Isao Takahata

Isao Takahata

Born: October 29, 1935
Died: April 5, 2018
in Ujiyamada, Mie prefecture, Japan
Isao Takahata (October 29, 1935 - April 5, 2018), co-founder of Studio Ghibli, was one of the most famous directors of Japanese animated films. Unlike most anime directors, he did not draw and never worked as an animator before becoming a director.

For the first two decades of his career from the 1960s to the 1980s, Takahata worked primarily as director for anime television. In 1985 he and his long-time collaborative partner Hayao Miyazaki formed Studio Ghibli with Toshio Suzuki and Yasuyoshi Tokuma. From that point, his career transitioned into producing, directing, and writing films for Studio Ghibli. He is known for his five feature length anime films released under Ghibli, Grave of the Fireflies (1988), Only Yesterday (1991), Pom Poko (1994), My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999) and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013).

Movies for Isao Takahata...

プロフェッショナル 仕事の流儀 ジブリと宮崎駿の2399日
Title: プロフェッショナル 仕事の流儀 ジブリと宮崎駿の2399日
Character: Isao Takahata
Released: December 16, 2023
Type: Movie
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Title: 10 Years with Hayao Miyazaki
Character: Self
Released: February 24, 2019
Type: TV
A chronicle of the creative process of the legendary Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, a passionate artisan, a steadfast trailblazer, and a father butting heads with his son…
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Hyohyo: Dear Mr. Yasuo Otsuka
Title: Hyohyo: Dear Mr. Yasuo Otsuka
Character: Himself
Released: March 19, 2015
Type: Movie
Documentary about Yasuo Otsuka, famous Japanese animator and mentor of Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata. Featuring interviews with Japanese animation legends such as Masaaki Osumi, Youichi Kotabe, Sadao Tsukioka and Isao Takahata.
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Isao Takahata and His Tale of the Princess Kaguya
Title: Isao Takahata and His Tale of the Princess Kaguya
Character: Self
Released: November 27, 2014
Type: Movie
For his first film in fourteen years animation director Isao Takahata embarked on a visually sumptuous adaptation of "The Tale of the Princess Kaguya". A dream project for the director that would hopefully establish the recently formed Ghibli Studio 7, created to meet the demands of a new type of modern animation process. But almost immediately the epic production is faced with difficulties and falls dramatically behind schedule. In this compelling and insightful documentary we follow Isao Takahata and his dedicated team of artists as they frantically strive against adversity to make their vision a reality and bring Studio Ghibli into a new Era.
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Ghibli Landscapes - Visit 'Japan' as Depicted by Isao Takahata
Title: Ghibli Landscapes - Visit 'Japan' as Depicted by Isao Takahata
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 2014
Type: Movie
Aki Asakura, an actress who played the voice of Princess Kaguya, travels around Japan to visit the scenery that appeared in Takahata's work. The documentary also includes an interview with Director Takahata. This documentary is composed from the fragments of a program, aired by «BS Nittele» TV station on the 1st of January 2014, dedicated to the release of «The Tale of Princess Kaguya».
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The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness
Title: The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness
Character: Self
Released: November 16, 2013
Type: Movie
Follows the behind-the-scenes work of Studio Ghibli, focusing on the notable figures Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, and Toshio Suzuki.
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Ghibli Landscapes - A Journey to Encounter Directors Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki's Starting Point
Title: Ghibli Landscapes - A Journey to Encounter Directors Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki's Starting Point
Character: Self
Released: December 31, 2011
Type: Movie
In this documentary we travel to the Swiss Alps and to the Canadian Prince Edward Island looking at the origins of the two classic TV series - Heidi, the Girl of the Alps and Anne of Green Gables. We will also learn how the Japanese scenery found its way into the latter. As the documentary was released as part of the From up on Poppy Hill promotion, a portion of it is dedicated to Yokohama, where the events of the film by Goro Miyazaki take place.
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Ghibli's Bookshelf
Title: Ghibli's Bookshelf
Character: Self
Released: August 7, 2010
Type: Movie
This August 2010 NHK documentary explores the influence of selected children's literature on Miyazaki and Takahata's body of work and on Studio Ghibli as a whole. Also included is a conversation between Miyazaki and Japanese author and TV personality Sawako Agawa.
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A Ghibli Artisan - Kazuo Oga Exhibition - The One Who Drew Totoro's Forest
Title: A Ghibli Artisan - Kazuo Oga Exhibition - The One Who Drew Totoro's Forest
Character: Self
Released: December 19, 2007
Type: Movie
From July 21 through September 10th, 2007, the Museum for Contemporary Art Tokyo held an exhibition honouring Kazuo Oga, the art director and background artist for many famed works from Japan's Studio Ghibli. Over 600 works from the artist were on display, and numerous fans flocked to the one-of-a-kind exhibition celebrating the lush, gorgeous background artwork typifying many a work from Hayao Miyazaki and other Ghibli filmmakers. International fans of Oga and Studio Ghibli have not been left out, however. A Ghibli Artisan - Kazuo Oga Exhibition - The One Who Drew Totoro's Forest allows fans the opportunity to attend the exhibition, as well as watch interviews and testimonials with Oga's contemporaries and collaborators, all subtitled in English.
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Hayao Miyazaki and the Ghibli Museum
Title: Hayao Miyazaki and the Ghibli Museum
Character: Self
Released: March 18, 2005
Type: Movie
A documentary about the Ghibli Museum. It features Goro Miyazaki speaking with Isao Takahata about the "charm" of the museum and its various influences. Goro tours the viewer around the museum, explaining the intricate details that his father, Hayao Miyazaki made during its construction. The documentary highlights the strong European influences in the museum's architecture, featuring footage of the medieval mountainous city of Calcata in Italy and the historic port city of Genoa, which Miyazaki had visited in the past. These trips would go on to influencing the imagery seen in Castle in the Sky, Kiki's Delivery Service, Porco Rosso, and Spirited Away.
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Ghibli and The Miyazaki Mystery
Title: Ghibli and The Miyazaki Mystery
Character: Self - Interviewee
Released: January 7, 2005
Type: Movie
Studio Ghibli is Japan's most successful animation studio, with helmers Hayao Miyazaki ("Spirited Away," "My Neighbor Totoro") and Isao Takahata ("Grave of The Fireflies," "The Tale of Princess Kaguya") creating a bonanza for producer/prexy Toshio Suzuki. Generously adorned with clips from their films and their influences, the docu follows Ghibli's arc from a mid-'60s rebellion against working conditions at Toei Co. to its present powerhouse position, complete with public fun park. All interviews are illuminating, but Miyazaki is teasingly confined to pic's tete-a-tete finale with esteemed French comic artist Jean "Moebius" Giraud. Meeting of the wizened European, whose imprint is on films from "Blade Runner" to "The Fifth Element," and the apparently relaxed Nipponese helmer makes an interesting contrast, and will be of special interest to Francophiles. All credits are impeccable
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Yasuo Ōtsuka's Joy in Motion
Title: Yasuo Ōtsuka's Joy in Motion
Character: Self
Released: July 23, 2004
Type: Movie
Yasuo Ōtsuka was the mentor of Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki, the man who taught them to feel the joy of animation. As the supervising animator of their films and through the creation of superb scenes such as Lupin leaping from turret to turret in Lupin the 3rd: The Castle of Cagliostro, Ōtsuka made the impossible believable, and touched people’s emotions. To look back at the many works he was involved in is to review the history of Japanese animation after WWII. This film is a must for anime fans who want to learn how Japanese animation evolved.
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Paul Grimault, image par image
Title: Paul Grimault, image par image
Character: Himself
Released: November 25, 2003
Type: Movie
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The Cat Returns - Making of
Title: The Cat Returns - Making of
Character: Self
Released: July 11, 2002
Type: Movie
A promotional film by Studio Ghibli about the work on the film "The Cat Returns" (directed by Hiroyuki Morita)
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The World, The Journey Of My Heart - Traveler: Animation Film Director Isao Takahata
Title: The World, The Journey Of My Heart - Traveler: Animation Film Director Isao Takahata
Character: Himself
Released: December 2, 1999
Type: Movie
A documentary film following Isao Takahata to Canada to meet Frédéric Back.
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How Ghibli Was Born
Title: How Ghibli Was Born
Character: Himself
Released: January 1, 1998
Type: Movie
A contemporary look at the creation and evolution of Studio Ghibli, from ‘The Great Adventure of Horus, Prince of the Sun’ (1968) to ‘Princess Mononoke’ (1997).
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The Making of Only Yesterday
Title: The Making of Only Yesterday
Character: Self
Released: July 22, 1991
Type: Movie
A making of documentary on the Studio Ghibli film Only Yesterday
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The Story of Yanagawa's Canals
Title: The Story of Yanagawa's Canals
Character: Himself
Released: August 15, 1987
Type: Movie
A partially-animated documentary about the preservation and restoration of the canal system in Yanagawa, Fukuoka