Farewell to Isao Takahata, director and co-founder of Studio Ghibli
He died yesterday at 82 from lung cancer. Born in 1935, his childhood was marked by war, and he spent his life campaigning against it. His latest work inspired by Japanese literature earned him an Oscar nomination. He also directed Heidi and Lupine III.
Tokyo (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Isao Takahata, co-founder of Studio Ghibli and award-winning cartoon film author, died yesterday at the age of 82 from lung cancer. His studio announced his death this morning.
Takahata was born in 1935 in the prefecture of Mie, in central Japan. His childhood was marked by the US bombing of his hometown in June 1945, from which he miraculously saved himself with his sister. Throughout his life, Takahata led a heated campaign against war.
In his career he has received numerous national and international awards, and is considered one of the great Japanese animators, with his name often cited alongside that of his collaborator and friend (and rival) Hayao Miyazaki. Together, the two founded Studio Ghibli in 1985. The studio is famous for its animated films that, unlike the Western culture related to Disney, has much more serious traits and addressed to a more mature audience.
In addition to the films, Takahata has directed numerous episodes of the Heidi and Lupine III series. Author of about 20 feature films, the Japanese is famous in particular for his work of 1988 Hotaru no haka (A tomb for the fireflies, see picture 2), which follows the dramatic story of two orphans during the Second World War.
In 2013, the animated version of the Kaguya-hime no monogatari (The story of the shining princess, see photo 3), one of the oldest Japanese literary works, dated to the 10th century and considered one of the founding stones of literature, also received great praise Japan. The latter earned him the Oscar nomination for best animated film. In 1984, he produced the film directed by Miyazaki Kaze no Tani no Naushika (Nausicaa of the Wind Valley), a fantasy tale in which the relationship between human beings and nature is depicted.
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02/01/2024 17:19
