Isao Takahata (高ç•' 勲, Takahata Isao, October 29, 1935 â€" April
5, 2018) was a Japanese film director, screenwriter and producer. In
1985, he co-founded Studio Ghibli with his long-time collaborative
partner Hayao Miyazaki and Miyazaki's collaborators Toshio Suzuki and
Yasuyoshi Tokuma. Takahata earned international critical acclaim for
his work as a director of anime films, among them Grave of the
Fireflies (1988), Only Yesterday (1991), Pom Poko (1994), and My
Neighbors the Yamadas (1999). His last film as director was The Tale
of the Princess Kaguya (2013), which was nominated for an Oscar in the
category of Best Animated Feature Film at the 87th Academy
Awards.Takahata was born in Ujiyamada (now Ise), Mie Prefecture,
Japan, on October 29, 1935, as the youngest of seven siblings and
third son in the family. His father, AsajirÅ Takahata (1888â€"1984),
was a junior high school principal, who became the education chief of
Okayama prefecture after the war. On June 29, 1945, when Takahata was
nine years old, he and his family survived a major United States air
raid on Okayama City.Takahata graduated from the University of Tokyo
in 1959 with a degree in French literature. During this time at the
school, he had seen the French film Le Roi et l'Oiseau (The King and
the Mockingbird), which led him to become interested in animation.
Takahata was more interested in animation as a medium, and wanted to
write and direct for animated works rather than create animations
himself. A friend suggested he apply for a directing job at Toei
Animation; Takahata passed their entrance exam, and was hired as an
assistant director for several of Toei's animated television shows and
filmsâ€"including Wolf Boy Ken, on which he was mentored by Yasuo
ÅŒtsuka. ÅŒtsuka eventually asked Takahata to direct an animated
feature film of his own; his directorial debut was The Great Adventure
of Horus, Prince of the Sun (1968). ÅŒtsuka served as Animation
Director on the film, while another Toei employee, Hayao Miyazaki,
served as key animator. Though it would later be recognized as one of
the first defining works of modern Japanese animation, the film was a
commercial failure, and Takahata was demoted.Unable to further improve
his standing at Toei, Takahata left the studio in 1971, along with
Miyazaki and YÅ ichi Kotabe. Takahata and Miyazaki came up with the
idea of creating an animated feature film based on the stories of
Pippi Longstocking. They developed the idea along with "A Production",
an animated studio formed by another former Toei animator, Daikichiro
Kusube (the company became Shin-Ei Animation). Takahata and Miyazaki
had developed a number of storyboards and had flown out to Sweden for
location shots, to meet with the books' author, Astrid Lindgren, and
secure the rights for the character. However they could not reach an
agreement with the rightsholders, and were forced to drop the project.
Takahata and Miyazaki remained collaborators in several other
animation projects through the 1970s, including taking over production
of the anime series Lupin the Third Part I at ÅŒtsuka's request, due
to its poor ratings. They also made Panda! Go, Panda! for TMS around
this time, which utilized some of the designs and concepts developed
for the Longstocking project.
5, 2018) was a Japanese film director, screenwriter and producer. In
1985, he co-founded Studio Ghibli with his long-time collaborative
partner Hayao Miyazaki and Miyazaki's collaborators Toshio Suzuki and
Yasuyoshi Tokuma. Takahata earned international critical acclaim for
his work as a director of anime films, among them Grave of the
Fireflies (1988), Only Yesterday (1991), Pom Poko (1994), and My
Neighbors the Yamadas (1999). His last film as director was The Tale
of the Princess Kaguya (2013), which was nominated for an Oscar in the
category of Best Animated Feature Film at the 87th Academy
Awards.Takahata was born in Ujiyamada (now Ise), Mie Prefecture,
Japan, on October 29, 1935, as the youngest of seven siblings and
third son in the family. His father, AsajirÅ Takahata (1888â€"1984),
was a junior high school principal, who became the education chief of
Okayama prefecture after the war. On June 29, 1945, when Takahata was
nine years old, he and his family survived a major United States air
raid on Okayama City.Takahata graduated from the University of Tokyo
in 1959 with a degree in French literature. During this time at the
school, he had seen the French film Le Roi et l'Oiseau (The King and
the Mockingbird), which led him to become interested in animation.
Takahata was more interested in animation as a medium, and wanted to
write and direct for animated works rather than create animations
himself. A friend suggested he apply for a directing job at Toei
Animation; Takahata passed their entrance exam, and was hired as an
assistant director for several of Toei's animated television shows and
filmsâ€"including Wolf Boy Ken, on which he was mentored by Yasuo
ÅŒtsuka. ÅŒtsuka eventually asked Takahata to direct an animated
feature film of his own; his directorial debut was The Great Adventure
of Horus, Prince of the Sun (1968). ÅŒtsuka served as Animation
Director on the film, while another Toei employee, Hayao Miyazaki,
served as key animator. Though it would later be recognized as one of
the first defining works of modern Japanese animation, the film was a
commercial failure, and Takahata was demoted.Unable to further improve
his standing at Toei, Takahata left the studio in 1971, along with
Miyazaki and YÅ ichi Kotabe. Takahata and Miyazaki came up with the
idea of creating an animated feature film based on the stories of
Pippi Longstocking. They developed the idea along with "A Production",
an animated studio formed by another former Toei animator, Daikichiro
Kusube (the company became Shin-Ei Animation). Takahata and Miyazaki
had developed a number of storyboards and had flown out to Sweden for
location shots, to meet with the books' author, Astrid Lindgren, and
secure the rights for the character. However they could not reach an
agreement with the rightsholders, and were forced to drop the project.
Takahata and Miyazaki remained collaborators in several other
animation projects through the 1970s, including taking over production
of the anime series Lupin the Third Part I at ÅŒtsuka's request, due
to its poor ratings. They also made Panda! Go, Panda! for TMS around
this time, which utilized some of the designs and concepts developed
for the Longstocking project.
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