Ghibliotheque - A Podcast About Animation and Studio Ghibli – Details, episodes & analysis

This episode, Michael and Jake speak with stop-motion director Claude Barras about his new film, Savages, his previous film, the Ghibliotheque favourite My Life as a Courgette, his life in animation and his almost Takahata-like approach to research.

To listen to Claude's full, unedited French answers, fast forward to 40.10.

Savages is in UK cinemas now.

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Follow us on Twitter or Instagram, or drop us an email at ghibliotheque@gmail.com.

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On the pod this week, Michael speaks with Latvian filmmaker Gints Zilbalodis about his Oscar-winning feature, FLOW. This conversation was recorded during the London Film Festival in October 2024, partway through Zilbalodis's remarkable journey with the film: a low-budget, independent feature made by a small crew that became one of the most lauded films of the year, and eventually picked up the Oscar for Best Animated Feature against stiff competition from the animation world's biggest names.

Flow is in UK cinemas from 21st March, and Gints's first feature, AWAY, is returning to UK cinemas from 14th March.

On Saturday 15th March, we're hosting a special double bill of both films, plus two of Gints's early shorts, with a masterclass Q&A with the director himself, at Curzon Soho in London. Find out more about this 'Whole Loada Zilbalodis' retrospective here.

Subscribe to our Patreon for ad-free episodes and bonus conversations in our Library Cafe series.

Follow us on Twitter or Instagram, or drop us an email at ghibliotheque@gmail.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Back in 2020 we looked at a couple of documentaries about Studio Ghibli, including Kaku Arakawa's Never-Ending Man. Now, after the release of Arakawa's latest documentary Hayao Miyazaki and the Heron, made during the production and release of Miyazaki's most recent film, Michael and Jake take a look at this latest look into the interior world of Ghibli.

Follow Ghibliotheque on Twitter:

@ghibliotheque

@MichaelJLeader – Michael

@jakehcunningham – Jake

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This week, the Chat Returns and so does the Cartoon Salooniverse, as Michael and Jake speak with Will Collins, co-writer of both Song of the Sea and Wolfwalkers. Down the line from Ireland, Will tells Michael and Jake about his relationship with the films of Studio Ghibli and his ongoing collaboration with Cartoon Saloon filmmakers Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart.

Keep an eye out for weekly episodes in our Chat Returns miniseries - featuring conversations with filmmakers, writers, and animators who have either worked directly with Ghibli, or have been heavily inspired by them - over the next couple of months.

Our book, Ghibliotheque - The Unofficial Guide to Studio Ghibli, will be on sale from all good bookshops in the UK from 2nd September, and is available for preorder now.

Pre-order today: Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3usAw0h

Or for free international shipping: https://bit.ly/3oRQr7c

Get in touch with Ghibliotheque at ghibli@littledotstudios.com or follow us on Twitter:

@ghibliotheque

@MichaelJLeader - Michael

@jakehcunningham - Jake

@_stephwatts - Steph

Produced by Michael Leader, Jake Cunningham, Harold McShiel and Steph Watts. Music by Anthony Ing.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week in our Chat Returns miniseries, we are thrilled to speak with one of the leading characters of the Ghibliotheque story so far... Studio Ghibli's long-serving producer, enabler, genius-herder and former President, Toshio Suzuki. Suzuki has played a key role in every Studio Ghibli film to date, and has had significant influence on the careers of all Ghibli's filmmakers, not least Goro Miyazaki, who was tapped to direct Tales From Earthsea by Suzuki. As discussed on our previous episode, Goro Miyazaki describes Suzuki as the 'dark wizard' behind Ghibli, and his mark is still seen even today, on the new release Earwig and the Witch - which is screening in UK cinemas now.

Keep an eye out for weekly episodes in our Chat Returns miniseries - featuring conversations with filmmakers, writers, and animators who have either worked directly with Ghibli, or have been heavily inspired by them - over the next couple of months.

Our book, Ghibliotheque - The Unofficial Guide to Studio Ghibli, will be on sale from all good bookshops in the UK from 2nd September, and is available for preorder now.

Pre-order today: Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3usAw0h

Or for free international shipping: https://bit.ly/3oRQr7c

Get in touch with Ghibliotheque at ghibli@littledotstudios.com or follow us on Twitter:

@ghibliotheque

@MichaelJLeader - Michael

@jakehcunningham - Jake

@_stephwatts - Steph

Produced by Michael Leader, Jake Cunningham, Harold McShiel and Steph Watts. Music by Anthony Ing.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kicking off our new interview miniseries, Michael talks with director, museum project manager and all-round Ghibli veteran Goro Miyazaki about his career, his relationship with the Studio, and his new film, Earwig and the Witch - which is now screening in cinemas across the UK.

Keep an eye out for weekly episodes in our Chat Returns miniseries - featuring conversations with filmmakers, writers, and animators who have either worked directly with Ghibli, or have been heavily inspired by them - over the next couple of months.

Our book, Ghibliotheque - The Unofficial Guide to Studio Ghibli, will be on sale from all good bookshops in the UK from 2nd September, and is available for preorder now.

Pre-order today: Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3usAw0h

Or for free international shipping: https://bit.ly/3oRQr7c

Get in touch with Ghibliotheque at ghibli@littledotstudios.com or follow us on Twitter:

@ghibliotheque

@MichaelJLeader - Michael

@jakehcunningham - Jake

@_stephwatts - Steph

Produced by Michael Leader, Jake Cunningham, Harold McShiel and Steph Watts. Music by Anthony Ing.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Before we close the swing doors of the Cartoon Salooniverse, Michael, Jake and Steph cast the new wide to discuss everything the studio does that isn't feature length, from the Oscar-nominated short film Late Afternoon, to the delightful children's series Puffin Rock, and everything in between, including a conversation about Cartoon Saloon's pitch for a Winnie the Pooh series, and a tantalising look at what's next for the studio. And, of course, we must rank the Cartoon Saloon films - with a little help from our listeners.

• Watch the short film Late Afternoon here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvHj_AwFg_g
• Watch There's a Monster in My Kitchen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rIjVDo_u8c
• Watch other Cartoon Saloon shorts, trailers, teasers and clips on their YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/CartoonSaloon
• Visit Monica Armiño's portfolio site for a look at Cartoon Saloon's concept art for Winnie the Pooh: https://monicaarmino.com/winnie-the-pooh/
• Listen to the Best Bits podcast, co-hosted by Will Collins: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-best-bits/id1555161900?uo=4&itscg=30200&itsct=podcast_box
• Listen to The Screenwriting Life podcast, co-hosted by Meg Lefauve: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-screenwriting-life-with-meg-lefauve-and-lorien-mckenna/id1501641442

Get in touch with Ghibliotheque at ghibli@littledotstudios.com or follow us on Twitter:

@ghibliotheque

@MichaelJLeader - Michael

@jakehcunningham - Jake

@_stephwatts - Steph

Produced by Michael Leader, Jake Cunningham, Harold McShiel and Steph Watts. Music by Anthony Ing.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's episode of our Cartoon Salooniverse miniseries brings us up to date, as Michael, Jake and Steph talk about Cartoon Saloon's latest, Oscar-nominated feature, Wolfwalkers, which sees Tomm Moore completing his Irish folklore trilogy of stories, this time working in collaboration with co-director Ross Stewart.

Get in touch with Ghibliotheque at ghibli@littledotstudios.com or follow us on Twitter:

@ghibliotheque

@MichaelJLeader - Michael

@jakehcunningham - Jake

@_stephwatts - Steph

Produced by Michael Leader, Jake Cunningham, Harold McShiel and Steph Watts. Music by Anthony Ing.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week in our Cartoon Salooniverse miniseries, Michael, Jake and Steph leave behind the folklore-filled landscape of Tomm Moore's Ireland for The Breadwinner, the animated drama about a young girl growing up in Afghanistan in the dying days of Taliban rule, directed by Cartoon Saloon co-founder Nora Twomey. What happens when such a distinctively Irish studio looks abroad?

Read the article 'The Breadwinner, or the Cinema as Secular Hegemony' by Jalil Kochai here: https://www.milestonesjournal.net/reviews/2018/7/2/the-breadwinner-or-the-cinema-as-secular-hegemony

Get in touch with Ghibliotheque at ghibli@littledotstudios.com or follow us on Twitter:

@ghibliotheque

@MichaelJLeader – Michael

@jakehcunningham – Jake

@_stephwatts - Steph

Produced by Michael Leader, Jake Cunningham, Harold McShiel and Steph Watts. Music by Anthony Ing.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do you follow a widely-renowned, Oscar-nominated debut feature? In this episode in our miniseries about the Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon, Michael, Jake and Steph discuss their second feature, Tomm Moore's coastal fantasy Song of the Sea - a film about a young boy, his little sister (who also happens to be a magical selkie creature), and the rich folklore that rises out of the very landscape of Ireland itself.

Get in touch with Ghibliotheque at ghibli@littledotstudios.com or follow us on Twitter:

@ghibliotheque

@MichaelJLeader – Michael

@jakehcunningham – Jake

@_stephwatts - Steph

Produced by Michael Leader, Jake Cunningham, Harold McShiel and Steph Watts. Music by Anthony Ing.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.