Isao Takahata

Directing · Born 1935-10-29 · Ujiyamada [now Ise], Mie, Japan

Biography

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).

Known for

• Miyazaki, Spirit of Nature (2025)
• Hotaru no Haka to Takahata Isao to 7-satsu no Nōto (2025)
• Hayao Miyazaki and the Heron (2024)
• 2399 Days with Hayao Miyazaki & Studio Ghibli (2023)
• NHK Image File: I Want To Meet This Person - Isao Takahata, Animation Film Director (2018)
• Hyohyo: Dear Mr. Yasuo Otsuka (2015)
• Isao Takahata and His Tale of The Princess Kaguya (2014)
• Ghibli Landscapes - Visit 'Japan' as Depicted by Isao Takahata (2014)
• The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness (2013)
• Japanese Cinema: New Territories (2011)
• Ghibli Landscapes - A Journey to Encounter Directors Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki's Starting Point (2011)
• Ghibli's Bookshelf (2010)
• A Ghibli Artisan - Kazuo Oga Exhibition - The One Who Drew Totoro's Forest (2007)
• Hayao Miyazaki and the Ghibli Museum (2005)
• Ghibli and The Miyazaki Mystery (2005)
• Yasuo Ōtsuka's Joy in Motion (2004)
• Paul Grimault, image par image (2003)
• The Birth of Studio Ghibli (2003)
• The Cat Returns - Making of (2002)
• Super TV: Frontline Information 15 Months of Exclusive Coverage! The Secret Behind "My Neighbors the Yamadas" (2000)
• The World, The Journey Of My Heart - Traveler: Animation Film Director Isao Takahata (1999)
• How Ghibli Was Born (1998)
• The Making of Only Yesterday (1991)
• 10 Years with Hayao Miyazaki (2019)