Studio Ghibli Shorts DVD Review

Other than Disney, which keeps its army of animating drones constantly at work churning out low grade direct to video sequels, commercial animation is the lifeblood of all the world’s animation studios. Thing is most of this work just disappears after being put to its original use which is a shame as commissioned work not only pays the bills but it allows the studios to identify new talent and develop new directions. In short it allows the studios to experiment on someone else’s dime. And now those clever folks at Studio Ghibli have gathered up a healthy collection of shorts, tv spots, commercials and music videos in one handy place. Collecting output from 1992 – 2005 this is the only place for most fans to ever see the vast majority of this material and it is absolutely must-have for fans of Studio Ghibli or animation in general.

The disc’s forty two minutes are dominated by television ads, ranging from TV spots for My Neighbor Totoro and Grave of the Fireflys to promotional tie ins for Spirited Away and The Cat Returns to ads for food, drink and fashion. The products the ads are hawking may have no relevance here where they’re completely inaccessible but as pieces of animation they’re stunning. While some boast that typical Ghibli look most veer in other directions, from what look to be early trials in the watercolor style used in My Neighbors the Yamadas to early trials with CG to a stunning fusion of the typical Ghibli cel look with 3d environments – I really hope this makes it into a feature soon – and some dazzling 3d CGI in a series of shorts? ads? videos? labeled Space Station No. 9.

Those Space Station spots clearly stand as a highlight of the disc’s content, the trio of longer form pieces coming together to create a futuristic sci-fi fairy tale told entirely without dialog. Other long pieces include a line drawn music video for Meiko Haigou; an opening, simply drawn fable – sorry, no English title; and, what must be the centerpiece for fans, Miyazaki’s On Your Mark music video. Despite its short run time On Your Mark bears all of Miyazaki’s typical hallmarks, from the lush environments to the flight sequences, to the condemnation of absolutism.

The disc does not include English subtitles but it really does not need them. While it would be nice to have a translation for the song lyrics on the two music videos the only other spoken dialogue are the commercial pitches which are thoroughly unnecessary to enjoy the animation. The more narrative pieces play entirely without dialog, telling their stories purely with the visuals.

While all of the work bears a distinctly Ghibli touch, either in the visual style or approach to narrative, the shorts show a broad array of styles and approaches. If this is an indicator of what’s bubbling below the surface at the revered studio then the future looks good: there are clearly talents at play there that have not yet had a chance to shine on the broader stage. Loaded with little gems that would otherwise have slipped through the cracks Ghibli is to be commended for giving these pieces of work a new life. Here’s hoping other studios – Pixar? Aardman? – take notice and follow suit. Mmm. Yes, please.