Studio Ghibli co-founders Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata were both hugely inspired by French artists and authors in their youth, and France would go on to play a big role in shaping Ghibli in the years that followed. In fact, if it wasn’t for the influence of France, then Ghibli as we know it today may not exist. In this video, I take a deep dive into the French people and places that inspired Miyazaki and Takahata and helped shape the biggest anime studio in the world.
00:00 France really loves Studio Ghibli
00:37 Howl’s Moving Castle was inspired by a French town
01:45 Miyazaki and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
03:46 Miyazaki flew from France to Africa
05:45 Miyazaki’s dad owned an airplane factory
08:15 The death of Saint-Exupéry
10:39 The French film that inspired Studio Ghibli
15:06 Miyazaki and Moebius
18:24 Takahata’s tribute to French films
#studioghibli #france #miyazaki #takahata #anime
33 Comments
I wouldn't be suprise 😂 if Miyazaki one of his ancestors was French because of Studio Ghibli movies Worlds influenced by European landscape and Miyazaki being an old man who hates everything like the French 😂
9:55 Watching Miyazaki get emotional about St Exupéry was not on my 2024 bingo card 😮
OMG it’s so true xd and you are back I was just wondering were where you ?😂
Magnifique video. I learnt a lot.
Et maintenant ce sont les productions animés et cinématographique françaises qui s'inspire du style et de l'esprit Ghibli. La boucle est bouclée.
Germany maybe. There's so much more to that place than WW2 and it's very much a magical place.
I had part of that Morocco documentary of Miyazaki with Anno Hideaki on VHS. It was recorded from TV in the late 90s and sent to me by someone I knew from Japan.
Fascination with Ghibli's movies and those especially those by Miyazaki is particularly strong in France as well. The movies and their merchandising are easy to find in multimedia stores. Many young french animators and artists have been heavily influenced by Ghibli. It's almost like during the Japonism movement during the late 19th century.
As for your last question, I grew up near the place where Miyazaki did location hunting in the 70s for the famous Heidi TV series.
Sweden is another country that influenced them. From the look of the city in Kiki being inspired by Stockholm, and the fact Takahata and Miyazaki wanted to adapt Pippi Longstocking.
>Hayao Miyazaki goes to France today
>The future is clear. It's going to fall apart.
I can't remember exactly, but a long, long time ago I saw an article in something like Time magazine about Spirited Away. The article lauded it so much that I thought I'd give it a try. That led to both of my children and a friend of mine becoming huge fans of everything Ghibli has done. My kids love Howl's Moving Castle and Kiki's Delivery Service and Nausicaä and on and on… It's good not just to be open to new experiences and aesthetics, but actively to seek them out. I just wish I had the time now to absorb all the wonderful things in the world, past and present.
Nice and interesting video. I learnt a lot, thanks.
Concerning Mœbius, among other things, he participated in the designs of elements of the movie "The fifth element" of Besson and he conceived the art of René Laloux's cartoon "Les maîtres du temps" (Time Masters) in 1982 that left a lasting impression on many people in the mid-80s, despite the low budget.
I just found out today that Miyazaki drives a Citroën 2CV. I don't think there are many of those around in Japan.
What a good video!
This is insane
10/10
for our american riends, Metal Hurlant magazine was the mother of the famous Heavy Metal magazine.
thank you for the video, a lot of pleasure to watch it, do you know Jean-Claude Méziére, a French cartoonist who inspired Luc Besson for the visuals of the film The Fifth Element and author of the comic strip Laureline and Valerian
Hey, great work men !!! I didn't know about all that. Thx for the video 😉
Ok
Imagine a movie with the drawing of moebius and the animation technique of studio ghibli
Merci beaucoup.
Je suis un fan français de Miyazaki, et pourtant j'ignorais tous ces liens entre lui et la France. 😉
Makes me so proud to be French 🇫🇷🇫🇷🇫🇷
Well, my country being Belgium, I guess it did.
Giraud was French but he was part of the Franco-Belge comics scene and was an apprentice of the Belgian Jijé.
Giraud also collaborated with the magazine Spirou that was and still is a Belgian magazine.
You can also see French influence in Porco Rosso : the title character smokes Gitanes cigarettes…
Informative, useful – thank you
MERCI BEAUCOUP !!! I'am fench and i love all his animation movies and i ignorie all that !!!
I have to wonder, the reaction of Miyazaki to Arcane…
15:19 : No doubt that Hergé and Moebius are among the greatest in the Franco-Belgian comic books realm. But above them there is Franquin. His influence is still strong today and Hergé himself recognized that Franquin was better than him.
Apart from this detail, great video, thanks.
Excellent documentary from start to finish. Great footage, I learned a lot and I'm so pleased to learn about studio Ghibli's founders influences. Even though they have those influencers influencing them, they made something so unique out of all that culture. They managed to create something distinctively personal, it's still japanese, and also is a love letter to life itself with all the ups and downs. They're not men who are trying to sugar coat it, but approach it very poetically and with authenticity. They are great artists I think because they manage to make the audience connect to childhood emotions, maybe buried memories, quite impressive!
Actually, if I understand correctly: The soul of Japanese manga is built with the heart of France?! I finally understand why there's such an alchemy between France and Japan when it comes to manga… If the manga pioneers were inspired by French-speaking culture to breathe life into their works… Some of Ghibli's masterpieces having undoubtedly contributed to the immense explosion of manga's popularity in Japan and elsewhere… I guess by "copying" this style, other mangakas unknowingly incorporated elements that resonate with the French-speaking "mindset"… So when manga arrived in France, it's no wonder it was a hit!!! I believe that, once again unconsciously, the French-speaking audience perceived this osmosis. In any case, it makes sense to me. 😉
Thanks for this video I learned many things !
We could add the collaboration between Ghibli Studio (Takahata), French and Dutch studios on the Red Turtle. It got Studio Ghibli out of a bad financial situation and incidentally created a masterpiece ☺
Merci !
Thanks !
I'm always proud to be french, but seeings documentary about things i love (manga) and my country make me more than proud 🇫🇷