The themes of Miyazaki's film & my friend's NPO website

I'm so glad that I have such a good guy, who is really love peace, care about environment, and always being friendly to everyone. His name is Chris, he told me that he has a dream for all human beings in the world, which is people loves each other, no fights, no war any more, and we can keep a good environment for our next generation. They are so approaching to Miyazaki's films, now here are some key words in Miyazaki's film. If you are a real fan of him, you must already know about that. 

Here is my friend Chris's website: http://demopublican.org/ See if you like it~
My podcast is here

Environmentalism

Miyazaki's films often emphasize environmentalism and the Earth's fragility, especially in the context of critiquing development and pollution.

In My Neighbor Totoro, the great tree tops a hillside on which magical creatures reside, and the family worships this tree. This ecological consciousness is echoed in Princess Mononoke with the giant primordial forest, trees, flowers and wolves. In Spirited Away, Miyazaki's environmental concerns surface in the "stink spirit", a river spirit who has been polluted and who must be cleansed in the bath house.

Love

Many of Miyazaki's films deal with the power of love. In Miyazaki's films, the power of love is enough to break curses set upon people. In "Spirited Away", Kamajii tells Haku that Chihiro saved him from Zeniba's curse using the power of her love for him. In "Howl's Moving Castle" Sophie's confidence in herself and her love for Howl breaks the curse laid upon her by the Wicked Witch of the Waste. In "Porco Rosso" he becomes human again when he is kissed by Fio. In Miyazaki's screenplay of "Whisper of the Heart" Shizuku's love for Seiji makes her follow her passion of writing and write the book while Seiji is away in Cremona, Italy. In "Ponyo", if Sousuke's love for Ponyo was true then the world would be saved.

Flight

Flight, especially human flight, is a recurring theme in Miyazaki's films. He thinks of flight as a form of liberation from gravity. The Studio Ghibli 2002 short film Imaginary Flying Machines is completely devoted to the wonders of flight and is voiced by Miyazaki himself.

In addition to the many aerial devices and drawings of Laputa: Castle in the Sky, which is a flying city, this theme is found in Nausicaä piloting her Mehve and the airborne armies in Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Kiki riding her broomstick and watching dirigibles fly over her city in Kiki’s Delivery Service, the large Totoro carrying Satsuki and Mei across the night sky in My Neighbor Totoro, Chihiro riding on Haku's back when in his dragon form in Spirited Away and Howl and Sophie soaring above their town in Howl's Moving Castle. The protagonist in Porco Rosso is a pilot and the film is focused on flying, airplanes and aerial combat, as well as the connection between flight, Ascension and the afterlife.

The film introduction: Spirited Away

Hi guys, here is my favoite animated film from Miyazaki, and I choose some elements just tell you how amazing it is. Enjoy!

Podcast--- Episode 4

Hi guys, here is Moon's podcast

It'll give you some details about the movie Princess Mononoke.
Enjoy.

My podcast 1st episode

The introduce of my blog

Hi, guys, here is a podcast of my blog's introduction. Welcome to my Laputa. 

Castle in the Sky & Theme song

Plot

According to the story's premise, human fascination with the sky prompted increasingly sophisticated ways of lifting aircraft from the ground; ultimately including flying cities and fortresses, of which most were later destroyed during an unspecified catastrophe, forcing the survivors to live on the ground as before. One city, Laputa, remains in the sky, concealed by a violent thunderstorm; whereas large airships remain in common use.
Aboard a civilian airship, a girl named Sheeta is escorted to an unknown destination by sinister-looking agents under Colonel Muska. The ship is attacked by a group of sky pirates led by an old, vivacious woman named Dola and her sons Charles , Louis, and Henri. In the resulting disorder between Colonel Muska's men and Dola's pirates, Sheeta takes a small pendant from Muska and escapes through a window. The sky pirates attempt to seize her and the pendant, but Sheeta falls from the ship, whereupon the pendant radiates a blue light and she gently floats to the ground. An apprentice miner named Pazu witnesses this and catches Sheeta, whom he conveys to his own house. There, she finds a photograph of Laputa, which Pazu's deceased father, an airship pilot and adventurer, had taken but was disbelieved by his contemporaries. Pazu believes the city exists and wishes to find it.

Dola's sky pirates arrive at Pazu's house, forcing the children to leave, with Sheeta in disguise. They are pursued by Dola's pirates and cornered by soldiers; but fall from a collapsing rail trestle and are saved when Sheeta's pendant activates once again, allowing them to float safely into an abandoned mine shaft.

Inside the mines they meet an old miner, Uncle Pom, who tells them of "volucite" (levistone in some subtitled versions, levitation stone in the original English language dub, and aetherium in Disney's English language dub), the crystal that keeps Laputa aloft. He reveals that Sheeta's pendant is one of the largest and purest of such crystals in existence and counsels Sheeta to remember that the crystal's power rightly belongs to the earth and that she should never use it to commit acts of violence.

Upon returning to the surface of the land, Sheeta tells Pazu that she has inherited an ancient "secret name": Lusheeta Toel Ul Laputa (Laputian for "Sheeta, True Ruler of Laputa"). A plane then unexpectedly lands with army soldiers and the two are captured, placed in a fortress, and separated.

The general in command of the fortress discusses with Muska the government-sponsored search for Laputa and agree that Sheeta and her crystal are the keys to its discovery. Muska reveals to Sheeta his knowledge of her true name, shows her a huge android robot believed to have been created in Laputa, and tells her that unless she cooperates with him in the search of Laputa and unlocking the crystal's secrets, which he believes can be used to physically locate Laputa, Pazu is likely to come to harm. Seeking to protect her friend, Sheeta tells Pazu that she has agreed to cooperate with Muska and the army in search of Laputa and asks him to forget her and Laputa. Stunned by this apparent rejection, Pazu returns to his village only to find Dola's pirate family occupying his home and eating dinner as they capture him upon arrival. Pazu tells Dola of his experiences. When the pirates learn that Sheeta, Muska, and the general will depart the fortress in search of Laputa aboard the gigantic military airship Goliath, Pazu begs Dola to take him with her.
In the fortress tower, Sheeta absent-mindedly recites a spell given by her grandmother, causing the crystal to illuminate a strange blue light that points to Laputa. The spell also re-animates the robot, which wreaks havoc all over the fortress, setting it on fire. The robot rescues Sheeta, demonstrating its loyalty, before it is destroyed by the Goliath airship. In the meantime, Dola and Pazu show up and rescue Sheeta from the burning tower, but her crystal is torn from her neck and later recovered by Muska, who uses it to track down Laputa. The children and Dola's pirates pursue the Goliath aboard the pirate ship Tiger Moth, intent on finding Laputa before the Goliath does. That night, as Sheeta and Pazu stand watch on the crows nest, they talk at length about their respective lives, touching upon Sheeta's study of magic words and mentioning one such spell, the Spell of Destruction, a power Sheeta has never used. Dola, who is awake in bed, overhears their discussions through the intercom.
Amid their conversation, Pazu sees the Goliath rise from the clouds. The airship attacks, but the Tiger Moth escapes unharmed. The Tiger Moth enters a storm, and Dola tells the children to keep watch above the clouds by turning the crows nest into a glider. Soon a massive cloud becomes visible, which Pazu recognizes from his father's descriptions as Laputa's hiding place. As they try to find a way in, the Goliath attacks again and the glider Sheeta and Pazu are riding is blasted away from the pirate ship. After a harrowing ride through the storm-charged cloud, the children land in Laputa, only to find the city devoid of human life, having only a single robot among the ruins taking care of the grounds and its plant and animal life. In the grounds is a gargantuan tree, whose roots have pervaded Laputa's base.

The Goliath arrives at Laputa, whereupon the soldiers plunder the city's vast treasures. The Tiger Moth is found wrecked on the surface, with Dola and the pirates being held captive. As Pazu attempts to rescue Dola, Sheeta witnesses Muska locating a hidden entrance to a large sphere that surrounds the city's core; she is subsequently captured and taken inside. Pazu frees the pirates and, after many difficulties, finds another way into the sphere.

Muska takes Sheeta into Laputa's core, a chamber holding a gigantic Volucite/Aetherium crystal that serves as the city's power source, and reveals that he is also an heir to the throne of Laputa. He takes control of Laputa and all its technology and demonstrates the power of the city to the army by beaming an immensely powerful blast toward the surface. Betraying the general and the army, he then activates hundreds of robots to wipe out the army and the Goliath while Dola and the pirates hide from the robots inside the remains of the Tiger Moth. Sheeta frees herself, steals back the crystal and runs through the core with Muska in close pursuit. Eventually, she finds Pazu and passes the crystal to him.
Muska finally corners Sheeta in the city's throne room. He brandishes a handgun at her, blasting off her braids. Pazu, with a hand cannon provided by Dola, then enters and asks for a moment to talk to Sheeta, which Muska grants. Together, the two children decide to use the Spell of Destruction; with a single word, the pendant releases an enormous power surge that triggers the collapse of the city's core. Muska is blinded by the flash and falls to his death, while Sheeta and Pazu are hurled into the tangle of roots from the giant tree and survive. Afterwards they find their way back to the glider, also lodged in the tangle of roots, and leave Laputa.

The Dola pirates also survive Laputa's destruction aboard their moth fighters, and are overjoyed to be reunited with Sheeta and Pazu in midair, with some Laputan treasure as a compensation for their troubles. After reaching the coast, the pirates and the children bid each other a fond farewell and part ways. The ending credits show the remains of Laputa, held together by the tree, continuing to rise, until they apparently establish an orbit high above the earth.

Spirited Away & link of Movie

Storyboard:

A young girl finds herself trapped in a mystical realm, where she must find a way to save her parents - who have been turned into pigs.

 Here is a link to show the whole movie.
The Whole Movie with Chinese trancription

There's something almost criminal about the way Spirited Away took over two years to reach Britain after its original Japanese release. In Japan, Hayao Miyazaki is both commercially successful (his films regularly beat box office records) and highly respected (Akira Kurosawa said: "I am somewhat disturbed when critics lump our works together. One cannot mimimise the importance of Miyazaki's work by comparing it to mine."). In Britain, however, his work has barely got more than a few cursory arts venue screenings. At least Spirited Away - which took the Berlin Golden Bear in 2002 and the Best Animated Film Oscar in 2003 - made it. Better late than never.

Howl's Moving Castle & Trailer

A love story between an 18-year-old girl named Sofî, cursed by a witch into an old woman's body, and a magician named Hauru. Under the curse, Sofî sets out to seek her fortune, which takes her to Hauru's strange moving castle. In the castle, Sophie meets Hauru's fire demon, named Karishifâ. Seeing that she is under a curse, the demon makes a deal with Sophie--if she breaks the contract he is under with Hauru, then Karushifâ will lift the curse that Sophie is under, and she will return to her 18-year-old shape.

A young woman named Sophie is cursed by the Witch of the Waste, turns into an old woman, and is unable to tell anyone of her plight. Unable to continue her job at her mother's hat shop, she goes to the ambulatory castle of the notorious wizard Howl and insinuates herself into his household. Sophie befriends Calcifer, the fire demon who powers the castle and who is bound to Howl by a contract, the terms of which Calcifer cannot reveal. They promise to help each other with their problems. Like Calcifer, Howl can also see through the Witch's spell, and he and Sophie fall in love. Sophie helps Howl confront his former teacher, and the Witch of the Waste. 

Young Sophie Hatter is cursed by the Witch of the Waste, and turns into an old hag. Ashamed of how she looks, she flees into the hills where a moving castle roams the hills. It is said to belong to the young and handsome wizard Howl, who has a bad reputation. Within the castle, Sophie befriends the fire demon Calcifer, who promises to help her become young again. One catch: she must help Calcifer to be free of Howl, and Calcifer cannot tell her how. However, Sophie agrees to stay and try to find out about the contract through other ways. Still, Howl can see that Sophie is under a spell like Calcifer can, and he falls in love with her for who she is and not for what she looks like. Sophie manages to bring life to the moving castle, and she helps Howl to face his former tutor, Madam Suliman.

MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO

Synopsis: 

A father and his two young daughters move to the country (the mother is ill in the hospital). There they run into nature spirits and experience various adventures.

 

The scenes with the nature spirits are eye opening, but the richness of the forest and the simple calm of the surroundings make the whole thing magical. 

It's my favorite one~ You should try it~

Halloween & Totoro

Are you bored with witches, guest, vampire, or any other traditional Halleween characters?

Here is a new choise of halloween~ Tororo. 

This video is here to show you guys the best new idea to kids' Halleween chacters.

Channel on Youtube.com

Know more about Miyazaki's video

http://www.youtube.com/user/lemonc223

Studio Ghibli Museum

Sketch of the Studio Ghibli Museum

Exhibition-----Yuri Norstein

In late 2003 until early 2004, the Ghibli Museum hosted an exhibition of works by the Russian animator Yuri Norstein. Several of his short films were shown at the Saturn Theatre inside the museum. These included most of his famous earlier works, Tale Of Tales, Heron and Crane, Hedgehog in the Fog, and Fox and Hare.

A Japanese-language booklet was produced, featuring interviews, pictures of the animator at work and with family and friends (including TAKAHATA Isao), and also scenes from his works.

Hedgehog in the Fog follows a young hedgehog as he travels through the forest to meet his friend the bear to watch the stars. As he loses his way in a thick fog, he encounters various animals that appear and disappear as if in a dream. Some are helpful, others seem more ominous. Eventually, he finds his friend and they share a log, looking up to the sky.

Fox and Hare is about a hare who is forcibly thrown out of his own house by a selfish fox. All his attempts to reclaim his home, with the help of various animals, are thwarted by the fierce interloper. Eventually, a very martial rooster with a sabre helps the hare overthrow the fox, and the two new friends share a warm place around the fire.

More Details on Miyazaki's Next Film

CUT magazine's September issue released on August 19 featured a very long interview (30,000 characters) with Miyazaki. Yoichi Shibuya, the best interviewer of Miyazaki, drew out the true intentions of various things about Studio Ghibli from Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki. An abstract of interview follows:

1. When I finished drawing the rough storyboards of the Great Kanto Earthquake (1923) of part A, the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred on March 11 (storyboards are usually divided into four or five parts). I thought about how I should do this plan. After having calmed down a little, I thought that I did not have to change it at all and should continue.

2. I think it (the new film) is not a fantasy. There are some elements of fantasy, but it's not fantasy. So, I don't know how to draw it. I try to bite my tail and am turning round and round like a dog. I draw the storyboards, throw them away, gather them back, rearrange, then throw them away again (laughs). I'm cornered now.

3. I want to make a not shameful thing. I want to avoid the label, "because Miyazaki was not able to draw the storyboards, production was stopped." (laughs) Even if I fall down on the way, I want to make a thing that people want to know its sequel, like Soseki Natsume's last work "Meian" (Light and Darkness). (laughs)

4. In the next film there are lots of huge crowds scenes. Animators are already feeling dizzy at a recent meeting. So I say to them, coolly, "all you have to do is draw!" They did not become animators to draw a picture of a girl turned around. The reason why we employed 30 new faces is that we drive them hard. They had better feel toilsome first. I do not hesitate it.

5. I said to the staff members, "it will be revealed what we should make while we make two films in three years." But I understood that nothing became clear. (laughs) The world deepens in confusion more and more.

6. Though I think this probably must be said off the record, I make a movie of a man who developed a weapon of the war. This man had talent most in Japan in those days. But he failed very hard. Because he was not able to accomplish craftsmanship in defeat, his heart was torn to shreds. But when I heard that he murmured "I wanted to make a beautiful thing", I thought "this is it!"

7. I had thought why he made such a thing. Cannot make such a thing without a motive to want to make a beautiful thing. This man is not making a weapon. As a result, its motive made a beautiful thing, but it was a high-performance weapon. In a sense he is a tragic character. He failed though he did it as hard as possible. So, he finishes his life as a very unsociable old man. (laughs)

8. I think it's ugly to die with unfinished storyboards.

9. The thing which I'm going to do is that which I had thought that I must not do it most. It's a very anarchic film.

10. I'm sorry but I bet all of Ghibli on this (new film).

11. Suzuki-san said at a meeting where I wasn't present, "this takes three years". Somene reported this to me and I think it's no problem even if it takes three years. I just think, "I'm 73 years old".

12. When I made Ponyo, I said to the staff members, "you do not need draw a shadow!" But I think "we draw a shadow this time! We draw a shadow thoroughly! All you cry in a shadow!". Must not live in idleness. But they seem to live in idleness. So I say, "do it until you have a bloody nose!"

13. I yell at staff members these days in the studio. I really do not want to yell. But I yell to make me strict with myself.

14. Because I prepared to bet all on this (new film), I want to do all of what I've endured so far.

15. I don't know whether new film becomes an answer to Japan after the earthquake disaster. But I feel that we cannot solve a problem only by saying "we followed a conventional way."

16. I have an idea of fantasy which I want to make. But I cannot make it if I don't understand the world a little more. If I make it now, it would be a lie. A gloomy fantasy, a shining fantasy, both become a lie. I think that we are in such a place. Since before a nuclear plant accident, after the Lehman shock, I had thought that the times not to be able to make fantasy would come.

17. Though I think that I must finish drawing part B within this year. (laughs) After the earthquake disaster, I'm just thinking in circles. Anno is also just thinking about the last story of Evangelion in circles. I understand his feeling well. But there is no help for it even if we experience a wound with each other. Anno asked me, "Miya-san, don't you have experience difficulty?" then I said, "No. I don't experience difficulty." (laughs) But I actually have difficulty very much.

18. When I feel bad, I want to smoke CHERRY furiously. I still have 6 cartons. I'm saving them carefully.
(JAPAN TOBACCO INC abolished CHERRY because a factory suffered damage in the earthquake disaster)

19. Soseki Natsume died at 49. Anton Chekhov died at 44. What am I doing? 70 minus 44 is 26 years! (laughs)

20. Q: Can we watch it in the year after next?
M: If it goes smoothly. But I don't know because nobody can draw it. The thing which I really want to draw is beautiful so as to feel dizzy. Probably only the Japanese can understand its beauty. But the Japanese cannot draw it, too. It's interesting.

Toshio Suzuki:
I do not have a design.(laughs) This is a movie that Miya-san makes freely. It takes two years at least. Though I think it's safe to talk this, in a word, it's a story of the war. I thought that Miya-san must make this. He has various thought about the war and reads a lot of documents. So, I said "Miya-san, you should make this". It's the first time that I said such a thing to him.

• NHK's Kokuriko-zaka documentary that aired on August 9 showed pre-production work on Miyazaki's new film including storybords and character designs by Miyazaki.

• Miyazaki on Sketchtravel - Hayao Miyazaki's drawing is on the last page of Sketchtravel. Miyazaki drew and painted it in 3 days during January 2011. The drawing spreads over two pages and represents a young boy in front of a plane. (NHK's Kokuriko-zaka documentary showed Miyazaki writing the plan paper and drawing the storyboards.)

• Miyazaki visits the flight of RC 9-shi designed by Jiro Horikoshi.

Thanks to T. Ishikawa for the news.
--LLin 05:51, 1 October 2011 (UTC)

The crowd sources

http://www.douban.com/group/HayaoMiyazaki/

http://www.douban.com/group/12674/

http://www.totoroclub.net/forum/forum.php

http://www.nausicaa.net/wiki/Main_Page

http://tieba.baidu.com/f?kw=%B9%AC%C6%E9%BF%A5

http://club.pchome.com.tw/urs/club_index.html?club_e_name=miyazakighibli

http://disney.go.com/disneyvideos/animatedfilms/miyazaki/more_miyazaki.html

http://www.ghibli-museum.jp/en/

http://www.ghibli.jp/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hayao-Miyazaki/7931769647

http://twitter.com/#!/HayaoGhibli

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0594503/

http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/

http://twitter.com/#!/HMiyazaki_news

http://skeedy.com/news/people/miyazaki/

http://twitter.com/#!/miyasan_bot

http://twitter.com/#!/gen_ghibli

http://generacionghibli.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/#!/TotoroBot

http://twitter.com/#!/GhibliBlog

http://twitter.com/#!/ghibli_bot_

http://twitter.com/#!/ghiblibrasil

http://twitter.com/#!/GhibliWorld

http://twitter.com/#!/JoeHisaishi

http://twitter.com/#!/Studioghiblifr

http://twitter.com/#!/HayaoMiyazakiEs

http://twitter.com/#!/ghibli_bot_

http://twitter.com/#!/Loveghibli_bot

The newest film from Studio Ghibli !

Kokurikozaka kara (コクリコ坂から, lit. From Corn Poppy Hill) is a Japanese manga series by Tetsurō Sayama and Chizuru Takahashi which was serialized by Kodansha from January to August 1980 in the shōjo manga magazine Nakayoshi.The manga was collected in two volumes published under the KC Nakayoshi imprint.

The manga was announced to be the source material for an upcoming 2011 Studio Ghibli film to be directed by Gorō Miyazaki, with a script co-written by the director's father, Hayao, and Keiko Niwa, co-author of the scripts for The Borrower Arrietty (2010) and Tales from Earthsea (2006).

Kokuriko is the Japanese spelling of "coquelico" (French) for corn poppy. 

From Kokuriko Hill is Studio Ghibli's newest film production scheduled for summer 2011. The release date seems quite soon to me as their last released film was just a year ago. The Borrower Arrietty showed impressing and persuading results and so far has a score of 8.1 points on imdb. It hasn't yet been premiered in UK nor US; US premiere has been postponed for February 2012. 

The new film will be named Kokurikozaka kara (From Kokuriko Hill) and based on a namesake manga. Again the script will be written by Hayao Miyazaki, drected by his son Gorō (who previously worked on Tales from Earthsea) and produced by Toshio Suzuki. The main theme song is said to be performed by Aoi Teshima, the same singer who sang Teru's song for "Tales from Earthsea"

Kokuriko-Zaka Kara Trailer

By the summary written on various other sites it appears to me to be one of the kind "Whisper of the heart", "Ocean Waves" "Kiki's delivery service" are.
A story set in Shōwa period follows the life of a growing up girl, whose father goes missing and mother is rarely home. Left on her own she has to face all the ordeals the everyday exposes her to. She has to grab the happiness when offered, but face the sadness with a smile and courage as well. Taking care of the shop and her younger sublings, participating in school activities and thus learning to live and slowly or rather quickly, in her case, grow up. However, I might be wrong with these presumptions of mine, let's wait and see. 
More on this as it progresses.

The Borrower Arrietty

The Borrower Arrietty (借りぐらしのアリエッティ, Karigurashi no Arrietty) is a 2010 Japanese anime film to be produced by Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli, based on the fantasy novel The Borrowers by Mary Norton.

The upcoming film is slated for a July 17, 2010 release in Japan and will mark the directorial debut of Studio Ghibli animator Hiromasa Yonebayashi, who will be the youngest person to direct a film for Ghibli. Ghibli founder Hayao Miyazaki will be supervising the production as a developing planner.

The story will take place in 2010 in Koganei, western Tokyo and like the novel will revolve around a group of creatures that live under the floorboards.

Arrietty Trailer

The singer of the song for Arrietty

Musicienne, chanteuse et compositrice, Cécile est née à la pointe du Finistère, où elle découvre adolescente la harpe celtique. Elle entretient depuis ces débuts ce lien avec la région bretonne, qui la façonne et la nourrit.

Inspirée par les musiques traditionnelles celtiques de Bretagne et d'ailleurs, elle découvre au fil du temps la composition musicale, essentiellement centrée sur la harpe et le chant.
Cécile cultive toujours un grand intérêt pour les contes anciens, les mélodies ancestrales et les ambiances teintées de féérie, éléments de base de son univers musical.

Seule, s'accompagnant de sa harpe, elle commence  à chanter dans les rues et les pubs, avant de rencontrer ses complices musiciens qui l'accompagnent sur scène et sur disque depuis de nombreuses années, créant une atmosphère folk, acoustique et finalement moderne.

En produisant ses premiers disques, elle rencontre un public plus large et affine la production des arrangements. De nombreux concerts et festivals à l'étranger la feront voyager en Europe, et de l'Asie aux USA.

En 2008 sort "SongBook vol. 2", un album plus abouti que les précédents, qui lui vaudra l'attention du public et celle plus particulière du producteur en chef des fameux studio d'animation japonais Ghibli. Il s'en suivra en 2010 l'écriture de la bande originale du film "Arrietty, le petit monde des chapardeurs", succès populaire au Japon, qui continue de se répandre à d'autres pays, au gré des sorties du film en salles. Cet enregistrement lui vaudra de recevoir en 2011 le prix de "Bande Originale de l'année" et un disque d'or au Japon.

Mai 2011 voit paraître "Songbook vol. 3  Renaissance", un album qui sonne comme un retour aux sources, plus acoustique, dans lequel Cécile continue d'explorer son univers musical pop-folk, toujours inspiré par l'imaginaire celtique et parfois teinté d'Orient.

A titre personnel, Cécile soutient activement l'association Info Birmanie, qui lutte pour que personne n'oublie le sort actuel du peuple Birman.

Joe Hisaishi

Why we talk about Joe Hisaishi, and who is he? Follow me. The answer begins now.

Joe Hisaishi was born in Nakano, Nagano, Japan as Mamoru Fujisawa (藤澤 守 Fujisawa Mamoru). When he started to take violin lessons at age five, Hisaishi discovered his passion for music. Realizing his love, he attended the Kunitachi College of Music in 1969 to major in music composition. Hisaishi collaborated with minimalist artists as a typesetter, furthering his experience in the musical world.

He enjoyed his first success of the business in 1974 when he composed music for a small animation called Gyatoruzu. This and other early works were created under his given name. During this period, he composed for Sasuga no Sarutobi (Academy of Ninja) and Futari Taka (A Full Throttle).

In the 1970s, Japanese popular music, electronic music, and new-age music flourished; those genres, as well as the Yellow Magic Orchestra (a Japanese electronic band in 1978–1983), influenced Hisaishi's compositions. He developed his music from minimalist ideas and expanded toward orchestral work. Around 1975, Hisaishi presented his first public performance, spreading his name around his community. His first album, MKWAJU, was released in 1981, with Information being released a year later.

As his works were becoming well known, Hisaishi formulated an alias inspired by Quincy Jones, an African-American musician and producer. Retranscribed in Japanese, "Quincy Jones" became "Joe Hisaishi." ("Quincy," pronounced "Kuishi" in Japanese, can be written using the same kanji in "Hisaishi"; "Joe" comes from "Jones.")

In 1983, with his new name, Hisaishi was recommended by a record company to create an album for Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Hisaishi and the director of the animated film, Hayao Miyazaki, became great friends and would work together on many future projects. This big break led to Hisaishi's overwhelming success as a composer of film scores. In 1986, Laputa: Castle in the Sky, and later, in the 1990s, Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away, were released. As Hisaishi strengthened his reputation as one of the budding anime industry's top musical contributors, his compositions (including eight theatrical films and one OAV) would proceed to become some of the very hallmarks of early anime in the 1980s and 1990s. Hisaishi also composed for such TV hits as Sasuga no Sarutobi, Two Down Full Base and anime Tekuno porisu 21C (all 1982), Sasrygar (1983), Futari Taka (1984), Honō no Alpen Rose (1985) and Ozu no mahôtsukai (1986). He also scored the sci-fi adventure series Mospeada (1983), which was later reworked (without his music) into the third segment of Carl Macek's compilation, Robotech. Other films he scored included Birth (Bâsu) (1984), Arion (1986), Totoro (1988), Venus Wars (1989), Kiki's Delivery Service (1989), and Porco Rosso (1992).

As more exposure was given to Hisaishi and the anime industry, his career grew. He initiated a solo career, began to produce music, and created his own label (Wonder Land Inc.). A year later, the label released its first album, Pretender, in New York.

As a result of his work throughout the years, Hisaishi has won the Japanese Academy Award for Best Music six times—in 1992, 1993,1994, 1999,2000,2009,and 2011. He also received the 48th Newcomer Award in 1997 from the Ministry of Education (Public Entertainment Section) among numerous other awards, being recognized as an influential figure in the Japanese film industry.

In 1998, he provided the soundtrack to the 1998 Winter Paralympics. The following year, he composed the music for the third installment in a series of popular computer-animated educational films about the human body.

In 2001, Hisaishi produced music for Takeshi Kitano's film, Brother, and Hayao Miyazaki's masterpiece, Spirited Away. He also served as executive producer of the Night Fantasia 4 Movement at the Japan Expo in Fukushima 2001. On October 6, Hisaishi made his debut as a film director in Quartet, having also written both its music and script. The film received excellent reviews at the Montreal Film Festival. His first soundtrack for a foreign film, Le Petit Poucet, was released in the same year.

Joe Hisaishi in Krakow, 2011

Another Miyazaki film, Howl's Moving Castle, for which Hisaishi composed the score, was released on November 20, 2004 in Japan. From November 3 to November 29, 2004, Hisaishi embarked on his "Joe Hisaishi Freedom – Piano Stories 2004" tour with Canadian musicians. In 2005, he composed the soundtrack for the Korean film, Welcome to Dongmakgol (웰컴 투 동막골). He also partook in Korea's historically landmarked big budget drama series production by composing the soundtrack for Korea's MBC drama series, The Legend (태왕사신기 "The Story of the First King's Four Gods"), which released in 2007. Hisaishi has a large fan base in Korea due to the popularity of Miyazaki films.

In 2006, Hisaishi released a studio album, Asian X.T.C., the compositions of which demonstrated a significantly eclectic and contemporary Eastern style. The erhu player of the Chinese band 12 Girls Band Zhan Li Jun played in a live concert featuring music from that album. The following year, he composed and recorded the soundtrack for Frederic Lepage's film, Sunny and the Elephant and the Miyazaki film, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, both released in 2008, as well as the score for Jiang Wen's film, The Sun Also Rises.

In 2008, Hisaishi composed soundtracks for Academy Award-winning film Departures as well as for I'd Rather Be a Shellfish (私は貝になりたい Watashi wa Kai ni Narita), a post-World War II war crimes trial drama which is based on the 1959 Tetsutaro Kato novel and film currently being remade and directed by Katsuo Fukuzawa, starring Masahiro Nakai and Yukie Nakama.

Hisaishi also released a new solo album in early 2009 featuring tracks from Shellfish and Departures.

In November 2009, he was awarded with a Medal of Honour with purple ribbon by the Government of Japan.

Quimondo

Quimondo

Studio Ghibli

Ghibli is a famous studio which was bulit by Miyazaki. If we talk about Miyazaki, we can not ignores the important studio which is also the most wonderful animation film studio in the world.

The feature of Ghibli

The company's logo features the character Totoro (a large forest spirit) from Hayao Miyazaki's film My Neighbor Totoro.

The name of Ghibli

The name Ghibli is based on the Arabic name for the sirocco, or Mediterranean wind, which the Italians used for their Saharan scouting planes in the Second World War, the idea being the studio would blow a new wind through the Japanese anime industry.

The history of studio Ghibli

Founded in June 1985, the studio is headed by the 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 notably with 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.

Many of Ghibli's works are distributed in Japan by Toho. Internationally, the Walt Disney Company has rights to all of Ghibli's output that did not have previous international distribution, including the global, non-Japan distribution rights to Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away.As of September 7, they currently share domestic rights with GKids.

Over the years, there has been a close relationship between Studio Ghibli and the magazine Animage, which regularly runs exclusive articles about the studio and its members in a section titled "Ghibli Notes." Artwork from Ghibli's films and other works are frequently featured on the cover of the magazine. Between 1999 and 2005 Studio Ghibli was a subsidiary of Tokuma Shoten, the publisher of Animage.

In October 2001, the Ghibli Museum opened in Tokyo. It contains exhibits based on Studio Ghibli films and shows animations, including a number of short Studio Ghibli films not available elsewhere.

The company is well known for its strict "no-edits" policy in licensing their films abroad. This was a result of the dubbing of Miyazaki's Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind when the film was released in the United States as Warriors of the Wind. The film was heavily edited and Americanized, with significant portions cut and the plot rewritten. The "no cuts" policy was highlighted when Miramax co-chairman Harvey Weinstein suggested editing Princess Mononoke to make it more marketable. In response, a Studio Ghibli producer sent an authentic katana with a simple message: "No cuts".

On February 1, 2008, Toshio Suzuki stepped down from the position of Studio Ghibli president, which he had held since 2005, and Koji Hoshino (former president of Walt Disney Japan) took over. Suzuki said he wanted to improve films with his own hands as a producer, rather than demanding this from his employees. Suzuki decided to hand over the presidency to Hoshino because Hoshino has helped Studio Ghibli to sell its videos since 1996, also helping to release the Princess Mononoke film in the United States.

Currently, Takahata and Goro Miyazaki (director of Tales from Earthsea and Hayao's son) are developing projects for release after Hiromasa Yonebayashi's The Borrower Arrietty. Goro Miyazaki's next film is going to be Kokurikozaka kara while Takahata is working on an adaptation about the tale of princess Kaguya or the bamboo cutter, Taketori Monogatari.

Never before has a Studio Ghibli short been shown outside Japan, but for the Carnegie Hall Citywise Japan NYC Festival, "House Hunting" and "Mon Mon the Water Spider" were screened on March 26, 2011.

Who is Hayao Miyazaki ?

Hayao Miyazaki(宮崎 駿) Miyazaki Hayao, born January 5, 1941) is a Japanese manga artist and prominent film director and animator of many popular anime feature films. Through a career that has spanned nearly fifty years, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a maker of animated feature films and, along with Isao Takahata, co-founded Studio Ghibli, an animation studio and production company. The success of Miyazaki's films has invited comparisons with American animator Walt Disney, British animator Nick Park and Robert Zemeckis, and he has been named one of the most influential people by Time magazine.

Born in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Miyazaki began his animation career in 1961 when he joined Toei Animation. From there, Miyazaki worked as an in-between artist for Gulliver's Travels Beyond the Moon where he pitched his own ideas that eventually became the movie's ending. He continued to work in various roles in the animation industry over the decade until he was able to direct his first feature film Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro which was released in 1979. After the success of his next film, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, he co-founded Studio Ghibli where he continued to produce many feature films until his temporary retirement in 1997 following Princess Mononoke.

While Miyazaki's films have long enjoyed both commercial and critical success in Japan, he remained largely unknown to the West until Miramax Films released Princess Mononoke. Princess Mononoke was the highest-grossing film in Japan—until it was eclipsed by another 1997 film, Titanic—and the first animated film to win Picture of the Year at the Japanese Academy Awards. Miyazaki returned to animation with Spirited Away. The film topped Titanic's sales at the Japanese box office, also won Picture of the Year at the Japanese Academy Awards and was the first anime film to win an American Academy Award.

Miyazaki's films often incorporate recurrent themes like humanity's relationship to nature and technology, and the difficulty of maintaining a pacifist ethic. Reflecting Miyazaki's feminism, the protagonists of his films are often strong, independent girls or young women. Miyazaki is a vocal critic of capitalism and globalization. While two of his films, The Castle of Cagliostro and Castle in the Sky, involve traditional villains, his other films like Nausicaä or Princess Mononoke present morally ambiguous antagonists with redeeming qualities.