There are many, many things to enjoy about the films of Studio Ghibli and legendary writer and director Hayao Miyazaki. The stories, the characters, the themes - all of it is rich and worthy of deep nerd consideration. When you have iconic films like Nausicaa: Valley of the Wind, Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away on your resume, fans are beyond spoiled.
Like any great film franchise, one of the most rewarding aspects of the films to explore is the concept art. Perhaps more than any other film, animated films go through intensive, lengthy development processes completely reliant on visual art. Let's take a look at some of the best from Studio Ghibli!
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10 Laputa Blueprints
One of the most visually dazzling of the Studio Ghibli films is Castle in the Sky (1986). A tour de force animated steampunk adventure with blimps, floating cities, and apocalyptic robots, Castle in the Sky features some of Ghibli's best art. The film concerns Sheeta and Puza as they search for the fabled lost city of Laputa.
As seen above, Laputa is a floating city-state that recalls, a little, Minas Tirith. This gorgeous hand-drawn art shows the amazing thought and detail that goes into Ghibli's work.
9 Did We Mention Airships?
Outstanding airships feature prominently in Castle In The Sky, and all of Miyazaki's films (we'll come back to that). Here's a great look at how Miyazaki and Ghibli synthesize a variety of influences and eras to create something truly unique.
In this image, we have what could be Wright Brothers-era props and bi and tri wings, all of which are depicted through the filter of something a little more World War II. A heavy steampunk influence puts this and other designs of its type in other Ghibli films like Porco Rosso over the top.
8 Rainy Days
An early look at an iconic image from an iconic film, My Neighbor Totoro. The 1988 fantasy film follows young girls Satsuki and Mei, who have strange encounters with woodland spirits in a rural post-World War II Japan.
After the girls move into a new house with their father, a professor, they discover a pair of spirits that lead them into the woods and a larger spirit, whom the girls call 'Totoro.' This image comes from the scene where Satsuki offers him her umbrella to protect him from the rain.
7 Spirits, So Many Spirits
There are all kinds of spirits in Studio Ghibli films. One of the best, 2001's Spirited Away, features a truly surreal and imaginative array of spirits from Japanese folklore. In this sketch, we see even in just a few quick lines and dash of color the terror of the spirit Yubaba.
Yubaba is a witch who runs a bathhouse in which ten-year-old Chihiro is trying to find a job. Yubaba tries to frighten her away, but Chihiro, like a lot of Ghibli protagonists, is determined. She gets hired, though it's a bumpy ride thanks to the fact that she's a human and not a spirit... Yet.
6 No Face, No Service
Speaking of No Face, here is a wonderful look at the concept design of the character. At this point, No Face is much more colorful and expressive than they ultimately become in the finished film.
No Face in the movie is a semi-transparent, oil-slick type specter with a kabuki-like mask, very different than this flamboyant, comic rendering. In Spirited Away, No Face is a 'stink spirit' from the polluted river nearby the bathhouse. The spirit tempts workers with gold and then eats them. And by "eats them," we mean he eats them whole. Not exactly the best manners.
5 Royal Art
Princess Mononoke (1997) was perhaps the film that opened Studio Ghibli's films to a broader American and world audience. The film features lush, gorgeous art while telling an entertaining story of adventure with deep, relevant themes.
In ancient Japan, a demon attacks an Emisi village. The young prince, Ashitaka, kills it but is poisoned by its blood. The corruption that infected the demon was caused by an iron pellet. Investigating the mystery leads the prince to a deeper understanding of man's impact on nature, and an encounter with a strange girl in the forest, riding a white wolf.
4 Wolves At The Door
San is a young human girl, raised by a pack of wolves. In this concept image from Princess Mononoke, she's caring for one of her pack, wounded by the industrialized armies of Eboshi. San hates Eboshi, and humanity, and is leading raids on Irontown to prevent any further clearing of the forests or murder of innocent animals.
Her paths cross with Ashitaka when he interferes in a duel between San and Eboshi. She initially distrusts him but warms to him after the Forest Spirit (there are a lot of spirits) heals him of his wound.
3 Caution: Castle Crossing
Castles don't really stay put in Studio Ghibli films. Whether it's Laputa in the sky or Howl's Moving Castle on the ground, you'd better hold on to something if you go inside. This fantasy film from 2004 is loosely based on the 1986 novel of the same name by British author Diana Wynne Jones.
This image gives you a great, instant visual primer to the wonder of this story, in which a young girl named Sophie makes friends with the wizard Howl, who lives in this unusual flying castle. The bird's feet truly set the design off, suffusing a steampunk aesthetic with the natural world Miyazaki loves so much.
2 Bug Out
While many fans associate Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) with Studio Ghibli, this animated feature was actually created by Miyazaki before he founded the studio. Still, that's no reason not to consider the incredible art of the film.
Many of the overarching themes of Miyazaki's work with Ghibli are already present here: man vs. nature, strong young heroines, and airplanes. So many airplanes. In the story, humanity struggles to hold on in an ecologically devastated world when their habitat is invaded by ugly - but awesome - giant mutant insect things.
1 Airplanes, So Many Airplanes
One of the hallmarks - and absolute joys - of Studio Ghibli films are the airplanes. Hayao Miyazaki's father was the owner of Miyazaki Airplane, which manufactured parts for planes in Japan before and during World War II. This love of aviation carried over to the director, who includes all manner of aircraft in his films.
Perhaps no film exhibits this more than Porco Rosso (1992). Rosso, with a very pig-like countenance, is a veteran of World War I, an ace pilot and - just because - a freelance bounty hunter. He fights off some air pirates and falls in love in a tiny Italian coastal village.