Beginnings
Founded in June, 1985, the studio is headed by directors Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata and the producer Toshio Suzuki. Prior to the formation of the studio, Miyazaki and Takahata had already had long careers in Japanese film and television animation and had worked together on Hols: Prince of the Sun and Panda! Go, Panda!; and Suzuki was an editor at Tokuma Shoten's Animage manga magazine.
The studio was founded after the success of the 1984 film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, written and directed by Miyazaki for Topcraft and distributed by Tōei. The origins of the film lie in the first two volumes of a serialized manga written by Miyazaki for publication in Animage as a way of generating interest in an anime version. Suzuki was part of the production team on the film and founded Studio Ghibli with Miyazaki, who also invited Takahata to join the new studio.
The studio has mainly produced films by Miyazaki, with the second most prolific director being Takahata (most notable for Grave of the Fireflies). Other directors who have worked with Studio Ghibli include Yoshifumi Kondo, Hiroyuki Morita and Gorō Miyazaki. Composer Joe Hisaishi has provided the soundtrack for all of Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli films.[11]
Ghibli Museum
In October of 2001, the Ghibli Museum opened in Tokyo. It contains exhibits based on Studio Ghibli films and shows animations, all or which are short films not available elsewhere.
The entire grounds was designed by Hayao Miyazaki; with secret passages, different size doors, a spiral staircase, a glass elevator it is a childs dream and the personification of the artists mind. Interactive setups make the visitor become involed with the art
Ghibli Today
Today Ghibli's latest creation is The Borrower Arriety, based off the European Novel "The Borrowers" by Mary Norton.
In the works is the film Tale of the Bamboo Cutter based off one of the longest surviving Japanese folklore Princess Kaguya (Kaguya Hime); which is the tale of the moon princess.