Isao Takahata

火垂るの墓

Isao Takahata

Tsutomu Tatsumi, Ayano Shiraishi

In the final months of World War II, 14-year-old Seita and his sister Setsuko are orphaned when their mother is killed during an air raid in Kobe, Japan. After a falling out with their aunt, they move into an abandoned bomb shelter. With no surviving relatives and their emergency rations depleted, Seita and Setsuko struggle to survive.

ジブリの絵職人 男鹿和雄展 トトロの森を描いた人

Maiko Yahata

Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata

From July 21 through September 10th, 2007, the Museum for Contemporary Art Tokyo held an exhibition honouring Kazuo Oga, the art director and background artist for many famed works from Japan's Studio Ghibli. Over 600 works from the artist were on display, and numerous fans flocked to the one-of-a-kind exhibition celebrating the lush, gorgeous background artwork typifying many a work from Hayao Miyazaki and other Ghibli filmmakers. International fans of Oga and Studio Ghibli have not been left out, however. A Ghibli Artisan - Kazuo Oga Exhibition - The One Who Drew Totoro's Forest allows fans the opportunity to attend the exhibition, as well as watch interviews and testimonials with Oga's contemporaries and collaborators, all subtitled in English.

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

Isao Takahata

Aki Asakura, Kengo Kora

Found inside a shining stalk of bamboo by an old bamboo cutter and his wife, a tiny girl grows rapidly into an exquisite young lady. The mysterious young princess enthrals all who encounter her. But, ultimately, she must confront her fate.

The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness

Mami Sunada

Hayao Miyazaki, Toshio Suzuki

Follows the behind-the-scenes work of Studio Ghibli, focusing on the notable figures Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, and Toshio Suzuki.

Only Yesterday

Isao Takahata

Miki Imai, Toshirō Yanagiba

On a trip to the countryside to pick safflowers, a young Japanese woman recalls her life when she was ten years old.

Heidi in the Mountains

Isao Takahata

Heidi (1974) Japanese anime series by Zuiyo Eizo (now Nippon Animation) based on the Swiss novel Heidi's Years of Wandering and Learning by Johanna Spyri (1880). It was directed by Isao Takahata A feature-length film Heidi in the Mountains, aka The Story of Heidi, was edited from the series by Zuiyo (which by then was a separate entity from Nippon Animation, which employed many of the TV series' animation staff) distributed in 1979. All cast were replaced excluding Heidi and the grandfather. This movie is also the only incarnation of the Heidi anime to have been released commercially in the United States in English (on home video in the 1980s). Isao Takahata remarked "Neither Hayao Miyazaki nor I are completely related to any shortening version" on this work.

アルプスの少女ハイジ

Isao Takahata

Heidi (1974) Japanese anime series by Zuiyo Eizo. It was directed by Isao Takahata, has been dubbed into many languages. The TV series was directed also in Italy, has been distributed in 1978. After divided also in three feature films, Heidi a scuola (1977), Heidi in città (1978), Heidi torna tra i monti (1979), produced by Beta Film and Riccardo Billi and distributed by Sampaolo Film. The third feature, Heidi torna tra i monti, summarizes the latest episodes of the television series. Heidi finally back from his grandfather, but continues to maintain the friendship at a distance with Clara. Which, precisely during a visit to the girl initially hampered by Mrs. Rottenmeier, on this occasion will resume the use of his legs.

柳川の運河の物語

Isao Takahata

Masahiko Kunii, Sachiko Kagami

A partially-animated documentary about the preservation and restoration of the canal system in Yanagawa, Fukuoka

高畑勲、『かぐや姫の物語』をつくる。~ジブリ第7スタジオ、933日の伝説~

Hidekazu Sato, Akira Miki

Isao Takahata, Kazuo Oga

For his first film in fourteen years animation director Isao Takahata embarked on a visually sumptuous adaptation of "The Tale of the Princess Kaguya". A dream project for the director that would hopefully establish the recently formed Ghibli Studio 7, created to meet the demands of a new type of modern animation process. But almost immediately the epic production is faced with difficulties and falls dramatically behind schedule. In this compelling and insightful documentary we follow Isao Takahata and his dedicated team of artists as they frantically strive against adversity to make their vision a reality and bring Studio Ghibli into a new Era.

Paul Grimault, image par image

Fabienne Issartel

Paul Grimault, Yasuo Ōtsuka

母をたずねて三千里

Isao Takahata

Yoshiko Matsuo, Yukiko Nikaido

A young Italian boy named Marco is devastated when his mother must leave home to work in Argentina to pay off the family debt. She sends the family letters, but soon the messages stop coming, which worries Marco and sets him off on an epic quest to find her.

Pom Poko

Isao Takahata

Makoto Nonomura, Nijiko Kiyokawa

The Raccoons of the Tama Hills are being forced from their homes by the rapid development of houses and shopping malls. As it becomes harder to find food and shelter, they decide to band together and fight back. The Raccoons practice and perfect the ancient art of transformation until they are even able to appear as humans in hilarious circumstances.

赤毛のアン グリーンゲーブルズへの道

Isao Takahata

Eiko Yamada, Fumie Kitahara

Anne is an orphan full of imagination. When she arrives at her new home she learns that sometimes you have to be a sensible person too; at the same time her unique character changes, or at least attracts, the people around her. The story covers Anne's growth from about eleven to seventeen years old as she makes friends, goes to school and studies. At a difficult point in her life, Anne will have to make a hard choice and perhaps find a new dream.

Chie the Brat

Isao Takahata

Chinatsu Nakayama, Norio Nishikawa

Chie Takemoto is a dependable girl who struggles to help her troublesome father run a small tavern in Osaka. Unbeknown to her dad, she occasionally visits her mother who left him not too long ago. She plans on trying to reunite them, but not until her father gets a job.

My Neighbors the Yamadas

Isao Takahata

Hayato Isohata, Masako Araki

The Yamadas are a typical middle class Japanese family in urban Tokyo and this film shows us a variety of episodes of their lives. With tales that range from the humorous to the heartbreaking, we see this family cope with life's little conflicts, problems, and joys in their own way.

Gauche the Cellist

Bernhard Dircks, Isao Takahata

Hideki Sasaki, Fuyumi Shiraishi

Gauche is a diligent but mediocre cellist who plays for a small town orchestra and the local cinema in the early 20th century. He struggles during rehearsals and is often berated by his conductor during preparations for an upcoming performance of Beethoven's Sixth Symphony. Over the course of four nights, Gauche is visited at his mill house home by talking animals as he is practicing.