Founded in 1985, Studio Ghibli has managed to give us some of the most fantastic, scariest, and emotional animated movies ever made. Along the way with masters like Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, we’ve always been introduced to some truly heinous beasts and entities that have either passed through these worlds or met the heroes of these respective films. Among the myriad, these are five of, what I deem, the Scariest Studio Ghibli Monsters.
Tag Archives: Studio Ghibli
Tickets On Sale Now For “MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO” 35th Anniversary Screenings
Tickets are on sale now for the celebratory 35th anniversary screenings of renowned director Hayao Miyazaki’s cherished feature My Neighbor Totoro, kicking off Studio Ghibli Fest 2023. GKIDS, celebrating its 15th anniversary as producer and distributor of multiple Academy Award®-nominated animated features, and Fathom Events, are proud to continue their collaboration for Studio Ghibli Fest 2023, and deliver a slate highlighting all ten of Hayao Miyazaki’s iconic animated films with Studio Ghibli, as well as the first-ever North American screenings of SPIRITED AWAY: Live On Stage.
The film will be shown in both original Japanese and English dubbed versions. In addition to the full feature, audiences will get to view exclusive selections from the documentary series 10 Years with Hayao Miyazaki.
Tickets for My Neighbor Totoro and the rest of Ghibli Fest 2023 can be purchased online by visiting GhibliFest.com, FathomEvents.com, or at participating theater box offices (Theaters and participants are subject to change).
Earwig and the Witch (2020) [Blu-Ray/DVD]
I’m one of the traditionalists that think Studio Ghibli should have stuck to hand drawn animation, but sometimes there’s just no fighting change. With “Earwig and the Witch” there’s so much new, that you’re almost tricked in to forgetting that the movie almost has no real narrative. At all. This is one of Studio Ghibli’s more aimless movies that doesn’t have a whole lot to it. Substantially, the movie packs in some great animation, and it’s quite startling how some of the motion for some scenes looks so realistic. I’m not going to say that the movie is an accomplishment in regards to Ghibli because Pixar has pulled off so much better.
Hell, Dreamworks has accomplished so much more with this medium.
The Wind Rises (2013) [Blu-Ray/DVD]
It’s apropos and yet somewhat inexplicable that Hayao Miyazaki would end his career on one what is easily his most divisive film. Miyazaki has spent so much of his career delivering masterpieces of animation that discuss the horrible fall out of war, destruction of the environment, and war machines. So it’s absolutely confounding that Miyazaki takes a more objective approach to Jirô Horikoshi and his creation of what would become certified weapons of war.
TV on DVD: Infinity Train: Book One (DVD)+Gift/Ronja, The Robber’s Daughter: The Complete Series [Blu-Ray]
I truly hope you’re doing well in the current social climate and are celebrating Friday the best way you can. This week, I’m reviewing two brilliant animated series that’s female oriented, but fit for every audience imaginable. They’re two very complex and amazing animated series you can sit down and watch with the whole family, that promote strong female heroes, complex ideas about youth and discovery, and confronts very real overtones about loss of innocence and growing up way too fast.
Spirited Away (2001): Collector’s Edition [Blu-Ray/CD/Book]
With their partnership with GKids, Shout Factory has managed to obtain a remarkable chunk of Studio Ghibli’s library and have given choice titles some truly deluxe treatment. Among some of Hayao Miyazaki’s masterpieces is the incredible “Spirited Away” a film that owes a lot to “Alice in Wonderland” and “The Wizard of Oz,” that also evokes subtle social commentary on child trafficking. In either case, “Spirited Away” is still a remarkable and stellar piece of art, with some of Miyazaki’s most memorable creations including No Face, and the Soot Sprites.
Princess Mononoke (Mononoke-hime) (1997): Collector’s Edition [Blu-Ray/CD/Book]
Twenty years ago, Studio Ghibli and the master Hayao Miyazaki opened my mind up to a new dimension of animation and storytelling that pretty much changed my life. It also inspired me to look toward telling bigger tales with richer characters, because Miyazaki is very much about rich characterization and brilliant metaphor. Much of his films revolve around the love of nature, the vastness of the open sky, and the effect humans can have on the environment and the world around us.