Ach, I sound like a telephone commercial. I ate too many tater tots tonight.
Anyway, here is what I wanted to share from "Archives Vol I" - an essay written by Toshio Suzuki in May, 1995, marking Ghibli's tenth anniversary. At this time, the studio was beginning to court the international market, and introduce their films outside Japan. Suzuki-san's essay, and the Archive books, are intended to introduce us to Studio Ghibli, its founders, artists, and history. When written, Princess Mononoke was in production, and its release would catapult the studio - and especially Hayao Miyazaki - into (domestic) blockbuster and (international) celebrity status. All of this makes this essay a highly valuable piece of history and a brilliant time capsule. Here is a portrait of Ghibli captured just before the moment of their most explosive success.
This is a terrific essay, and I hope you enjoy reading it. Feel free to share it far and wide across the internets. The first page lies below, and the next three pages appear below the fold:
2 comments:
I believe this is the same article that appears in the Hyperion Press Miramax Books English-language edition of The Art of Princess Mononoke. The article replaces the production diary section of the Japanese-language edition.
Jaa ne,
Paul
Ah, that's interesting. Unfortunately, the Mononoke book is long out of print, and since it's owned by Miramax (now the Weinstein Company), it will never see the light of day again. Same for Mononoke the movie. Lousy Hollywood politics.
I found a copy of Miramax's Mononoke book at a used bookstore several years ago. The asking price was $75 - ACK!!
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