Ghibliotheque - A Podcast About Studio Ghibli

Studio Ponoc founder Yoshiaki Nishimura (Mary and the Witch's Flower, Modest Heroes) speaks with Michael about Ponoc's new film, The Imaginary, as well as his love of children's fiction and live-action cinema, and his time at Studio Ghibli producing The Tale of the Princess Kaguya and When Marnie Was There.Thank you to Eyre Kurosawa for translating our conversation. If you want to hear the full conversation with all of Mr Nishimura's Japanese responses intact, skip to around 31 minutes.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.

This special episode of the podcast dives into the stage adaptation of Spirited Away, which is currently running at the Coliseum theatre in London's West End. With Jake on parental leave, Michael enlists the help of co-host Steph Watts and friends of the show Adam Woodward (Little White Lies, TCOLondon) and Sam Clements (90 Minutes Or Less Film Fest) to tackle this epic production that brings Hayao Miyazaki's magical masterpiece to the stage.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.

Michael is joined this week by Shannon Tindle and John Aoshima to talk about their new film, Ultraman Rising, as well as their approach to animation, running a smooth ship through production, their experiences studying at The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), and their first exposures to the world of Studio Ghibli.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.

This week, Michael and Jake take a trip into the mind of Philip K Dick with Richard Linklater's second animated film in the rotoscoped style, the psychedelic, sci-fi-tinged thriller, A Scanner Darkly.Subscribe to our Patreon for ad-free episodes and bonus conversations on the Linklater films Slacker, School of Rock and Hit Man.Follow us on Twitter or Instagram, or drop us an email at ghibliotheque@gmail.com.

Michael and Jake return with a new miniseries diving into three animated films from independent cinema icon Richard Linklater (Boyhood, Before Sunrise, Dazed and Confused), starting with his 2001 rotoscoped feature Waking Life: a heady exploration of dreaming, philosophy, existentialism, the frontiers of theoretical science and everything in between.Watch Richard Linklater talk Waking Life on Tech TV circa 2001 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHNjigGtUZISubscribe to our Patreon for ad-free episodes and bonus conversations on the Linklater films Slacker, School of Rock and Hit Man.Follow us on Twitter or Instagram, or drop us an email at ghibliotheque@gmail.com.

Michael speaks with Spanish director Pablo Berger about his critically-acclaimed and award-winning feature animation Robot Dreams, which is in UK cinemas from 22nd March.Read Michael's review of the film here, and his feature on the animation process behind the film here.

Directors Chiara Malta and Sebastien Laudenbach speak with Michael about their astounding new film, Chicken for Linda, which was a hit on the festival and awards circuit in 2023, and is screening around the UK in March, April and May.Watch a trailer for Chicken for Linda here.Chicken for Linda screens as part of the Made in Italy Festival at the Ciné Lumière on 23rd March. Tickets are available here.You can also catch the film at the Cardiff Animation Festival, the Barbican Centre Family Film Club and Flatpack Film Festival.Thanks to Matt Dinsdale for coordinating this interview, and to Stefania Bochicchio for translating the conversation.

Michael speaks with director Jim Capobianco about his new film, The Inventor, and working in stop-motion for the first time after years working in hand-drawn and CG animation. They also speak about the film's themes of patronage, inspiration and creativity, as well as Jim's amazing work at Disney and Pixar (including his Oscar-nominated work on Ratatouille), and his longstanding relationship with Cartoon Saloon.The Inventor is in UK cinemas now, screening exclusively at Vue Cinemas: https://www.theinventorfilm.com/