Isao Takahata, director and Studio Ghibli co-founder, dies at 82

By   |  Apr 6, 2018

Isao Takahata (高畑勲), the renowned anime director and co-founder of Studio Ghibli, has died at the age of 82. Takahata had reportedly been suffering from a heart condition since last Summer and his health had been on a rapid decline.

Takahata was born in Ujiyamada (now Ise), Mie prefecture on October 29, 1935. He became interested in animation at an early age after seeing the French animated film ‘Le Roi et l’Oiseau’ (The King and the Mockingbird). After completing a French literature course in university, he applied for and was hired as an assistant director at Toei Animation. Competition at the studio was furious, but Takahata finally directed his first film, ‘Hols: Prince of the Sun’ after he was recommended for the position by his instructor Yasuo Otsuka. Unfortunately though, the film was a commercial failure and Takahata was demoted.

Unable to move forward, Takahata became frustrated and transferred to an animation studio called “A Production” (now known as Shin-Ei Animation) in order to make his own feature with Hayao Miyazaki and Yoichi Kotabe. The trio attempted to work on an adaptation of Pippi Longstocking but they ran into trouble acquiring the rights and were forced to put the project on hold. During this time, both Takahata and Miyazaki wound up directing several episodes of the ‘Lupin’ TV series although they were not credited.

The following years saw the group working on an animated series called ‘Heidi, Girl of the Alps’ at Zuiyo Enterprise, before moving to Telecom where Takahata directed ‘Little Nemo’ in an attempt to create a link to the American market. Although the film was a success, there was little progress in a U.S.-Japanese cross-production so Takahata parted ways with Telecom. He was then invited by Miyazaki to join his animation production company Studio Ghibli. It was here that he helmed ‘Grave of the Fireflies‘, a heartfelt animated war drama that was widely acclaimed by critics in both Japan and the US. This was also the beginning of a hugely successful career that saw Takahata direct films such as ‘Only Yesterday’, ‘Pom Poko’, ‘My Neighbors the Yamadas‘, and ‘The Tale of Princess Kaguya’.

Takahata’s talent will be hugely missed and our thoughts go out to his family and friends.

Phil Mills
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