https://www.scmp.com/rss/66948/feed Hayao Miyazaki, born 5 January 1941, is a revered Japanese film director, animator, screenwriter and manga artist. The animated films produced through his company, Studio Ghibli, commonly smash box office records in Japan and achieve international acclaim. Miyazaki is particularly well known for imaginative fantasy-themed productions including 1988's My Neighbour Totoro and 2001's Spirited Away. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Reuters Reuters An immersive new exhibition devoted to Ponyo – Hayao ⁠Miyazaki’s hand-drawn 2008 ⁠fantasy film about a goldfish-like girl yearning ⁠to be human – invites visitors, especially children, into his world through more than 100 original materials and hands-on animation tools. The show, which opened on February 14 at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, showcases rare artwork and production sketches from Studio Ghibli, ‌the animation house Miyazaki co-founded, along with an interactive... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3343694/ponyo-exhibition-invites-visitors-hayao-miyazakis-ocean-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3343694/ponyo-exhibition-invites-visitors-hayao-miyazakis-ocean-world?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Feb 2026 10:15:08 +0000 The Korea Times The Korea Times By Kwon Mee-yoo South Korea’s theatre scene is set for another eventful year in 2026, from blockbuster imports to ambitious original works aiming for international success. Here are some of the titles expected to shape the season in Seoul. The year opened with CJ ENM bringing the stage adaptation of Spirited Away to Seoul. Based on Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki’s animated film, the play – which premiered on January 7 at the Seoul Arts Centre – follows a young girl named Chihiro as she... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3339473/seouls-2026-theatre-shows-include-frozen-spirited-away-billy-elliot?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3339473/seouls-2026-theatre-shows-include-frozen-spirited-away-billy-elliot?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 11 Jan 2026 07:15:08 +0000 Fan Chen Fan Chen One of China’s largest comic conventions has banned Japanese-themed content and derivative works just a week ahead of its opening amid spiralling tension between Tokyo and Beijing. Organisers of the Comicup (CP) 32nd edition “Pre” event – set to take place in Hangzhou on December 27 and 28 – informed exhibitors and visitors on Friday that there would be a “full-scale adjustment” of content shown throughout the venue. “Due to consideration regarding the current social environment and our cultural... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3337463/china-cp-comic-fan-event-stripped-japanese-content-dozens-booths-affected?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3337463/china-cp-comic-fan-event-stripped-japanese-content-dozens-booths-affected?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Dec 2025 08:00:18 +0000 Bob Zhao Bob Zhao An exhibition based on the works of the celebrated Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou has been postponed as relations between the two countries continue to deteriorate. Studio Ghibli, the Oscar-winning anime studio which Miyazaki co-founded, announced the decision on Tuesday without giving a reason. “We apologise to the audience who have been looking forward to this event, and sincerely thank you for your understanding and support,” the statement said.... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3336057/studio-ghibli-founder-hayao-miyazakis-chinese-show-cancelled-japan-row-rumbles?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3336057/studio-ghibli-founder-hayao-miyazakis-chinese-show-cancelled-japan-row-rumbles?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Dec 2025 09:23:26 +0000 Vanessa Cai Vanessa Cai Fans of Japanese singer-songwriter Kokia were disappointed on Wednesday night when a “last-minute technical issue” forced the cancellation of a concert in Beijing. The organiser of the event apologised on Thursday for one of a series of Japanese cultural events that have been cancelled or delayed since China and Japan became embroiled in a diplomatic row this month. “This should have been announced earlier! People waited for an hour and a half, and many came from out of town,” one fan said,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3333439/young-chinese-fans-fear-losing-access-japanese-pop-culture-amid-diplomatic-row?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3333439/young-chinese-fans-fear-losing-access-japanese-pop-culture-amid-diplomatic-row?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Nov 2025 00:04:21 +0000 Fran Lu Fran Lu A wonton street shop owner in China has become a local celebrity for looking like the Japanese animator and filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki. Yin Zhenggen, 76, who has been nicknamed the Hayao Miyazaki of Nanjing because he bears a striking resemblance to the filmmaker. His shop is also like one that appears in Miyazaki’s fairy tales; it provides free food for people in need. Yin and his wife, Wang Chunlan, have been running the shop in Nanjing, eastern China’s Jiangsu province, for the past four... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/china-personalities/article/3332593/china-food-vendor-gains-fame-resembling-japan-animator-and-offering-free-meals-needy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/china-personalities/article/3332593/china-food-vendor-gains-fame-resembling-japan-animator-and-offering-free-meals-needy?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Nov 2025 10:00:09 +0000 James Marsh James Marsh A visually ravishing journey into the afterlife is proving a hit in Hong Kong this week, as the animated feature Another World, an adaptation of Naka Saijo’s novel Sennenki: Thousand-Year Journey of an Oni, is generating plenty of discussion about its unusual subject matter. The film tells the dark, absorbing story of a deceased young girl (voiced by Christy Choi Hiu-tung) who is escorted through the afterlife by the spirit guide Gudo (Chung Suet-ying) as she searches for her little brother. Its... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3331421/10-best-animated-films-set-afterlife-grave-fireflies-soul?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3331421/10-best-animated-films-set-afterlife-grave-fireflies-soul?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Nov 2025 05:15:08 +0000 Ashlyn Chak Ashlyn Chak The pandemic years may have caused former model and TVB star Lukian Wang Bao-bao to lose acting work in mainland China, but it also brought her back to Hong Kong, where she reclaimed the time and freedom to rediscover her true passion: food-related content creation. “I was stuck at home with nothing much to do, so I thought I’d make some videos on Facebook,” says Wang. “I grew up watching so much anime, and I’ve always liked food. So, when I watch anime, I really notice the food. “The idea to do... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3327462/former-model-and-tv-stars-viral-anime-food-videos-are-chance-be-myself?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3327462/former-model-and-tv-stars-viral-anime-food-videos-are-chance-be-myself?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Oct 2025 23:15:07 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Japanese toilet giant Toto has launched a service allowing those caught short in public to locate the nearest washrooms and see how busy they are in real time with a phone and QR code. Japan, like other countries, struggles with managing long queues outside public toilets, particularly for women, in its teeming train stations and other places. The system launched this month by Toto – famous for its water-spraying, musical toilets – links consumers up with existing internet-connected facility... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3323581/toilet-queues-no-more-japan-launches-qr-codes-locate-nearest-vacant-restrooms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/travel/article/3323581/toilet-queues-no-more-japan-launches-qr-codes-locate-nearest-vacant-restrooms?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 Aug 2025 04:00:09 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Japan’s Oscar-winning anime house Studio Ghibli turns 40 this month. Here are the studio’s top five films that have delighted fans over the decades: 1. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Studio Ghibli was founded in 1985, but this post-apocalyptic story featuring a young, independent princess curious about giant insects is considered its first film. It was based on a comic-strip series that Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki wrote for a magazine targeted at anime fans. Set 1,000 years after a... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3313693/5-top-films-studio-ghiblis-first-40-years-spirited-away-princess-mononoke?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3313693/5-top-films-studio-ghiblis-first-40-years-spirited-away-princess-mononoke?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Jun 2025 20:15:07 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Japan’s Studio Ghibli turns 40 this month with two Oscars and legions of fans young and old won over by its films’ complex plots and hand-drawn animation. But the future is uncertain, with the latest hit, The Boy and the Heron, probably the final feature from its celebrated co-founder Hayao Miyazaki, now 84. The studio behind the Oscar-winning Spirited Away has become a cultural phenomenon since Miyazaki and the late Isao Takahata established it in 1985. Its popularity has been fuelled recently... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3313378/studio-ghibli-turns-40-fans-worry-about-its-future-once-hayao-miyazaki-retires?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3313378/studio-ghibli-turns-40-fans-worry-about-its-future-once-hayao-miyazaki-retires?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Jun 2025 23:15:15 +0000 Coco Feng Coco Feng TikTok parent ByteDance has upgraded its Doubao chatbot, one of China’s most popular consumer-facing artificial intelligence (AI) apps, with the recent launch of a real-time video call function that turns the app into an interactive digital assistant. The function allows users to engage in an interactive video conversation with the AI technology behind the chatbot, according to an announcement last Friday via Doubao’s WeChat account. Users can activate the function by simply turning on their... https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3311978/bytedance-upgrades-doubao-ai-app-real-time-interactive-video-call-function?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3311978/bytedance-upgrades-doubao-ai-app-real-time-interactive-video-call-function?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 May 2025 10:30:16 +0000 Artificial intelligence risks taking Japanese anime artists’ jobs but nothing can replicate Hayao Miyazaki, the creative lifeblood of the studio behind classics such as Spirited Away, his son says. Thanks to ChatGPT’s new image generator, the internet is awash with pictures imitating Studio Ghibli’s whimsical style, raising fresh debate over potential copyright infringements. Movies such as My Neighbor Totoro and Howl’s Moving Castle are famous for their lush nature and fantastical machinery,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3304976/ai-will-take-anime-artists-jobs-studio-ghiblis-hayao-miyazaki-irreplaceable-son-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3304976/ai-will-take-anime-artists-jobs-studio-ghiblis-hayao-miyazaki-irreplaceable-son-says?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Apr 2025 01:21:08 +0000 Reuters Reuters The frenzy to create Ghibli-style AI art using ChatGPT’s image-generation tool led to a record surge in users for OpenAI’s chatbot last week, straining its servers and temporarily limiting the feature’s usage. The viral trend saw users from across the globe flood social media with images based on the hand-drawn style of the famed Japanese animation outfit, Studio Ghibli, founded by renowned director Hayao Miyazaki and known for films such as Spirited Away and My Neighbour Totoro. Average weekly... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3304828/chatgpt-usage-hits-record-studio-ghibli-style-ai-images-go-viral?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3304828/chatgpt-usage-hits-record-studio-ghibli-style-ai-images-go-viral?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Apr 2025 02:45:08 +0000 Fans of Studio Ghibli, the famed Japanese animation studio behind Spirited Away and other beloved films, were delighted this week when a new version of ChatGPT let them reproduce popular internet memes or personal photos in the distinct style of Ghibli founder Hayao Miyazaki. But the trend highlights ethical concerns about artificial intelligence tools trained on copyrighted creative works and what that means for the future livelihoods of human artists. Miyazaki, 84, known for his hand-drawn... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3304198/chatgpts-ai-images-studio-ghibli-style-delight-some-fans-raise-copyright-issues?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3304198/chatgpts-ai-images-studio-ghibli-style-delight-some-fans-raise-copyright-issues?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Mar 2025 03:50:08 +0000 A theme park in central Japan featuring characters and scenes from Studio Ghibli’s animation films such as My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away this week put on display a beloved car of director Hayao Miyazaki. The French classic car, a Citroen 2CV, was bought by Miyazaki, 84, to take his child to nursery and is displayed in Ghibli’s Grand Warehouse, one of the five areas of the Ghibli Park in Nagakute, Aichi prefecture. An original manga depicting how Miyazaki, co-founder of Studio Ghibli, fell... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3296759/studio-ghibli-director-hayao-miyazakis-treasured-car-put-display-nagakute-japan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3296759/studio-ghibli-director-hayao-miyazakis-treasured-car-put-display-nagakute-japan?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Jan 2025 02:44:00 +0000 When Pablo Berger began work on Robot Dreams, his first animated film as a director, he looked to a major source of inspiration: Studio Ghibli’s Hayao Miyazaki. “We’d always say, ‘What would Miyazaki do with this problem?’” It is a fair question, given the Japanese legend has been such an influence on animators everywhere over the years. Aptly, Robot Dreams was in the running for the best animated feature Oscar in this year’s awards, eventually losing out to Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron. The... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3265442/robot-dreams-director-pablo-berger-making-oscar-nominated-animated-film-without-words?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3265442/robot-dreams-director-pablo-berger-making-oscar-nominated-animated-film-without-words?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Jun 2024 20:15:09 +0000 A stage adaptation of the Oscar-winning Japanese anime Spirited Away that premiered in Tokyo in 2022 has become popular with audiences in London since its sold-out opening at a major theatre in the British capital earlier this month. Japanese animation giant Studio Ghibli on Monday received an honorary Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival for contributing to the genre’s creativity through global hits such as Spirited Away, marking the first time an institution was awarded rather than... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3263429/hayao-miyazakis-oscar-winning-anime-spirited-away-now-west-end-hit-live-shows-sell-out-london?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3263429/hayao-miyazakis-oscar-winning-anime-spirited-away-now-west-end-hit-live-shows-sell-out-london?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 May 2024 09:15:15 +0000 Next week, Australian filmmaker George Miller whisks audiences back to his signature desert hellscape with Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. Chris Hemsworth and Anya Taylor-Joy star in this prequel to 2015’s multi-award-winning Mad Max: Fury Road, and the fifth film in the franchise overall, laying out the origin story of the one-armed warrior previously played by Charlize Theron. Since the first Mad Max film back in 1979, Miller’s dust-choked, gas-starved vision of the future has inspired generations of... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/film-tv/article/3262952/cant-wait-furiosa-mad-max-saga-five-post-apocalyptic-movies-asia-watch-akira-snowpiercer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/film-tv/article/3262952/cant-wait-furiosa-mad-max-saga-five-post-apocalyptic-movies-asia-watch-akira-snowpiercer?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 May 2024 11:00:31 +0000 The latest film by Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki has received a mixed response in China, with some accusing the animation master of “insufficient reflection” over Japan’s war history as ties between Beijing and Tokyo worsen. The film The Boy and the Heron, which was released in mainland China in early April, has gained praise but also received far more criticism compared to Miyazaki’s earlier works. The movie features the surreal adventure of a Japanese boy during World War II as he is torn... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3259758/chinese-nationalists-take-aim-japanese-animation-master-miyazakis-wwii-film?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3259758/chinese-nationalists-take-aim-japanese-animation-master-miyazakis-wwii-film?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Apr 2024 02:00:28 +0000 An Oscar win two decades ago introduced the world to Japanese anime great Hayao Miyazaki, and now the Studio Ghibli co-founder, aged 83, has done it again. Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron – potentially his last film – took the Academy Award for best animated feature on Sunday, the same category won by the Ghibli classic Spirited Away in 2003. Enthralling viewers of all ages with his extraordinary imagination, the animator has built a cult following through films depicting nature and machinery... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3254890/hayao-miyazaki-career-anime-legend-83-behind-studio-ghibli-who-won-his-second-oscar-his-final-film?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3254890/hayao-miyazaki-career-anime-legend-83-behind-studio-ghibli-who-won-his-second-oscar-his-final-film?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Mar 2024 02:37:04 +0000 Oppenheimer – Christopher Nolan’s epic drama about the father of the atomic bomb, and half of last summer’s “Barbenheimer” phenomenon – confirmed its status as overwhelming favourite to win best picture honours on Hollywood’s biggest night. The film also won best director for Nolan, best actor for Cillian Murphy, best supporting actor for Robert Downey Jnr, best cinematography, best original score and best film editing. Among the other winners announced at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles was... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3254886/2024-oscars-barbenheimer-revival-oppenheimer-and-barbie-go-head-head-oscars-glory?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3254886/2024-oscars-barbenheimer-revival-oppenheimer-and-barbie-go-head-head-oscars-glory?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Mar 2024 23:11:18 +0000 The Barbenheimer phenomenon gripped the public’s imagination in 2023 and helped prop up ailing cinema chains. Now, with the 96th Academy Awards ceremony coming on March 10, that battle resumes. Christopher Nolan’s atomic-bomb drama Oppenheimer has 13 nominations to the eight enjoyed by Greta Gerwig’s pink-hued comedy Barbie – which, notably, do not include a best director nod for Gerwig. Not that they have it all their own way: Yorgos Lanthimos’ feminist fantasy Poor Things and Martin Scorsese’s... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3254198/oscars-2024-why-oppenheimer-should-and-will-win-best-picture-and-other-academy-awards-predictions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3254198/oscars-2024-why-oppenheimer-should-and-will-win-best-picture-and-other-academy-awards-predictions?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Mar 2024 20:15:14 +0000 For the first time in Hayao Miyazaki’s decades-spanning career, the 82-year-old Japanese anime master is No 1 at the North American box office. Miyazaki’s latest enchantment, The Boy and the Heron, debuted with US$12.8 million, according to studio estimates. The Boy and the Heron, the long-awaited animated fantasy from the director of Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro and other anime classics, is only the third anime to top the box office in American and Canadian cinemas, and the first original... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3244595/hayao-miyazakis-anime-boy-and-heron-tops-north-american-box-office-first-japanese-master?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3244595/hayao-miyazakis-anime-boy-and-heron-tops-north-american-box-office-first-japanese-master?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Dec 2023 03:45:13 +0000 4/5 stars “I have grown old,” says a wizened, mystical character in The Boy and The Heron, announcing that he seeks a successor. Undoubtedly it’s a line that resonates, for this is the latest – and possibly last, as they always say – film by Japanese animation maestro Hayao Miyazaki. The co-founder of Studio Ghibli and director of such avowed classics as My Neighbour Totoro and Spirited Away is 82 years old. He last made a film in 2013, The Wind Rises, before announcing his retirement. That... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3237448/boy-and-heron-movie-review-hayao-miyazaki-japanese-animation-legend-goes-out-high-if-does-turn-out?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3237448/boy-and-heron-movie-review-hayao-miyazaki-japanese-animation-legend-goes-out-high-if-does-turn-out?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Oct 2023 03:15:15 +0000 With a blossoming stage and screen career that’s already seen her appear in two acclaimed adaptations of Studio Ghibli animated films, actress Mei Mac has earned herself a nickname. “People have started calling me ‘Mama Mei’,” she says when we speak over Zoom. “I had no idea what to do with it at the beginning … [but] I’m learning to embrace it.” She puts it down to her “protective maternal instinct”, supporting other people of British East Asian and Southeast Asian heritage. “I do see it as a... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3228490/how-my-neighbour-totoro-star-mei-mac-supports-east-asian-women-and-actors-and-confronts-stereotypes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3228490/how-my-neighbour-totoro-star-mei-mac-supports-east-asian-women-and-actors-and-confronts-stereotypes?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Jul 2023 23:45:09 +0000 Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki’s animated film Kimitachi wa Do Ikiru ka (How Do You Live?) generated a frenzied response among Japanese and Chinese fans on social media after its July 14 release in Japan. The Japanese title of the film – the director’s first feature in a decade and expected to be his last – was the top trending topic worldwide on Twitter on Friday morning, with more than 90,000 tweets. Enthusiastic Japanese users posted their fan works about the film – for which composer and... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3227673/please-hurry-chinese-fans-eager-new-hayao-miyazaki-animated-film-how-do-you-live-japanese-fans-share?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3227673/please-hurry-chinese-fans-eager-new-hayao-miyazaki-animated-film-how-do-you-live-japanese-fans-share?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 Jul 2023 07:39:27 +0000 It is not uncommon for composers to re-orchestrate earlier works to be featured in larger multi-movement pieces, or extract highlights from lengthier pieces to form symphonic suites. Both adapted forms were on display in the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra’s sold-out Joe Hisaishi concerts, with the Japanese composer, best known for writing soundtracks for Studio Ghibli movies, leading a triptych of Hong Kong premieres from the podium himself. In the opening Symphony No. 2, each of the three... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3225360/studio-ghibli-composer-joe-hisaishis-hong-kong-philharmonic-orchestra-concerts-delightful?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3225360/studio-ghibli-composer-joe-hisaishis-hong-kong-philharmonic-orchestra-concerts-delightful?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Jun 2023 09:15:09 +0000 Actors of East and Southeast Asian heritage have long remained in the shadows of British performing arts, competing for stereotypical or often token roles with few opportunities to grab the limelight. So when My Neighbour Totoro, a new play produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) based on Hayao Miyazaki’s 1988 Japanese animation, came along with a cast entirely comprising British East and Southeast Asian actors, it felt like a milestone had been achieved, members of the play’s creative... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3199511/all-asian-cast-hayao-miyazakis-my-neighbour-totoro-british-stage-feels-breakthrough?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3199511/all-asian-cast-hayao-miyazakis-my-neighbour-totoro-british-stage-feels-breakthrough?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Nov 2022 09:24:07 +0000 1. What are the best movies of modern Japanese cinema? These 25 titles would be a great place for you to start exploring. Learn more 2. How did the beloved Studio Ghibli begin to dominate the animation business? Studio Ghibli was formally set up in June 1985, and it has been making history ever since. Learn more 3. Is the iconic actor-director Takeshi Kitano still working today? Yes but perhaps not for long, as he is reportedly making his last film. Learn more 4. Which movie is the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3127579/13-things-you-may-not-know-about-japanese-cinema?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3127579/13-things-you-may-not-know-about-japanese-cinema?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Mar 2021 11:30:28 +0000 Forest sprites and witches, a pilot who is a pig, mythical princes, gods, dragons and children struggling against insurmountable odds – a cast of the good, the bad and the odd inhabit the movies produced by Studio Ghibli, and have helped make a relatively small animation studio famous around the world.  Titles such as My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away and The Wind Rises are also synonymous with Hayao Miyazaki, the creative force behind the much-loved Japanese film company.  Studio Ghibli was... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3125121/story-studio-ghibli-and-hayao-miyazaki-beautiful-art-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3125121/story-studio-ghibli-and-hayao-miyazaki-beautiful-art-and?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Mar 2021 01:15:15 +0000 4/5 stars This new animated feature from Studio Ghibli, directed by Hayao Miyazaki’s son Goro, shows a new stylistic direction for the studio. Hayao Miyazaki is now completing How Do You Live?, which is presumed to be his last film, and Earwig and the Witch is reportedly an attempt to set a course for how Ghibli will go forward without him. Earwig and the Witch is the studio’s first film to fully use computer-generated animation, and it seems to be pitched at a slightly younger audience than its... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3121143/earwig-and-witch-movie-review-studio-ghiblis-first-cg?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3121143/earwig-and-witch-movie-review-studio-ghiblis-first-cg?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Feb 2021 09:45:07 +0000 After Walt Disney, Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki is the best-known animator in the world. Since making his big- screen debut with The Castle of Cagliostro in 1979, films such as 1988’s My Neighbour Totoro – a gentle story about friendly woodland spirits that still stands as his signature piece – have frequently topped the Japanese charts, broken box-office records, and won awards in Japan. Acclaim from animators in the United States led to a breakthrough in the West around the start of the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3104354/hayao-miyazaki-beginners-who-studio-ghibli-founder-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3104354/hayao-miyazaki-beginners-who-studio-ghibli-founder-and?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Oct 2020 09:45:14 +0000 When Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon won the Golden Lion award at the 1951 Venice Film Festival, it announced Japanese cinema’s arrival on the world stage. It was already a flourishing industry back home, but the works of Yasujiro Ozu, Kenji Mizoguchi, Kurosawa and many others helped sustain this international interest for decades to come. The Asia Extreme wave of darkly outrageous genre films sparked renewed attention as the new millennium loomed, and 20 years on, Japan continues to produce a steady... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3093136/25-best-japanese-movies-21st-century?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3093136/25-best-japanese-movies-21st-century?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Jul 2020 18:00:07 +0000 Sharing a House with the Never-Ending Man: 15 Years at Studio Ghibli by Steve Alpert, Stone Bridge Press, 2/5 stars If you had visited the newly opened Ghibli Museum, in suburban Tokyo, in 2001, you might have been lucky to see artist and animator Hayao Miyazaki at work. Once a week the influential co-founder of Japanese animation giant Studio Ghibli would sit and draw at a modest wooden desk, to show fans how his films were made. Massive lines and crowds quickly formed to see Miyazaki; museum... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/books/article/3088417/memoir-15-years-studio-ghibli-japanese-animation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/books/article/3088417/memoir-15-years-studio-ghibli-japanese-animation?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Jun 2020 05:00:09 +0000 Chinese internet giant NetEase has landed the domestic digital distribution rights for the music catalog of Studio Ghibli, home of widely acclaimed Japanese animated feature films directed by co-founder Hayao Miyazaki.   NetEase Cloud Music, the Nasdaq-traded company’s on-demand streaming service, will make the catalog – including albums and soundtracks from films such as My Neighbour Totoro, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle and Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea – available to subscribers in the... https://www.scmp.com/culture/netease-stream-studio-ghibli-soundtracks-hit-anime-films-spirited-away-and-my-neighbour-totoro/article/3075152?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/netease-stream-studio-ghibli-soundtracks-hit-anime-films-spirited-away-and-my-neighbour-totoro/article/3075152?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Mar 2020 00:00:21 +0000 Chinese internet giant NetEase has landed the domestic digital distribution rights for the music catalogue of Studio Ghibli, home of widely acclaimed Japanese animated feature films directed by co-founder Hayao Miyazaki. NetEase Cloud Music, the Nasdaq-traded company’s on-demand streaming service, will make the catalogue – including albums and soundtracks from films such as My Neighbour Totoro, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle and Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea – available to subscribers in... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3074969/netease-japans-studio-ghibli-team-stream-music-hayao-miyazakis-anime?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3074969/netease-japans-studio-ghibli-team-stream-music-hayao-miyazakis-anime?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Mar 2020 01:22:47 +0000 One hundred years ago, on Valentine’s Day, 1920, 11 Italian aircraft – a selection of rickety-looking biplanes and one triplane – took off with their two-man crews from Rome, and headed towards Tokyo. Some of the first European fliers to attempt to reach East Asia by air, they were participating in the Raid Roma-Tokyo, an epic aerial endeavour dreamt up by Italian poet Gabriele D’Annunzio. Of the 11 flight crews, only two made it all the way to Japan, arriving within an hour of each other in... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3051326/when-11-pilots-set-out-fly-rome-tokyo-century-ago?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3051326/when-11-pilots-set-out-fly-rome-tokyo-century-ago?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Feb 2020 07:30:13 +0000 Incredibly, Studio Ghibli, co-founded by the famous Japanese animator, film director and manga artist Hayao Miyazaki, has finally given Netflix the rights to 21 of its timeless masterpieces. Seven titles will be released in stages from February until April. The beloved collection of animated films is filled with life lessons relevant to our day and age, and are family favourites around the world. Whether seen by a 10-year-old, or an adult born during the 1980s, one can derive new meaning from... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3049973/netflix-releases-21-ghibli-studios-most-iconic-animated?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3049973/netflix-releases-21-ghibli-studios-most-iconic-animated?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Feb 2020 06:00:18 +0000 Online streaming platform Netflix will make more than 20 Studio Ghibli movies available to subscribers outside the United States, Canada and Japan, with a phased release beginning on February 1. Netflix users in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America will be able to watch 21 films by Japan’s most famous animation house that are subtitled in 28 languages and dubbed in up to 20 languages. This is the second time Studio Ghibli films have been made available on an online platform... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3046781/netflix-moves-japanese-anime-will-start-showing-21-studio?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3046781/netflix-moves-japanese-anime-will-start-showing-21-studio?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Jan 2020 07:05:10 +0000 As Netflix prepares for a bruising battle against Walt Disney and Apple for streaming subscribers, it’s playing a card that may deliver enough of an edge to fend off its competitors in Asia: Japanese anime. Although Netflix, the leading streaming provider with 158 million users, has featured animation for years, it is stepping up its anime efforts as new rivals such as Apple, Disney and WarnerMedia’s HBO Max roll out their services. All of them have identified animation as a way to lure viewers... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3037224/how-will-netflix-beat-disney-apple-asia-japanese-anime-bets?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3037224/how-will-netflix-beat-disney-apple-asia-japanese-anime-bets?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Nov 2019 12:00:07 +0000 Heidi and Super Mario may not seem to have much in common, but anime and video game aficionados can see the signature style of Japanese character designer Yoichi Kotabe in both. Far from the Swiss Alps, the cherished 19th-century storybook character Heidi has played an unlikely role in the creation of Japan’s now booming anime industry. The story of the little orphan girl who goes to live with her gruff grandfather in the mountains took Japan by storm in the 1970s with the animation series Alps... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3030589/thank-heidi-anime-and-super-mario-taking-japan-1970s?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3030589/thank-heidi-anime-and-super-mario-taking-japan-1970s?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Sep 2019 21:30:13 +0000 Two exhibitions about Japanese animated-film production house Studio Ghibli are on in Hong Kong this summer, offering visitors glimpses into the world of anime master Hayao Miyazaki. On display are sketches, sculptures and installations of characters and scenes from Miyazaki classics such as My Neighbor Totoro (1988), Princess Mononoke (1997), Spirited Away (2001) and Howl’s Moving Castle (2004). Both exhibitions ride on the popularity of these animated features in China; My Neighbor Totoro was... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3021654/magic-hayao-miyazaki-display-two-hong-kong-exhibitions-about?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3021654/magic-hayao-miyazaki-display-two-hong-kong-exhibitions-about?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Aug 2019 04:15:32 +0000 Rather than wait for the weekend, Shanghai data analyst Wang Guyue decided to take a day off work to go to the movies. The 35-year-old chose a time when her son would be at school because she “wanted to enjoy the movie quietly by herself”. As she settled in to see the movie she first saw 18 years ago on a pirated DVD, Wang noticed that all the other people in the cinema were adults like her. They were all there to see Spirited Away, a Japanese animated film produced in 2001 but only officially... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3016809/why-china-still-spirited-away-movie-magic-studio-ghibli-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3016809/why-china-still-spirited-away-movie-magic-studio-ghibli-and?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Jul 2019 22:00:06 +0000 Animation maestro Hayao Miyazaki’s 2001 film Spirited Away had a record opening weekend for a Japanese film in China, and has taken more than twice as much as another big animated film, Pixar’s Toy Story 4, which hit Chinese cinemas the same day. As of the afternoon of June 25, Spirited Away had box office takings of more than 230 million yuan (US$33 million) in China, compared with less than 110 million yuan for Toy Story 4. Spirited Away took 127.7 million yuan from Friday to Sunday,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3016033/studio-ghibli-film-spirited-away-sets-china-box-office?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3016033/studio-ghibli-film-spirited-away-sets-china-box-office?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Jun 2019 11:29:22 +0000 Japan’s booming animation industry is in crisis – with low pay, long hours and a huge shortage of artists – just as its global popularity has never been higher. Three of the 10 feature films in the running for top prize at the world’s most important animation festival in Annecy in France – which ends on Saturday – are from Japan. The country is the only real challenger to Hollywood’s dominance of the labour-intensive genre. But just as Japanese anime seemed to be threatening to loosen Pixar and... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3014682/japans-anime-industry-crisis-even-global-popularity-soars?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3014682/japans-anime-industry-crisis-even-global-popularity-soars?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 15 Jun 2019 20:01:56 +0000 Eighteen years after its official release, Hayao Miyazaki’s award-winning animated movie Spirited Away will finally be shown in mainland Chinese cinemas. An official account on China’s Twitter-like Weibo brought a message from Sina Movie on Friday that “Spirited Away will arrive soon!” “Life is a one-way train. Very pleased to meet you at this stop. It’s a long wait of 18 years. Please treat me well,” the film announcement on Weibo said. “This will be our first official meeting after 18 years of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3009687/mainland-chinese-cinema-audience-eager-big-screen-debut-hayao?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3009687/mainland-chinese-cinema-audience-eager-big-screen-debut-hayao?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 May 2019 06:37:45 +0000 Nearly a century after the idea was first floated, a museum dedicated to the magic of cinema is finally set to open in Los Angeles, with the first temporary exhibition dedicated to the Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki. The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, scheduled to open by the end of 2019, will be devoted to the past, present and future of film, offering visitors a look behind the screen and into how movies are made. Chinese release of Japan anime classic is box office hit – 30 years... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/2178340/la-film-museum-opens-show-studio-ghibli-co-founder-hayao?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/2178340/la-film-museum-opens-show-studio-ghibli-co-founder-hayao?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Dec 2018 21:00:45 +0000 Studio Ghibli, the film studio behind renowned Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki’s animated features, has finally officially released one of its best known works, My Neighbor Totoro (1988), in China this month. Due mostly to long-standing political tension between China and Japan, none of Miyazaki’s works had been screened in the country before. Chinese release of Japan anime classic is box office hit – 30 years on Rampant video piracy, however, means that many Chinese people are already familiar... https://www.scmp.com/culture/film-tv/article/2178326/five-studio-ghibli-films-due-china-release-after-my-neighbour-totoro?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/film-tv/article/2178326/five-studio-ghibli-films-due-china-release-after-my-neighbour-totoro?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Dec 2018 09:03:19 +0000 For a movie which was first released 30 years ago, My Neighbor Totoro’s rescreening in China racked up big box office returns over the weekend. Released on Friday, the classic film by Japanese anime maestro Hayao Miyazaki ranked second for box office takings in China after Aquaman, the live-action DC Comics gigantic hit. Release of Japanese anime film delights fans … after 30-year wait Depicting the magical encounters between two female siblings and wood spirits resembling giant chinchillas in... https://www.scmp.com/culture/film-tv/article/2178299/chinese-release-japanese-anime-film-classic-box-office-hit-30-years?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/film-tv/article/2178299/chinese-release-japanese-anime-film-classic-box-office-hit-30-years?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Dec 2018 05:57:51 +0000