castle is the favorite in 18 countries. Princess Mononoke and P0nyo are tied in third place as the favorite in 13 countries, with Mononoke being more popular in African countries and Ponyo’s popularity clustered around Mexico and Central and South America. Porco Rosso is the favorite in seven countries, including Italy, where the film is set.
Looking at the total search results globally, Spirited Away stays in the top spot, but Princess Mononoke and Ponyo rise in popularity above Howl’s Moving Castle. Grave of the Fireflies, by far the most popular Studio Ghibli film not directed by Hayao Miyazaki, rises to fifth place on the list, while Porco Rosso falls to 10th, behind My Neighbor Totoro, Kikiy’s Delivery Service, Castle in the Sky and The Wind Rises. The least Googled Ghibli films are The Tale of the Princess Kaguya and My Neighbors the Yamadas, which are tied with 0.24% of the global search volume.
Singapore, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Sweden, Iceland, Norway and Ireland make up the rest of the top 10. KEEP READING: New Studio Ghibli Limited Edition Blu-rays Announced by GKIDS Source: Broadband Choices Share Share Tweet Email Dragon Ball Z: Frieza Returns in New Art from To-Love-Ru Artist
Who Is The Co-Founder Of Ghibli?
The Race to Animate In the streaming era, animation is big business. In just under four decades, Studio Ghibli has made arguably a dozen films that could legitimately be called masterpieces. No one makes movies like Ghibli.
Themes of identity and embracing, rather than repressing, our gifts are woven through an adventure that works relatively well yet lacks some of the magic in design and character that defines top-tier Ghibli. Nestled between two of the biggest hits in the history of the company — Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away — is this family comedy from the underrated Isao Takahata, the co-founder of Ghibli, who doesn’t get the attention lavished on his longtime business partner Hayao Miyazaki. Themes of humanity’s relationship with nature, environmental incursion by technology, and a sense that we’ve lost touch with the natural world are woven through almost all Studio Ghibli films.
Written by Hayao Miyazaki and directed by his son Gorō Miyazaki, this is one of Studio Ghibli’s more straightforward dramas, an adaptation of a popular manga originally published in 1980. It’s a Ghibli film that feels more directly aimed at a specific demographic — young adults — than some of their most transcendent work, but there is visual beauty here in the design of the mansion in which much of the film takes place and, well, the hill itself. Blending fantasy with coming-of-age tropes, Whisper is a deeply empathetic film, a great example of how even when they were dealing in human nature, the people at Ghibli could find magic.
Hayao Miyazaki has reportedly been working on a new film, but this was conceived and designed as his last before retirement, and it’s undeniably the work of a master looking back at his career. In fact, watching Nausicaa will give young viewers or those new to this world such a perfect introduction to what’s to come. Just a little longer, to feel the joy of living in this place!”
It opens with Seita dying of starvation and then flashes back to show us how we got there; you won’t find talking cats or moving castles in this one. You will find two of the most unforgettable animated characters in history. The story is simple enough — a boy and girl try to find a magic crystal and a castle in the sky — but it’s merely the skeleton for visual compositions that would be stunning even if they were released today.
Spirited Away (2001) In the two decades since its release, Studio Ghibli’s best film has become more than just an animated hit.
What Is The Name Of The First 3D Cgi-Animated Film From Studio Ghibli?
This makes ranking their 23 feature films a nearly impossible task, given how different a whimsical movie about a young witch is from a drama about a WWII airplane designer, from a movie about shapeshifting raccoon dogs fighting urbanization. Earwig and the Witch Image via Studio Ghibli The first 3D CGI-animated film from Studio Ghibli, and hopefully the last 3D CGI-animated Studio Ghibli film. Gorō Miyazaki shows he knows all the tropes and ingredients to make a good Ghibli film, but the film lacks the substance of one.
Even if the story is lacking in certain places, the visuals pop with the kind of creativity you’d expect from Ghibli. The Cat Returns is the rare Ghibli film that’s a spin-off of another one of their previous films, more specifically Whisper of the Heart, focusing on a minor character from that film. When Marnie Was There Image via Studio Ghibli A more subtle film than previous Ghibli films, Yonebayashi’s second directorial effort nevertheless serves as a fascinating elegy for the studio, before Miyazaki announced his comeback and he let his son make a terrible CGI film.
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Image via Studio Ghibli Though it was made before the actual founding of Studio Ghibli, Nausicaa gives viewers a glimpse into much of what would make Studio Ghibli the powerhouse it’d become. Only Yesterday Image via Studio Ghibli There comes a point in everyone’s life when they realize life didn’t turn out to be the way they imagined as kids, so of course Takahata would make that into a movie. The Wind Rises Image via Studio Ghibli Intended to be Miyazaki’s final film before retirement, this is a great film about an artist reflecting on his legacy.
Castle in the Sky Image via Studio Ghibli Technically the first proper Studio Ghibli title, and the beginning of many tropes that the studio would repeat for years. Once again, the story is simple enough, following a boy and a girl trying to find a magic crystal and a castle in the sky before a group of pirates catch up to them. Grave of the Fireflies Image via Studio Ghibli Also known as the Ghibli movies you don’t show to kids, or to people who don’t want to cry every 5 minutes, Grave of the Fireflies is one of Takahata’s most powerful films, and one that should nonetheless be experienced by people of all ages.
When it comes to young kids, there is no better place to start than My Neighbor Totoro. Whisper of the Heart Image via Studio Ghibli Only Studio Ghibli can make a film about a teenage girl’s self-actualization that’s centered around John Denver’s Take Me Home, Country Roads song, and it rules. The film is the closest Ghibli gets to a proper romance movie, following a 14-year-old aspiring writer named Shizuki who spends most of her time reading and picturing fantastical adventures rather than pursuing them herself.
How Old Is Hayao Miyazaki Today?
Hayao Miyazaki, who turns 80 years old today, has announced his retirement on more than one occasion, but like so many great artists — from Steven Soderbergh to Cher — he can’t help himself from practicing his gift. At the time of this writing, Miyazaki is deep at work on the movie “How Do You Live?” at Studio Ghibli, the independent animation company he co-founded with fellow animation legend Isao Takahata, who died in 2018. When HBO Max launched last year, one of the platform’s most exciting offerings was the (near) complete catalog of Studio Ghibli films — which include several of Japan’s top-grossing movies, among them “Princess Mononoke,” “Howl’s Moving Castle” and Oscar winner “Spirited Away” — available for the first time via streaming in the U.S. Last May, Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki spoke with Variety, explaining that the studio, which had let most of its talented animators go after the completion of “When Marnie Was Here” in 2014, was up and running again.
“However, as you know, Hayao Miyazaki came back. He said he wanted to do another film, so we had to get our employees back. What we decided was that this time, with his new hand-drawn animation film, we are going to approach it with smaller numbers of animators over a longer-term period.”
In the meantime, Studio Ghibli produced another feature, the computer-generated made-for-TV special “Earwig and the Witch,” overseen by Miyazaki’s son Goro (who also helmed the features “Tales from Earthsea” and “From Up on Poppy Hill”). Nearly 50 animators worked on that film, though Ghibli hired them from all over the world — America, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and France. According to Suzuki, he and Miyazaki have discussed the idea that another director might carry on the company’s legacy in the future.
“Miyazaki came back, and he’s working on this film, but he’s already thinking of the next project, but we’re not saying who’s going to direct that film.”
Who Directed Tales From Earthsea In 2006?
A deal with Netflix means that all but one of the studio’s films are now on the service – so long as you don’t live in North America. Tales from Earthsea (2006) Studio Ghibli/Toho/Kobal/Shutterstock An odd one – directed by Miyazkai’s son Gorō, who Miyazaki didn’t think could direct, based on a book by Ursula le Guin, who wanted his father to direct instead. A charming enough love story, full of nostalgia.
It’s a similarly realist drama, though thankfully more upbeat, about Taeko – an unmarried 27-year-old woman who travels to the countryside to get away from city life. This is a classically charming Ghibli fantasy, written by Miyazaki but directed by Yoshifumi Kondō. She meets a human boy etc. Porco Rosso (1992) Studio Ghibli/Tokuma Shoten/Toho/Kobal/Shutterstock This is Miyazaki’s greatest flying film and an underrated classic.
Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989) Ntv/Studio Ghibli/Tokuma Shoten/Kobal/Shutterstock There’s barely any plot, but that’s the whole point. Pom Poko (1994) Studio Ghibli/Kobal/Shutterstock Raccoons live full lives too! Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) Hakuhodo/Tokuma Shoten/Kobal/Shutterstock Released before Studio Ghibli was founded, Nausicaa still usually gets counted as a Ghibli work.
Howl’s Moving Castle (2004) Studio Ghibli/Ntv/Tokuma Shoten/Kobal/Shutterstock Adapted by Miyazaki from a novel of the same name, Howl’s Moving Castle is his most overtly anti-war film. For licensing reasons, Grave of the Fireflies isn’t coming to Netflix, but everyone should seek it out and put aside two hours for one of the most effective and affecting pieces of animation ever created. Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986) Kobal/Shutterstock About as classic action-adventure as Ghibli gets, the first official release Laputa: Castle in the Sky sets out Miyazaki’s great preoccupations with some style as Pazu, a young miner, and Sheeta, a girl who falls from the sky, go in search of a castle behind the clouds.
Spirited Away is a bewildering, enchanting story of a young girl who passes through to another world full of gods, monsters and magic. Princess Mononoke (1997) Dentsu/Ntv/Studio Ghibli/Kobal/Shutterstock Miyazaki has a talent for making epic stories feel small and personal, and nowhere is this more apparent than in Princess Mononoke. WB More great stories from WIRED Why do modern tomatoes taste so bad?
