What Does the Future Hold for Studio Ghibli?

During the tail end of Studio Ghibli Fest 2023, two significant news items have come to light. They beg the question: what’s ahead for the studio that brought us anime hits such as Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro? Will the studio stay true to its Shinto and environmental roots or move in a more commercially driven direction? Will competing studios manage to steal some of the spotlight that Studio Ghibli has long commanded?

Recently, Japanese television network Nippon TV announced it had acquired a controlling stake in Studio Ghibli. NTV has had a longstanding relationship with Studio Ghibli, broadcasting some of the company’s earliest films. Nippon TV was also an investor in the Ghibli Museum, which houses art from the various Studio Ghibli films as well as the history of its animation process. With this acquisition, Nippon TV now controls 42.3% voting rights at Studio Ghibli. 

Also this month, director Hayao Miyazaki, the founder of Studio Ghibli, has announced he will not be retiring after all. This is the fourth time the famed director and studio executive has reneged on his retirement. Most recently, Hayao Miyazaki stated he planned to retire after the completion of his newest film, The Boy and the Heron. But apparently, the 82-year-old still has films to make.

Hayao Miyazaki’s advancing age and lack of a successor was the stated reason for the company’s sale to Nippon TV. However, Miyazaki does have a son who is following in his footsteps. Goro Miyazaki has directed several films for Studio Ghibli, including Tales From Earthsea, From Up on Poppy Hill, and Earwig and the Witch. But Goro Miyazaki has seemed reluctant to try to fill his father’s shoes. Critical reviews of his films have been mixed, and reporters have chronicled what appears to be a tense relationship between father and son. 

However, Goro Miyazaki has served as the creative director for the theme park inspired by his father’s film. Ghibli Park draws on Goro Miyazaki’s background as a landscape designer. According to the park’s creators, the space aims to showcase Hayao Miyazaki’s reverence of nature and be quietly reflective, a sort of anti-Disney experience. An expansion of the park, incorporating more fantasy realms of Hayao Miyazaki, is scheduled to open next year. 

With the octogenarian founder still offering creative direction, it seems likely that Studio Ghibli will stay the course, offering fantasy films packed with feminist, animist, and environmental themes. Some believe that eventually Studio Ghibli will be overtaken by Studio Ponoc, which was formed by Studio Ghibli employees after Hayao Miyazaki announced his retirement for the first time. While Studio Ponoc has never managed to garner the same public attention as Studio Ghibli, that may change with the new ownership of Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki’s advancing years. Time will tell.

(featured image: GKids/Studio Ghibli)