May 19, 2025 (Summer)
More random knowledge we dug up this week.
Wandering Wikipedia: Studio Ghibli
For our summer issue, my wonderful “Nerd Zone” Co-Editor Julia and I chose to theme our articles as “Summer of Animation.” So in that spirit, I have decided to choose the Wikipedia article for Studio Ghibli. They’re the animation studio responsible for so many wonderful animated classics, such as My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, Ponyo, and the list goes on.
So how did Studio Ghibli come to be? Studio Ghibli was formed by Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, along with producer Toshio Suzuki. Miyazaki and Takahata had previously worked together on successful projects such as Great Adventure of Horus, Prince of the Sun in 1968, and the Panda! Go, Panda! films in 1972 and 1973. Suzuki was an editor at Tokuma Shoten’s Animage manga magazine.
Their studio was formed shortly after the success of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, the profits from which allowed them to animate their next movies, Castle in the Sky and My Neighbor Totoro. Released in 1986 and ‘88 respectively, they both were absolute successes in the box office, having earned $157 and $41 million by 2021. This success set Studio Ghibli on a trajectory to do many great things, and many great things they did. They proceeded to release cult classics such as Kiki’s Delivery Service, Porco Rosso, and Spirited Away.
Now, Studio Ghibli would be nowhere without the beautiful music that accompanies their movies. And for most of Studio Ghibli’s more popular works, we have one man to thank. His name is Joe Hisaishi. He composed and performed the music for most Ghibli classics, such as those above, along with Ponyo, The Wind Rises, and Howl’s Moving Castle.
Interestingly enough, the selection of Joe Hisaishi to score the films started with a recommendation for him to create the music for the movie Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind by one of his bosses, after listening to one of his albums, Information. After he did so, his connection to Studio Ghibli was born, and he’s been scoring movies for them ever since — even their most recent feature film, The Boy and the Heron.
And that’s all the random knowledge we’ve got for you this week. Thank you for Wandering Wikipedia with us this season. We hope to see you next season.