Castles in the Sky: Miyazaki, Takahata and the Masters of Studio Ghibli

You’ll be “spirited away” by this outstanding selection of animated features and shorts from Studio Ghibli, often called the Disney of Japan.

Founded in Tokyo in 1985 by animation directors Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, Studio Ghibli is one of the most successful and respected animation studios in the world. Cultivating a creative force of talented directors, animators, and storytellers under the revered brilliance of Miyazaki and Takahata, Studio Ghibli has established a remarkable track record of originality, dazzling animation, and epic storytelling. Studio Ghibli films have become a beloved part of Japanese popular culture and have garnered worldwide acclaim from audiences and critics alike. Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away, perhaps the best known of the studio’s features in the United States, won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2002. In 2005 Miyazaki himself was named one of Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People.”

This comprehensive retrospective includes new 35mm prints of favorites like Spirted Away and of several films that have never been released in North America. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to see Miyazaki’s beloved favorites My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Castle in the Sky, and Porco Rosso, as well as seldom-seen films by Takahata, such as Pom Poko, Only Yesterday, and My Neighbors the Yamadas. Also included in the series are Tomomi Mochizuki’s Ocean Waves, the first Ghibli feature to be made by someone other than Miyazaki or Takahata; Whisper of the Heart, the only feature by Miyazaki protégé Yoshifumi Kondo; and The Cat Returns, Hiroyuki Morita’s sequel to the Kondo film.

Half of the films will be presented in the original Japanese language versions with English subtitles, and half will be dubbed in English for an even more family-friendly experience.

Spirited Away
(Hayao Miyazaki, 2001), subtitled
Thursday, November 1 | 7 pm

Princess Mononoke
(Hayao Miyazaki, 1997), subtitled
Friday, November 2 | 7 pm

My Neighbors the Yamadas
(Isao Takahata, 1999), dubbed
Sunday, November 4 | 2 pm

Only Yesterday
(Isao Takahata, 1991), subtitled
Sunday, November 4 | 4:15 pm

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
(Hayao Miyazaki, 1984), subtitled
Friday, November 9 | 7 pm

Castle in the Sky
(Hayao Miyazaki, 1986), subtitled
Friday, November 16 | 7 pm

Porco Rosso
(Hayao Miyazaki, 1992), dubbed
Saturday, November 17 | 2 pm

Ocean Waves
(Tomomi Mochizuki, 1993) subtitled
Saturday, November 17 | 7 pm

Whisper of the Heart
(Yoshifumi Kondo, 1995), dubbed
Sunday, November 18 | 2 pm

The Cat Returns
(Hiroyuki Morita, 2002), dubbed
Sunday, November 18 | 4:15 pm

My Neighbor Totoro
(Hayao Miyazaki, 1988), dubbed
Friday, November 23 | 2 pm

Pom Poko
(Isao Takahata, 1994), dubbed
Thursday, November 29 | 7 pm

Kiki’s Delivery Service
(Hayao Miyazaki, 1989), dubbed
Sunday, December 1 | screening time TBD