This character is Ponyo which is a main character in the film of "Ponyo on the Cliff in the Sea".Today, Japan takes many things from other countries like food industry and apparel industry, but I would like to write about a Japanese thing which exports to other countries, "Ghibli films".
This black cat is the character called Jiji in the film of "Kiki's Delivery Services". He is the best friend of Kiki(She is main character of this film)
Ghibli films are created by Hayao Miyazaki. He is one of the famouse film director, and also animation writer, caricaturist, and founder of Studio Ghibli which is an animation film studio. Miyazaki's films are now appreciated by many people not only in Japan but also in other countries. His popular films are "Spirited Away" (2001), "My Neighbor Totoro" (1988), and the latet one, "Ponyo on the Cliff in the Sea" (2008). Those films were released in America, and the latest one "Ponyo" were released in 927 theaters. Moreover, those films were awarded many prizes. For example, "Spirited Away" received a Golden Bear prize which is the most honorable prize at Berlin International Film Festival. It was for the first time in history that animation film received a Golden Bear prize.
The person who is in the middle is Hayao Miyazaki who creats Ghibli films.
I borrowed this picture from this site.
http://www.eiga-portal.com/butaiaisatsu/sentochihiro-kin/photo6.shtml
I took observation about Ghibli films. I took interviews to 10 foreigners, and all of them answered they knew about Ghibli films. 3 of them are American students who come to Kansai Gaidai to study Japanese. When I went to Kyoto with them and my friends, we found the shop which sold stuffs of characters of Ghibli films such as Ponyo and Totoro, and they loved those stuffs so much. In addition to that, one of my friends who lives in South Carolina, America, also knows about Ghibli films, and she can sing the song of Ponyo. She told me that she could rent DVD of Gibli films in her hometown. I found that the most popular Ghibli film among those who I took interviews was "Spirited Away" through my observation. I asked what point they like about the film, and one of them told me that he liked imagination because he could not expect those imaginations that Hayao Miyazaki created.
Ghibli films are mainly created for children, and a lot of works created by Hayao Miyazaki are loved by children. I think no children don't know about Ghibli in Japan. I, myself, loevd Ghibli films very much when I was young, especially "My Neighbor Totoro". However, Ghibli films entertain not only children but also adults. In fact, one of my professor respects him. I think the reason why Ghibli films are appreciated by people is that Hayao Miyazaki creates not just stories for children, but he satires our society. For example, he represents about protection of environment and animals in the film of "Nausica of the Valley of the Wind" (1984), and also represents anti-war in the film of "Porco Rosso" (1992).
On 20th of November, one of his films "Castle in the Sky" will be broadcasted on TV. This movie is about adventure of a boy and a girl in the imagination world which is based on Europe after the industry revolution in 19th century. The title in Japansese is "Tenku no shiro Laputa". The name of "Laputa" was taken from the book, "Gulliver's Travels", and the castle which is in the sky also appears in the film. If you are interested in this film, please check it out next month!
Links
Studio Ghibli http://www.ghibli.jp/
Ghibli museum (in Tokyo) http://www.ghibli-museum.jp/
Ghibli fan site http://www.aic.gr.jp/anime/ghibli/
They are written in Japanese.
A wonderful example of export culture and its global reach. My Neighbore Totoro is a favorite of my good friend's children. While visiting, I distinctly recall them asking one day why the girls were taking a bath with their father in the early part of the film. For my friend's children, the film was as American as a Disney movie. A good deal of explaining was required for my friend to help his children understand the movie was Japanese, but not before he too became curious and looked to me in almost as much puzzlement about the scene.
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ReplyDeleteTo R.A.Stern
ReplyDeleteI was surprised when I heard Ghibli films are published from Disney in America because in Japan, Ghibli and Disney are completely different. One of my American friend told me that it was sometimes difficult to understand Ghibli films because the films imply something but it doesn't explain what's going on. Even Japanese have difficulty to understand Ghibli films sometimes!
To visual gonthros
Thank you so much for your advise. I added some explanation of Ghibli characters.
To visual gonthros
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry I removed your comment by mistake.