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When most of the viewers are used to colorful and beautiful CGI combined with super-detailed and realisticanimation, Studio Ghibli‘s commitment to the art of handmade animation feels like getting an actual letter in times of reading mail. It’s emotional, nostalgic, and something that has a sort of home feeling that is just hard to pass off. From the Shōnen Jump collection, their timeless art style with inspirational and dramatic plots makes you watch them with a bowl of soup and sometimes a tissue.
Studio Ghibli is not simply a name in the industry of animation, but it wasstarted by the legend, Hayao Miyazaki. It’s the symbol of creativity that is always giving cinema classics in the industry every time. Whether they’re animated in less than 5 minutes or painstakingly hand-drawn and painted, frame by frame, it can make you think for a moment if the people who animated them have a secret business with coffee, you know, by staying awake all night to work. This kind of art, full of endearing and old-school stories topped with a fable-like feeling to it, has ingrained itself deeply in the hearts of everyone who has been fortunate enough to lay their eyes on it.
The Magic of Hand-Drawn Animation
A Labor of Love And Emotion
Each Studio Ghibli picture is a tribute to the laborintensity of artists. Just think of sketching several frames of a scene while increasing detail ten or a hundred times more than your simple drawing of a cat and doing it year after year! That’s the kind of dedication these creators have within them to put into their craft. That may be why their movies are so vibrant—the wind is always blowing through the trees, water spits and ripples, and there are hairs in the director’s face.
I have to say there’s something comforting about the small flaws of hand-drawn animation. It’s sort of like watching an individual artisan knit a sweater instead of the assembly-line sweater—it looks a little wrong, but that’s why it’s unique.Impressions of Ghibli’s art have that factor, and you may be sure that, for some things, the hand of man is irreplaceable by any technology.
Stories That Speak To The Soul
Universal Themes, Timeless Messages
Studio Ghibli has the habit of telling the story that is on the table, big things such as love, courage, or finding oneself in a very intimate manner. In Spirited Away, Chihiro’s journey to find her identity in a world filled with magical beings resonates with anyone who’s ever felt out of place (read: everyone). Still, My Neighbor Totoro evokes the spirit of childhood so effectively that you can only hope to be granted a meeting with a forest spirit.
The ingredients that bring out asuccessful flow of stories in Ghibli’s moviesare achieved through the characters. These aren’t idealized stock characters whose fates are already determined. The characters of Ashitaka in Princess Mononoke, as well as Sophie in Howl’s Moving Castle, are iconic, simply because the audience can’t get rid of those characters as easily, even after the movie ends. They are so realistic that you end up making comparisons with real-life people—or that you wish that your friends were as awesome as the character Howl.
A Feast for the Eyes (and Soul)
Attention to Detail and Feeling Butterflies In Your Stomach
One can hardly mentionStudio Ghibli without focusing on its incredible workon every detail. It is those few words—each of them a priceless painting perched within the movie—such as the raindrop running down the window. What is important about a Ghibli movie? Watching a Ghibli movie does not feel as though one watches a movie as an object but rather watches a movie as a piece of life. This is precisely why every frame that comes out of the company is a masterpiece.
After viewing a Ghibli flick and wishing to pillage your kitchen the next day, you are normal. When it comes to the portrayal of food, these people seem tohave a charmed life in the studio. Whether the steaming bowls of ramen in Ponyo or the bento boxes in My Neighbor Totoro make you wish for mouthwatering, scrumptious meals just like that, why doesn’t one’s food appear as delightful? Who could have thought that after watching animation, you would feel like ordering something to eat?
Masterpieces That Stand the Test of Time
Spirited Away
And when Spirited Away was released, it was not only getting awards; it was winning affection. Joining Chihiro in her adventures through a fantastically bizarre place, which can be quite scary at times, the plot of the film is acombination of gorgeous animationand meaningful feelings. Whether it is realizing that she is brave or thinking that a bathhouse for spirits is just plain funny, this is a movie that stays with you… like a dream you do not want to wake up from.
My Neighbor Totoro
If you believe that Spirited Away is a wild journey, thenMy Neighbor Totoro is a warm embrace. It is a story where two sisters have tremendous fun and tell the story of a furry, large spirit of a forest who is apparently anyone’s dream mascot. You can’t sit through this movie and not come out smiling afterward, even if you are an adult man who has not been on a tree for years.
Castle in the Sky
If you like your anime featuring soaring through the skies, Castle in the Sky should not be missed. This animated feature describes the adventures of two children who are trying to save the city of Laputa, which floats in the sky. High-octane actionsequences are plenty in the movie, from capturing breathtaking aerial chase scenes to lush green fields that will make you wish the movie could slow down for you to admire the scenery and everything in between.
The major difference between Castle in the Sky and other products is the presence of wonder. It is not even a journey of a renaissance, where every scene opens a brand-new door; rather, it is a journey of discovery of a completely different world with different science and different environments. But in addition to the action plan, the movie shows greed, interaction between humanity and nature, and trust.It is a pretty provoking narrativethat was turned into an exciting movie that unites and inspires generations of dreamers.
Why Ghibli’s Handcrafted Magic Matters
This isn’t just a film studio—Studio Ghibli has created films;they’ve defined how narrativesand visuals are told in animation. More creators have stated that Ghibli’s work influenced them, or words to that effect. It is difficult not to get inspired by what a few dedicated artists were able to create with a bunch of pencils, some paper, and a heap of time and, most likely, coffee.
Nowadays, it is very difficult to remain a fan of Studio Ghibli’s films that are created in the Japanese animation on the system. New generations get introduced to these stories every year that just affirm that such art pieces do not fade away with time. This is why Ghibli will endure through time as well as across cultures: because there’s always a Totoro snug somewhere on your shelf.
If I lose my magic, that means I’ve lost absolutely everything. - Kiki’s Delivery Service
Buried withinStudio Ghibli’s films is one of the most beautiful lessons’life has to offer in its entirety—time and effort accompany beauty. Their commitment to hand-drawn animated films along with powerful stories is the best example of human passion. Ghibli in a world where quick and fast is better than quality; Ghibli’s ways of doing things the right way and not the easy way is something that we can learn.
So, no matter whether the movie is watched after years or if it is watched for the first time, everybody will find something in Ghibli’s films. But then, if you find yourself staring off into thedistance wishing you were in a Ghibli world, then at least you know that happens to the best of us.
