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[1] Studio Ghibli, Japan’s Oscar-winning anime studio, celebrated its 40th anniversary earlier this month. Here are the top five films from the studio that have delighted fans over the decades.
[2] Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind: Studio Ghibli was founded in 1985, but this post-apocalyptic story, released in 1984, is considered its first film. It was based on a comic strip series that Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki wrote for a magazine for anime fans.
[3] The movie is set 1,000 years after a war that destroyed human civilisation. The story takes place in a valley protected from toxic air coming from poisonous forests. The story centres on Nausicaä, who discovers the secrets of the forests. Nausicaä gets involved in wars between countries trying to bring back a dangerous “giant warrior”.
[4] My Neighbour Totoro: This beloved Ghibli classic is set in the 1950s Japanese countryside where two young sisters with a sick mother move from the city. They meet the cuddly yet mysterious forest spirit Totoro and Catbus. Catbus is a 12-legged smiling cat with a hollow body in the form of a bus. Both these characters have become Studio Ghibli mascots. The film was turned into a play for the first time by Britain’s Royal Shakespeare Company in 2022.
[5] Princess Mononoke: The tale of a girl raised by a wolf goddess in a forest threatened by humans was a smash hit in Japan. The film also made Miyazaki popular internationally. It tells the story of a young prince on a journey to find a cure for his curse. He meets San, also known as Princess Mononoke – meaning spirit or monster in Japanese. The prince seeks ways to prevent wars between harmful humans and animal gods, focusing on nature as the ultimate god.
[6] Spirited Away: This is the film that won Miyazaki his first Oscar. It is about a girl who gets lost in a mystical world of gods and spirits. She tries to save her parents, who have been turned into pigs. To survive, 10-year-old Chihiro is told by a mysterious boy to get a job at a Japanese bathhouse run by a witch. In a story full of Japanese beliefs and traditions, Chihiro gains confidence through her work.
[7] The Boy and the Heron: This is Miyazaki’s second film to win an Oscar and is likely to be the 84-year-old’s last. The story follows a boy struggling to accept his new life after his mother dies in the firebombing of Tokyo during World War II. Everything changes when he meets a talking heron. He then goes on a journey to an alternate universe, shared by the living and the dead, in search of his stepmother.
Source: Agence-France Presse, June 6
Questions
1. According to paragraph 2, what was the movie Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind based on?
2. How many legs does Catbus have, according to paragraph 4?
A. four
B. eight
C. 12
D. 20
3. What does the phrase “smash hit” in paragraph 5 tell us about Princess Mononoke?
4. According to paragraph 6, a ... caused Chihiro’s parents to turn into animals.
A. Japanese witch
B. mysterious boy
C. Japanese bathhouse
D. information not given
5. Which two films mentioned in the article won an Oscar? (2 marks)
6. Decide whether the following statements are written in the active or passive voice. (3 marks)
(i) Studio Ghibli was founded in 1985.
(ii) Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is considered the animation company’s first film.
(iii) In one of its recent films, a talking heron guides the protagonist on a journey to an alternate universe.
Answers
1. It was based on a comic-strip series that Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki wrote for a magazine targeted at anime fans.
2. C
3. that the film was extremely successful and popular in Japan
4. D
5. Spirited Away and The Boy and the Heron
6. (i) active; (ii) passive; (iii) active
