Studio Ghibli; films from 1993 to 2002
In this lesson we will be talking about the films that Studio Ghibli produced during the timeframe of 1993 to 2002. We will also be mentioning Studio Ghibli’s first and only television movie.
Ocean Waves (海がきこえる Umi ga kikoeru)
Ocean Waves was released on 25 december 1993. Ocean Waves was the first film that was not produced or written by either Miyazaki Hayao or Takahata Isao. Instead of that Ocean Waves was an attempt to let the younger staff of Studio Ghibli to make a film and to try to make it reasonable cheap. In the end didn’t work out and the younger staff went over both budget and schedule. Beside this Ocean Waves was also Studio Ghibli’s first TV Movie. Ocean Waves was directed by Mochizuki Tomomi and written by Nakamura Kaori.
Ocean Waves is the story about how Taku and Yutaka, two best friends. They both fall in love with the new girl Rikako, who transferred from Tokyo to Kochi. The story follows their love triangle. |
Pom Poko (平成狸合戦ぽんぽこ Heisei Tanuki Gassen Ponpoko)
Pom Poko was released on 16 July 1994. It was directed and produced by Takahata Isao and produced by Suzuki Toshio. Pom Poko is about how a group of mischievous Japanese tanuki (raccoon dogs) try to scare humans away. This because they see the humans as their rivals and civilisation is getting nearer to their home. But while they try to scare away the humans, they learn that they are not their only rivals in their struggle for their territory.
Pom Poko is the first film of Studio Ghibli that focus on Japanese myths and legends. Takahata is able to use the magical aspects of the legends and mix them with modern developers. Where we see Japanese folklore in an unique aspect mixed with comedy of modern failings and a tale of unlikely heroes, who use trickery and sabotage as their weapons. |
Whisper of the Heart (耳をすませば Mimi o Sumaseba lit. "If you listen closely")
Whisper of the Heart was released on 15 july 1995. It was directed by Kondo Yoshifumi and written by Miyazaki Hayao and produced by Suzuki Toshio. Whisper of the Heart tells the story of Shizuku. Shizuku is a junior-high student who struggles to find out who she is and what she want to become. While watching this film we see her journey through her daily life and imagination while she tries to make decisions about her future. While doing this she meets Seiji and befriends him. Where she admires how Seiji already knows what he wants to do in the future.
During Whisper of the Hearts we see how Suzuki tries to translate “Take Me Home, Country Roads” to Japanese. While she does this make a humorous version of it that she calls “Concrete Road,” which focus on Suzuki’s hometown western Tokyo. The songs in Whisper of the Hearts were actually translated by Suzuki Toshio’s daughter, where Hayao helped along. “Take Me Home, Country Roads” and it’s versions play a role at various points in the story. |
Princess Mononoke (もののけ姫 Mononoke-hime)
Princess Mononoke was released on 12 july 1995, it was directed and written by Miyazaki Hayao and produced by Suzuki Toshio. Princess Mononoke is set during the Muromachi Period of Japan. It is a tale of a mystical fight between humans and the Animal Gods of the forest. San, who is a human girl that is raised by the wolf god Moro. She’s called Mononoke Hime and on the side of the Animal Gods. On the side of the humans is Lady Eboshi who is building a kingdom for oppressed people. She does this by cutting down the forest so that she can extent her iron-making operation. In the middle of this fight is Ashitaka. Ashitaka is the last prince of a dying race and he struggles to find a way for both sides to co-exist. But these isn’t as easy as it seems.
The central theme of Princess Mononoke is the environment. It shows how Ashitaka is on a journey to the west to undo a mortal curse inflicted upon him by Nago, a boar who turned into a demon by Eboshi. We see how Eboshi tries to destroy the environment so that she can place her factory there were the forest was. In this we see how greed overtakes humans. |
My Neighbors the Yamadas (ホーホケキョとなりの山田くん Hōhokekyo Tonari no Yamada-kun)
My Neighbors the Yamadas was released on 17 july 1999, which was directed and written by Takahata Isao and produced by Suzuki Toshio. My Neighbors the Yamadas focus on the daily lives of the Yamada family. It’s about Takashi and Matsuko, the father and mother, Shige, Matsuko’s mother, Noboru and Nonoko, the son and daughter and Pochi their family dog.
My Neighbors the Yamadas has a different feel than the other films by Studio Ghibli. One of the reasons for this is that Isao wanted to have the art style of watercolor pictures instead of cel pictures. To achieve this, the traditional paint-on-cel techniques were replaced with digital technology. By doing this my Neighbors the Yamadas is the first Ghibli film which is painted and animated entirely on computers. The other reason that let us receive a different feel from this film is because this film doesn’t have a contiguous plot. It exist out series of vignettes and each vignettes has it’s own title. Like “Father as Role Model” or “A Family Torn Apart”. |
Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi, lit. "Sen and Chihiro's Spiriting Away")
Spirited Away was released on 27 July 2001. It was directed and written by Miyazaki Hayao and produced by Suzuki Toshio. In Spirited Away we see how Chihiro enters the Land of Spirits. The Land of Spirits is inhabited by gods and monsters and is ruled by the greedy witch Yu-baba. She transformed Chihiro’s parents into pigs. If Chihiro wants to rescue them she has to give up her name and serve the Land of Spirits. In the Land of Spirits she finds friends and allies, who help her get out of her sulky and listless behaviour and find her inner strengths. This way she is able to establish and identity in this strange world. One of the persons that she meet during her journey in the Land of Spirit is Haku, a mysterious and handsome boy who helps her with her journey to find her inner strengths.
The theme that we can find in Spirited Away is the “coming of age” theme. Where we see how Chihiro goes from child to adult. Here she faces her past and has to create a new identity to live on. This is also established by how Miyazaki Hayao used the word Kamikakushi in this film. Kamikakushi literally means hidden by gods. Kamikakushi is used as a verdict of ‘social death’ in this world. While you come back from Kamikakushi it means ‘social resurrection’. Chihiro goes to Kamikakushi (Land of Spirits) and comes back from it. This is a clear element we see in Spirited Away. |
The Cat Returns (猫の恩返し Neko no Ongaeshi, lit. The Cat's Repayment)
The Cat Returns was directed by Morita Hiroyuki, written by Yoshida Reiko and produced by Suzuki Toshio and Takahashi Nozomu. The Cat Returns is a semi-spinoff from Whispers of the Heart. In this film we see how Muta, the fat cat in Whisper of the Heart and Baron, the cat doll in Whisper of the Heart are set out to rescue Haru, who is a young girl that has wandered into the world of cats.
In the Whisper of the Heart we saw no magical elements, but we did see how she viewed Baron. The Cat Returns was created because Baron had become so popular by the viewers and thus Studio Ghibli decided on an indirect sequel. |