From the beginning, Studio Ghibli rejected the idea that animation was primarily a medium for children. Films such as My Neighbour Totoro (1988) and Grave of the Fireflies (1988) demonstrated the breadth of the team’s ambitions, moving between wonder, melancholy, humour and profound human emotion. Ghibli’s works often paired fantastical worlds with deeply recognisable experiences of childhood, family, loss and change.
Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, the studio established its international reputation through films including Princess Mononoke (1997), Spirited Away (2001) and Howl’s Moving Castle (2004). Spirited Away became a landmark achievement, winning the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2003. Across the studio’s work, meticulous hand-drawn animation meets an extraordinary eye for seemingly ordinary details — from cooking and travelling to weather, architecture and the movement of wind through trees.
Nature is central in Ghibli’s storytelling, portrayed not simply as beautiful scenery but as a powerful presence in its own right. Themes of ecological responsibility, industrialisation and the tension between humanity and the natural world are particularly prominent in films such as Princess Mononoke and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.
Ghibli remains one of the most influential names in global animation. Its films have inspired generations of artists and filmmakers, while the studio’s commitment to hand-crafted imagery, emotional complexity and imaginative storytelling continues to distinguish its work.
HAYAO MIYAZAKI (B. 1941) & STUDIO GHIBLI
My Neighbour Totoro; & Kiki's Delivery Service; & Ponyo on the Cliff
HAYAO MIYAZAKI (B. 1941) & STUDIO GHIBLI
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind , signed by Miyazaki
HAYAO MIYAZAKI (B. 1941) & STUDIO GHIBLI
Kiki ’ s Delivery Service (Ursula)