Earwig and the Witch is the first fully-CGI animated film from Studio Ghibli. Except it kind of isn’t since it’s actually a feature length TV special commissioned by NHK that has received a theatrical release more recently. It’s… an interesting experiment, but more on that later. Set in generic a semi-rural English town in the […]
Anne of Green Gables’ anime adaption has hit Blu-Ray as part of Madman’s extended works of Ghibli founder Isao Takahata. While the literary classic has been a mainstay in schools for decades now, this release marks the first time the anime has been officially in Australia on DVD or Blu-Ray. Anne (with an “e”) Shirley […]
Ocean Waves marked the first time in Studio Ghibli’s history where the directorial duties were handed over to someone other than co-founders Hayao Miyazaki or Isao Takahata back in 1993. With Madman’s recent blu-ray release in hand, let’s dive into this interesting experiment in Ghibli’s back catalogue. Ocean Waves treads somewhat familiar ground by telling […]
The night that Ronja is born, a bolt of lightning split her father’s castle in two, creating a massive chasm known as Hell’s Gap. Ronja is the daughter of Mattis, a professional robber that terrorises travellers in the nearby forest while competing with a rival clan of robbers led by Borka. While Ronja grows up surrounded […]
Co-produced with Studio Ghibli, Michael Dudok de Wit’s first full-length animated film delves into the life of a man who finds himself marooned on an island after a storm, as he desperately searches for a way to escape. Unfortunately, his attempts to leave the island are continuously thwarted by a large red turtle, and each […]
Back in May we had the opportunity to review Only Yesterday on DVD, but with Madman recently releasing it on Blu-Ray, we thought it was a good opportunity to revisit Takahata’s delightful tale in HD. For those wanting a strong synopsis of the plot I’d recommend you read Calo’s review of the DVD edition, but […]
A second commercial based on the Choju Jinbutsu Giga scrolls has been animated by Studio Ghibli for the Marubeni Shin Denryoku energy company. As explained in the previous post about the first animated commercial, the animation is based on a collection of four Japanese picture scrolls created in the 12th and 13th centuries. They have […]
A massive Studio Ghibli exhibit will be set up in Tokyo’s Roppongi Hills, at the Tokyo City View building. The exhibit will be open from 7 July to 11 September, and will showcase Studio Ghibli posters, photos, documents, artwork, and animation material from the last thirty years. Movies ranging from Nausicaa of the Valley of […]
The 1991 Ghibli classic Only Yesterday is returning to selected cinemas this month from May 5th. In anticipation for its re-release, I was given the opportunity to review a Japanese copy of the film before its English debut to Australian cinemas. The year is 1982 and Taeko Okajima is 27 and living alone. Following a […]
The Red Turtle is an upcoming animated film co-produced by Studio Ghibli and directed by Michaël Dudok de Wit who is best known for his animated short films. The most famous of these is the Academy Award winning short film Father and Daughter, but The Red Turtle will be his first feature length film. The […]