Science & Magic: The Films of Studio Ghibli Science & Magic: The Films of Studio Ghibli

Loosely based on an Ursula K Le Guin novel, and marking the directorial debut of Hayao Miyazaki's son, Gorō Miyazaki, Tales from Earthsea (2006) is certainly one of the movies from Studio Ghibli. Guest Dr Abby Loebenberg, a professor at Arizona State University, brings a lot of fascinating deep analysis to this episode.

Howl's Moving Castle (2004) is an adaptation of the 1986 Diana Wynne Jones novel of the same name. It features anti-war imagery inspired by Miyazaki's opposition to the 2003 Iraq War. Guest John Ingle helps the crew break it down.

With their guest Andrew Hawthorn, the crew discusses The Cat Returns, one of the only Ghibli films that is a spin off of another -1995's Whisper of the Heart. It follows the adventures of a teenage girl who can communicate with cats into the Cat Kingdom. This lesser-known Ghibli film turned out to be a surprise favorite!

Guest Bethany Van Scoo joins the crew for discussion of Spirited Away (2001), written and directed by Hiyao Miyazaki. This was the first non-English film to win Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards and was the highest grossing film in Japan from 2001-2020. It also has some truly epic depictions of food.

My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999) has a very different style than any other Ghibli film. Based on a yonkoma manga (a format similar to US newspaper comics like Peanuts), it follows a family in a slice-of-life format, written and directed by Isao Takahata. Our hosts are joined this week by artist Phil Dragash.

Cléa from Radio Clash Revival joins us to discuss Princess Mononoke (1997), written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, the first Ghibli film to break through to wide release outside of Japan, featuring a dubbed English script written by Neil Gaiman.