Portal:Studio Ghibli

Gorō Miyazaki (宮崎 吾朗, Miyazaki Gorō, born January 21, 1967) is a Japanese film director and landscaper. He is the son of animator Hayao Miyazaki, co-founder of Studio Ghibli. Described as "reluctant" to follow his father's career, Gorō initially worked as a landscaper for many years before entering the film business. He has directed two films, Tales from Earthsea (2006) and From up on Poppy Hill (2011).

Miyazaki's first film was Tales from Earthsea, an adaptation of Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea book series. Written by Miyazaki and Keiko Niwa, the film stars Junichi Okada, Bunta Sugawara and Aoi Teshima. Originally joining the animation project as a consultant, Miyazaki was asked to draw the storyboards. After viewing his storyboards, producer Toshio Suzuki decided Miyazaki should direct the film.

The move to direct the film caused friction between Miyazaki and his father, who felt his son did not have the experience to direct a film; the two were said not to have spoken throughout the movie's development. Despite this, Gorō Miyazaki was determined to complete the project. On June 28, 2006, Gorō held the first preview of the completed Tales from Earthsea, which was attended by his father. Hayao was seen to have "accepted Gorō" and after, delivered to his son a message, saying the film "...was made honestly. It was good."

In 2011, Miyazaki directed From up on Poppy Hill, which is based on Chizuru Takahashi and Tetsurō Sayama's 1980 manga Kokurikozaka kara. The adaptation was written by Hayao Miyazaki and Keiko Niwa and the film stars Masami Nagasawa, Keiko Takeshita. Yuriko Ishida, Jun Fubuki, Takashi Naito, Shunsuke Kazama, Nao Omori and Teruyuki Kagawa. Miyazaki also voiced the world history teacher character and wrote lyrics to some of the songs used in the film. From up on Poppy Hill was released on July 16, 2011 in Japan, to positive reviews. The film won the 2012 Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year.

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Princess Mononoke (もののけ姫, Mononoke-hime, "Spirit/Monster Princess") is a 1997 anime epic action historical fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It was animated by Studio Ghibli and produced by Toshio Suzuki. The film stars the voices of Yōji Matsuda, Yuriko Ishida, Yūko Tanaka, Kaoru Kobayashi, Masahiko Nishimura, Tsunehiko Kamijo, Akihiro Miwa, Mitsuko Mori and Hisaya Morishige.

The film is set in the late Muromachi period (approximately 1337 to 1573) of Japan, with fantasy elements. The story follows the young Emishi warrior Ashitaka's involvement in a struggle between forest gods and the humans who consume its resources. The term "Mononoke" (物の怪 or もののけ) is not a name, but a Japanese word for a spirit or monster.

Princess Mononoke was released in Japan on July 12, 1997, and in the United States on October 29, 1999. It was a critical and commercial success, becoming the highest-grossing film in Japan of 1997, and the highest-grossing there of all time until Titanic was released later that year. It was translated and distributed in North America by Miramax Films, and despite a poor box office performance there, it sold well on DVD and video, bringing Ghibli attention in the West for the first time.

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Sumi Shimamoto (島本 須美, Shimamoto Sumi), real name Sumi Koshikawa (越川 須美, Koshikawa Sumi), is a veteran Japanese voice actress born on December 8, 1954, in Kōchi, Kōchi Prefecture, Japan. After graduating from the Toho Gakuen College of Drama and Music, she joined Gekidan Seinenza, a theatrical acting troupe. She is currently independent of any talent management company. She is married to Daisuke Koshikawa, one of the founders of the comedy troupe Chibikko Gang. Her best-known voice roles include Nausicaä in Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and Kyoko Otonashi in Maison Ikkoku.

She won the role of Nausicaä as she had played Clarisse in Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro and impressed Hayao Miyazaki. Patrick Drazen praised Shimamoto's acting in a scene where Nausicaä stops an insect from diving into an acidic pool by getting in its way. Nausicaä is burned by the acid and she screams. Drazen described this scream as being one which "tears at the listener and raises the bar for cartoon voices".

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