Isao Takahata

Directing

Isao Takahata

Born — Died

1935-10-29 — 2018-04-05

Place of birth

Ujiyamada [now Ise], Mie, Japan

Known for

Directing

Credits

65 titles

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 …

Known for

Castle in the Sky poster
8.0

A young boy and a girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.

Castle in the Sky

1986

Kulturplatz poster
6.0

No synopsis available yet.

Kulturplatz

2004

Warriors of the Wind poster
7.9

After a global war, the seaside kingdom known as the Valley of the Wind remains one of the last strongholds on Earth untouched by a poisonous jungle and the powerful insects that guard it. Led by the courageous Princess Nausicaä, the people of the Valley engage in an epic struggle to restore the bond between humanity and Earth.

Warriors of the Wind

1984

Pom Poko poster
7.2

The Raccoons of the Tama Hills are being forced from their homes by the rapid development of houses and shopping malls. As it becomes harder to find food and shelter, they decide to band together and fight back. The Raccoons practice and perfect the ancient art of transformation until they are even able to appear as humans in hilarious circumstances.

Pom Poko

1994

My Neighbors the Yamadas poster
7.0

The Yamadas are a typical middle class Japanese family in urban Tokyo and this film shows us a variety of episodes of their lives. With tales that range from the humorous to the heartbreaking, we see this family cope with life's little conflicts, problems, and joys in their own way.

My Neighbors the Yamadas

1999

The Tale of The Princess Kaguya poster
8.1

Found inside a shining stalk of bamboo by an old bamboo cutter and his wife, a tiny girl grows rapidly into an exquisite young lady. The mysterious young princess enthrals all who encounter her. But, ultimately, she must confront her fate.

The Tale of The Princess Kaguya

2013

Film credits

2020s · 5 titles

2010s · 8 titles

The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness poster
7.6

Follows the behind-the-scenes work of Studio Ghibli, focusing on the notable figures Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, and Toshio Suzuki.

The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness

2013

Isao Takahata and His Tale of The Princess Kaguya poster
6.7

For his first film in fourteen years, animation director Isao Takahata embarked on a visually sumptuous adaptation of The Tale of the Bamboo-Cutter. A dream project for the director that would hopefully establish the recently formed Ghibli Studio 7, created to meet the demands of a new type of modern animation process. But, almost immediately, the epic production is faced with difficulties and falls dramatically behind schedule. In this compelling and insightful documentary, we follow Isao Takahata and his dedicated team of artists as they frantically strive against adversity to make their vision a reality and bring Studio Ghibli into a new era.

Isao Takahata and His Tale of The Princess Kaguya

2014

Japanese Cinema: New Territories poster
NR

This documentary by Hubert Niogret looks at the revival of Japanese cinema during the 1990s.

Japanese Cinema: New Territories

2011

Ghibli Landscapes - A Journey to Encounter Directors Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki's Starting Point poster
NR

In this documentary we travel to the Swiss Alps and to the Canadian Prince Edward Island looking at the origins of the two classic TV series - Heidi, the Girl of the Alps and Anne of Green Gables. We will also learn how the Japanese scenery found its way into the latter. As the documentary was released as part of the From up on Poppy Hill promotion, a portion of it is dedicated to Yokohama, where the events of the film by Goro Miyazaki take place.

Ghibli Landscapes - A Journey to Encounter Directors Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki's Starting Point

2011

Ghibli's Bookshelf poster
NR

This August 2010 NHK documentary explores the influence of selected children's literature on Miyazaki and Takahata's body of work and on Studio Ghibli as a whole. Also included is a conversation between Miyazaki and Japanese author and TV personality Sawako Agawa.

Ghibli's Bookshelf

2010

No artwork available
NR

A short documentary dedicated to |sao Takahata, composed of archive images, released following his death in April 2018.

NHK Image File: I Want To Meet This Person - Isao Takahata, Animation Film Director

2018

Ghibli Landscapes - Visit 'Japan' as Depicted by Isao Takahata poster
NR

Aki Asakura, an actress who played the voice of Princess Kaguya, travels around Japan to visit the scenery that appeared in Takahata's work. The documentary also includes an interview with Director Takahata. This documentary is composed from the fragments of a program, aired by BS Nippon Television TV station on the 1st of January 2014, dedicated to the release of The Tale of Princess Kaguya.

Ghibli Landscapes - Visit 'Japan' as Depicted by Isao Takahata

2014

No artwork available
NR

Documentary about Yasuo Otsuka, famous Japanese animator and mentor of Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata. Featuring interviews with Japanese animation legends such as Masaaki Osumi, Youichi Kotabe, Sadao Tsukioka and Isao Takahata.

Hyohyo: Dear Mr. Yasuo Otsuka

2015

2000s · 8 titles

Ghibli and The Miyazaki Mystery poster
6.9

Studio Ghibli is Japan's most successful animation studio, with helmers Hayao Miyazaki ("Spirited Away," "My Neighbor Totoro") and Isao Takahata ("Grave of The Fireflies," "The Tale of Princess Kaguya") creating a bonanza for producer/prexy Toshio Suzuki. Generously adorned with clips from their films and their influences, the docu follows Ghibli's arc from a mid-'60s rebellion against working conditions at Toei Co. to its present powerhouse position, complete with public fun park. All interviews are illuminating, but Miyazaki is teasingly confined to pic's tete-a-tete finale with esteemed French comic artist Jean "Moebius" Giraud. Meeting of the wizened European, whose imprint is on films from "Blade Runner" to "The Fifth Element," and the apparently relaxed Nipponese helmer makes an interesting contrast, and will be of special interest to Francophiles. All credits are impeccable

Ghibli and The Miyazaki Mystery

2005

Paul Grimault, image par image poster
7.0

No synopsis available yet.

Paul Grimault, image par image

2003

Hayao Miyazaki and the Ghibli Museum poster
8.0

A documentary about the Ghibli Museum. It features Goro Miyazaki speaking with Isao Takahata about the "charm" of the museum and its various influences. Goro tours the viewer around the museum, explaining the intricate details that his father, Hayao Miyazaki made during its construction. The documentary highlights the strong European influences in the museum's architecture, featuring footage of the medieval mountainous city of Calcata in Italy and the historic port city of Genoa, which Miyazaki had visited in the past. These trips would go on to influencing the imagery seen in Castle in the Sky, Kiki's Delivery Service, Porco Rosso, and Spirited Away.

Hayao Miyazaki and the Ghibli Museum

2005

The Cat Returns - Making of poster
7.8

A promotional film by Studio Ghibli about the work on the film "The Cat Returns" (directed by Hiroyuki Morita)

The Cat Returns - Making of

2002

The Birth of Studio Ghibli poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

The Birth of Studio Ghibli

2003

Yasuo Ōtsuka's Joy in Motion poster
NR

Yasuo Ōtsuka was the mentor of Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki, the man who taught them to feel the joy of animation. As the supervising animator of their films and through the creation of superb scenes such as Lupin leaping from turret to turret in Lupin the 3rd: The Castle of Cagliostro, Ōtsuka made the impossible believable, and touched people’s emotions. To look back at the many works he was involved in is to review the history of Japanese animation after WWII. This film is a must for anime fans who want to learn how Japanese animation evolved.

Yasuo Ōtsuka's Joy in Motion

2004

A Ghibli Artisan - Kazuo Oga Exhibition - The One Who Drew Totoro's Forest poster
6.0

From July 21 through September 10th, 2007, the Museum for Contemporary Art Tokyo held an exhibition honouring Kazuo Oga, the art director and background artist for many famed works from Japan's Studio Ghibli. Over 600 works from the artist were on display, and numerous fans flocked to the one-of-a-kind exhibition celebrating the lush, gorgeous background artwork typifying many a work from Hayao Miyazaki and other Ghibli filmmakers. International fans of Oga and Studio Ghibli have not been left out, however. A Ghibli Artisan - Kazuo Oga Exhibition - The One Who Drew Totoro's Forest allows fans the opportunity to attend the exhibition, as well as watch interviews and testimonials with Oga's contemporaries and collaborators, all subtitled in English.

A Ghibli Artisan - Kazuo Oga Exhibition - The One Who Drew Totoro's Forest

2007

Super TV: Frontline Information 15 Months of Exclusive Coverage! The Secret Behind "My Neighbors the Yamadas" poster
NR

Nippon Television "Super TV Information Frontline Exclusive Coverage of 15 Months! The Secrets of the Rumored Movie "My Neighbors the Yamadas""

Super TV: Frontline Information 15 Months of Exclusive Coverage! The Secret Behind "My Neighbors the Yamadas"

2000

Series credits

Behind the camera

Castle in the Sky poster
8.0

A young boy and a girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.

Castle in the Sky

1986

Warriors of the Wind poster
7.9

After a global war, the seaside kingdom known as the Valley of the Wind remains one of the last strongholds on Earth untouched by a poisonous jungle and the powerful insects that guard it. Led by the courageous Princess Nausicaä, the people of the Valley engage in an epic struggle to restore the bond between humanity and Earth.

Warriors of the Wind

1984

Pom Poko poster
7.2

The Raccoons of the Tama Hills are being forced from their homes by the rapid development of houses and shopping malls. As it becomes harder to find food and shelter, they decide to band together and fight back. The Raccoons practice and perfect the ancient art of transformation until they are even able to appear as humans in hilarious circumstances.

Pom Poko

1994

Pom Poko poster
7.2

The Raccoons of the Tama Hills are being forced from their homes by the rapid development of houses and shopping malls. As it becomes harder to find food and shelter, they decide to band together and fight back. The Raccoons practice and perfect the ancient art of transformation until they are even able to appear as humans in hilarious circumstances.

Pom Poko

1994

My Neighbors the Yamadas poster
7.0

The Yamadas are a typical middle class Japanese family in urban Tokyo and this film shows us a variety of episodes of their lives. With tales that range from the humorous to the heartbreaking, we see this family cope with life's little conflicts, problems, and joys in their own way.

My Neighbors the Yamadas

1999

My Neighbors the Yamadas poster
7.0

The Yamadas are a typical middle class Japanese family in urban Tokyo and this film shows us a variety of episodes of their lives. With tales that range from the humorous to the heartbreaking, we see this family cope with life's little conflicts, problems, and joys in their own way.

My Neighbors the Yamadas

1999

The Tale of The Princess Kaguya poster
8.1

Found inside a shining stalk of bamboo by an old bamboo cutter and his wife, a tiny girl grows rapidly into an exquisite young lady. The mysterious young princess enthrals all who encounter her. But, ultimately, she must confront her fate.

The Tale of The Princess Kaguya

2013

The Tale of The Princess Kaguya poster
8.1

Found inside a shining stalk of bamboo by an old bamboo cutter and his wife, a tiny girl grows rapidly into an exquisite young lady. The mysterious young princess enthrals all who encounter her. But, ultimately, she must confront her fate.

The Tale of The Princess Kaguya

2013

The Red Turtle poster
7.4

The dialogue-less film follows the major life stages of a castaway on a deserted tropical island populated by turtles, crabs and birds.

The Red Turtle

2016

Only Yesterday poster
7.4

In lyrical switches between the present and the past, Taeko contemplates the arc of her life, and wonders if she has been true to the dreams of her childhood self.

Only Yesterday

1991

Only Yesterday poster
7.4

In lyrical switches between the present and the past, Taeko contemplates the arc of her life, and wonders if she has been true to the dreams of her childhood self.

Only Yesterday

1991

Gauche the Cellist poster
7.3

Gauche is a diligent but mediocre cellist who plays for a small town orchestra and the local cinema in the early 20th century. He struggles during rehearsals and is often berated by his conductor during preparations for an upcoming performance of Beethoven's Sixth Symphony. Over the course of four nights, Gauche is visited at his mill house home by talking animals as he is practicing.

Gauche the Cellist

1982

Gauche the Cellist poster
7.3

Gauche is a diligent but mediocre cellist who plays for a small town orchestra and the local cinema in the early 20th century. He struggles during rehearsals and is often berated by his conductor during preparations for an upcoming performance of Beethoven's Sixth Symphony. Over the course of four nights, Gauche is visited at his mill house home by talking animals as he is practicing.

Gauche the Cellist

1982

Panda! Go Panda!: Rainy Day Circus poster
6.4

Mimiko, Papa Panda, and Panny make friends with a baby tiger from the circus — just in time for a flash flood to throw the whole town into chaos.

Panda! Go Panda!: Rainy Day Circus

1973

Chie the Brat poster
6.8

Chie Takemoto is a dependable girl who struggles to help her troublesome father run a small tavern in Osaka. Unbeknown to her dad, she occasionally visits her mother who left him not too long ago. She plans on trying to reunite them, but not until her father gets a job.

Chie the Brat

1981

Chie the Brat poster
6.8

Chie Takemoto is a dependable girl who struggles to help her troublesome father run a small tavern in Osaka. Unbeknown to her dad, she occasionally visits her mother who left him not too long ago. She plans on trying to reunite them, but not until her father gets a job.

Chie the Brat

1981

Horus: Prince of the Sun poster
6.4

Young Horus lives in a mythical Scandinavia of the Iron Age. Recovering the stolen Sword of the Sun from a rock giant, he learns he must travel to the lands of his ancestors, encountering the beautiful but enigmatic Hilda as his journey leads to a series of adventures.

Horus: Prince of the Sun

1968

Winter Days poster
6.1

An animated film based on one of the renku (collaborative linked poems) in the 1684 collection of the same name by the 17th-century Japanese poet Bashō. The creation of the film followed the traditional collaborative nature of the source material – the visuals for each of the 36 stanzas were independently created by 35 different animators. As well as many Japanese animators, Kawamoto assembled leading names in animation from across the world. Each animator was asked to contribute at least 30 seconds to illustrate their stanza, and most of the sequences are under a minute (Yuriy Norshteyn's, though, is nearly two minutes long).

Winter Days

2003

Heidi in the Mountains poster
6.6

Heidi (1974) Japanese anime series by Zuiyo Eizo (now Nippon Animation) based on the Swiss novel Heidi's Years of Wandering and Learning by Johanna Spyri (1880). It was directed by Isao Takahata A feature-length film Heidi in the Mountains, aka The Story of Heidi, was edited from the series by Zuiyo (which by then was a separate entity from Nippon Animation, which employed many of the TV series' animation staff) distributed in 1979. All cast were replaced excluding Heidi and the grandfather. This movie is also the only incarnation of the Heidi anime to have been released commercially in the United States in English (on home video in the 1980s). Isao Takahata remarked "Neither Hayao Miyazaki nor I are completely related to any shortening version" on this work.

Heidi in the Mountains

1974

Panda! Go Panda! poster
6.3

Cheerful Mimiko’s small family grows when she adopts a talking baby panda and his full-grown papa. Despite Mimiko's best efforts, the appearance of Panny and Papa Bear disrupts the quiet pace of life in town, prompting zookeepers to reclaim the escaped bear pair.

Panda! Go Panda!

1972

The Story of Yanagawa Waterways poster
NR

A partially-animated documentary about the preservation and restoration of the canal system in Yanagawa, Fukuoka

The Story of Yanagawa Waterways

2026

The Story of Yanagawa Waterways poster
NR

A partially-animated documentary about the preservation and restoration of the canal system in Yanagawa, Fukuoka

The Story of Yanagawa Waterways

2026

Panda! Go Panda! poster
7.8

Cheerful Mimiko has a wonderfully strange family—a Panda for her Papa; and his son Panny, calls her Mom! When Panny follows Mimiko to school, he must pretend to be a teddy bear so Mimiko won't get into trouble. Despite his efforts to behave, Panny causes trouble in school and now the school is after Panny! Then, Panny makes a new friend, Tiny, a baby tiger who's wandered off from the circus.

Panda! Go Panda!

1972

Anne of Green Gables: Road to Green Gables poster
7.1

In this movie that summarizes the first six episodes of Anne of Green Gables, we follow the story of Anne, an orphan full of imagination. When she arrives at her new home, she learns that sometimes you have to be a sensible person, while her unique character changes, or at least attracts, the people around her.

Anne of Green Gables: Road to Green Gables

1990

Anne of Green Gables: Road to Green Gables poster
7.1

In this movie that summarizes the first six episodes of Anne of Green Gables, we follow the story of Anne, an orphan full of imagination. When she arrives at her new home, she learns that sometimes you have to be a sensible person, while her unique character changes, or at least attracts, the people around her.

Anne of Green Gables: Road to Green Gables

1990

Heidi: Girl of the Alps: Mt. Alm poster
6.5

Compilation film of the first half of the series Heidi: Girl of the Alps.

Heidi: Girl of the Alps: Mt. Alm

1993

Heidi: Girl of the Alps: Heidi and Clara poster
6.3

Compilation film of the second half of the series Heidi: Girl of the Alps.

Heidi: Girl of the Alps: Heidi and Clara

1993

The Story of Heidi poster
7.8

Heidi is five years old when her aunt Dete, who has raised Heidi since her parents' deaths four years earlier, takes the orphaned Heidi to live with her formidable grandfather in the Swiss Alps. The American feature-length adaptation of Heidi (1974), the Japanese anime series produced by Zuiyo Eizo.

The Story of Heidi

1979

Yuki's Sun poster
5.9

TV pilot based on an original manga by Tetsuya Chiba, about a 10-year old girl named Yuki. An orphan who's being adopted by a family.

Yuki's Sun

1972

Heidi in the City poster
6.8

Heidi leaves her beloved Alm and moves to Frankfurt, where she finds a new good friend in Clara. Aunt Dete wants Heidi to leave her grandfather on the mountain pasture and go with her to Frankfurt, where she is supposed to live with the Sesemann family and keep their paralyzed daughter Clara company. In this way, Heidi would enjoy an excellent upbringing and grow up with one of the richest families in Frankfurt. Aunt Dete sees a bright future for Heidi in the city. However, this idea is not met with enthusiasm by Heidi and her grandfather, Peter and his grandmother are also very reluctant to let Heidi go. After much persuasion and many promises from Aunt Dete, Heidi finally leaves her beloved mountain world with a heavy heart and travels to Frankfurt.

Heidi in the City

1977

3000 Leagues in Search of Mother: The Movie poster
7.4

A young Italian boy named Marco is devastated when his mother must leave home to work in Argentina to pay off the family debt. She sends the family letters, but soon the messages stop coming, which worries Marco and sets him off on an epic quest to find her.

3000 Leagues in Search of Mother: The Movie

1980

3000 Leagues in Search of Mother: The Movie poster
7.4

A young Italian boy named Marco is devastated when his mother must leave home to work in Argentina to pay off the family debt. She sends the family letters, but soon the messages stop coming, which worries Marco and sets him off on an epic quest to find her.

3000 Leagues in Search of Mother: The Movie

1980

Anne of Green Gables Digest Version poster
10.0

No synopsis available yet.

Anne of Green Gables Digest Version

2014

Anne of Green Gables Digest Version poster
10.0

No synopsis available yet.

Anne of Green Gables Digest Version

2014

No artwork available
NR

The story of Au Aurka is set in the hinterland of Tokyo in the eighties. The protagonists are two girls who have a dream that then becomes reality. Produced by Iso Takahata in 1988, the film was positively received by Italian critics

Au

1988

Wolf Boy Ken: Scared by a Ghost: The Greatest Operation in the Jungle poster
NR

Compilation Film from the series Wolf Boy Ken by Yoshio Kuroda & Isao Takahata.

Wolf Boy Ken: Scared by a Ghost: The Greatest Operation in the Jungle

1964

Grave of the Fireflies poster
8.5

In the final months of World War II, 14-year-old Seita and his sister Setsuko are orphaned when their mother is killed during an air raid in Kobe, Japan. After a falling out with their aunt, they move into an abandoned bomb shelter. With no surviving relatives and their emergency rations depleted, Seita and Setsuko struggle to survive.

Grave of the Fireflies

1988

Grave of the Fireflies poster
8.5

In the final months of World War II, 14-year-old Seita and his sister Setsuko are orphaned when their mother is killed during an air raid in Kobe, Japan. After a falling out with their aunt, they move into an abandoned bomb shelter. With no surviving relatives and their emergency rations depleted, Seita and Setsuko struggle to survive.

Grave of the Fireflies

1988