2008 Woodie Awards
"Disney of the East' grows more popular in the West
Ginger Cooley
Issue date: 10/17/06 Section: Features
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The Northern Light
It was 1984 when the release of "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind" led to the establishment of a new 2-D animation studio in Japan: Studio Ghibli.
In 2001, Studio Ghibli released "Spirited Away" and created a wave of international attention.
Now in 2006, Studio Ghibli is often referred to as "The Disney of the East" due to its high-quality animation and spectacular story lines.
But many people involved in the early years of Studio Ghibli thought the studio was doomed to fail. Toshio Suzuki, an employee of Studio Ghibli, says on the studio's English Web site: "Make one film. If that succeeds, make another. If it flops, that ends it."
He says that in order to keep risks to a minimum when operations first began, Studio Ghibli did not hire full-time employees. "About 70 persons were temporarily hired to complete one film, and when the film was completed, the team was dismissed."
In its first years, Studio Ghibli was no more than a simple one-floor establishment in a building in Kichijoji, a suburb of Tokyo.
Hayao Miyazaki is the mastermind behind most of the studio's films, and he is now the lifeblood of the studio. It was Miyazaki who directed "Princess Mononoke," which received Japan's Academy Award for best film and became Japan's highest-grossing film in history. Miyazaki's "Princess Mononoke" laid the foundation for Disney and Studio Ghibli's relationship when it was released in the U.S. on Oct. 29, 1999.
It was also Miyazaki who directed "Spirited Away," which overtook "Princess Mononoke" in box-office records. In fact, "Spirited Away" gathered international momentum and became the most famous Studio Ghibli film released in theaters in the United States. It was among the first Studio Ghibli films to come to Disney DVD in the U.S. as well. Like "Princess Mononoke," "Spirited Away" helped pave the way to the studio's international fame.
Studio Ghibli releases films that consistently beat Disney's box-office revenues in Japan. And now as they are making their way around the world under Disney licenses, they are consistently nominated for awards around the world. In fact, "Spirited Away" received many awards internationally, including Best Foreign Language Film from the Film Critics Circle of Australia and a nomination for the Screen International Award from the European Film Awards.
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