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Witness History

Studio Ghibli - Japan's Oscar-winning animators

Witness History

BBC

History, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.41.6K Ratings

🗓️ 24 December 2020

⏱️ 11 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In August 1986 the first Studio Ghibli film hit the cinema screens. It would go on to bring Japanese animation to a world audience. Hirokatsu Kihara was a young animator who joined the studio to work on Castle in the Sky, its first feature length film. He spoke to Ashley Byrne of Made in Manchester about the early days of the great animation studio.

Photo: Oscar-winning animator Hayao Miyazaki, one of the founders of Studio Ghibli. Credit: Getty Images.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know.

0:04.7

My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds.

0:08.5

As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable experts and genuinely engaging voices.

0:18.0

What you may not know is that the BBC makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars,

0:24.6

poltergeist, cricket, and conspiracy theories and that's just a few examples.

0:29.7

If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC

0:35.4

Sounds.

0:36.4

Hello and thank you for downloading the podcast of Witness History from the BBC World Service.

0:47.0

All this week we're looking back at landmark moments in the history of film.

0:52.0

Today we're going back to 1986 and the release of the first movie from the now internationally

0:58.1

renowned Studio Gibley, the animation company that introduced a very Japanese sensibility to a world audience. It's August 1986 and Japanese audiences are getting their first glimpse of a new kind of animation with greater detail and more sophisticated

1:26.5

storytelling, courtesy of Studio Gibley.

1:31.0

La Puta Castle in the sky was a fantasy adventure featuring floating cities, airships,

1:36.7

magical amulets and epic battles.

1:39.6

But it's the complexity of the story seen through the young eyes of main characters Shita and

1:44.5

Pazu that really captured the imagination of the audience. Studio Gibleiebly had been formed in 1985 bringing together seasoned animators

2:00.1

Iso Takahata, Torohara and Hio Meizaki with other people experienced in storytelling.

2:07.0

When Studio Gibley was launched, we didn't have a particular future vision for ourselves,

2:17.0

but we knew our mission was to succeed and thrive.

2:20.0

To put it simply, Mr. Miyaz said, failure is not an option. If we fail, that is the end.

2:27.0

He repeatedly told us it's not just about finishing this film, but making a perfect film. film otherwise we'll have no future so I

2:35.3

need all of your help to succeed.

...

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