A Short History of Studio Ghibli: Four Decades of Anime Classics

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind was made before Studio Ghibli existed, but the company later acquired the copyright, and it is often considered part of the Ghibli canon. (© 1984 Hayao Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli, H)

Castle in the Sky (© 1986 Hayao Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli), at left, and My Neighbor Totoro (© 1988 Hayao Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli)

Kiki’s Delivery Service (© 1989 Eiko Kadono/Hayao Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli, N), at left, and Porco Rosso (© 1992 Hayao Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli, NN)

Studio Ghibli’s number 1 studio in Koganei, Tokyo. (© Jiji)

Princess Mononoke (© 1997 Hayao Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli, ND), at left, and Spirited Away (© 2001 Hayao Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli, NDDTM)

Howl’s Moving Castle (© 2004 Diana Wynne Jones/Hayao Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli, NDDMT), at left, and Ponyo (© 2008 Hayao Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli, NDHDMT)

Mahito and the titular heron in The Boy and the Heron. (© 2023 Hayao Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli)