Studio Ghibli

The Red Turtle Review

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The first international coproduction from legendary Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli, The Red Turtle is beautiful at times, yet frustratingly enigmatic at others.

TIFF 2014: The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness Review

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The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness TIFF Docs It’s not often that we as the viewing public get an outside glimpse into a dream factory.  The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness, while a bit dry at times, is a unique look inside one of the premiere animation houses on the planet. To the general public […]

The Wind Rises Review

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While time will only tell if Hayao Miyazaki’s latest film, the World War II era period piece The Wind Rises, will be the animation auteur’s final feature, if it turns out to be true he’s certainly ending his career on a high note.

Interview: Jesse Wente on Studio Ghibli

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We talk to TIFF Bell Lightbox Head of Film Programming (and massive dork at heart) Jesse Wente about round 2 of the Lightbox's now comprehensive look at the films of Studio Ghibli. We also talk about what the films mean to him, the iconography behind My Neighbor Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies, hidden gems in the program people might not be aware of, how the films of Studio Ghibli encompass the very goals the TIFF Bell Lightbox strives towards as an organization, and why he’s honoured to be a part of this showcase of films by not only a great filmmaker, but one of the greatest artists the world has ever known.

A Beginner’s Guide to Studio Ghibli

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With the return of TIFF's retrospective of the works of Studio Ghibli returning to the Lightbox starting this Thursday (and running to January 3rd), lets look back at our Beginner's Guide to the works of possibly the best animation studio operating today.

From Up on Poppy Hill Review

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It's somewhat disappointing to report that From Up on Poppy Hill is a pretty looking, but boring and gutless romance, more akin to hundreds of other sappier anime tales of lusting than the touch of magic the wizards at Studio Ghibli are renowned for.
The Grey - Liam Neeson

This Week in DVD: 5/22/12

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A busy week for big titles on video store shelves as we take a look at The Grey, The Secret World of Arrietty, The Woman in Black, This Means War, and Red Tails.
The Secret World of Arrietty - F2

The Secret World of Arrietty Review

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Even dubbed into English, it’s hard to go wrong with almost any film bearing the Studio Ghibli name on it. Similarly, the much beloved children’s novel The Borrowers – written by the late Mary Norton with no fewer than four big and small screen adaptations – stands as an enduring brand in family entertainment. While only written by Ghibli head maestro Hayao Miyazaki and only somewhat faithful to Norton’s beloved source material, The Secret World of Arrietty still manages to be another solid, but slight effort from the Japanese powerhouse.