Isao Takahata (高畑 勲) was a Japanese director, screenwriter and producer. A co-founder of Studio Ghibli, he earned international critical acclaim for his work as a director of Japanese animated feature films.
Born in Ujiyamada, Mie Prefecture, Takahata joined Toei Animation after graduating from the University of Tokyo in 1959. He worked as an assistant director, holding various positions over the years and collaborating with colleague Hayao Miyazaki on Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) and Castle in the Sky (1986), eventually directing his own film, The Great Adventure of Horus, Prince of the Sun (1968). He continued his partnership with Miyazaki, and under Nippon Animation directed the television series Heidi, Girl of the Alps (1974), 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother (1976), and Anne of Green Gables (1979)
Takahata, Miyazaki and others formed Studio Ghibli in 1985, where he would direct 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 Academy Award in the category of Best Animated Feature Film at the 87th Academy Awards.
Life and career
Early career
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.[2][3][4] His father, Asajirō Takahata (1888–1984),[5] was a junior high school principal, who became the education chief of Okayama prefecture after the war.[4] On June 29, 1945, when Takahata was nine years old, he and his family survived a major United States air raid on Okayama City.[6]
Influences and style
Takahata was influenced by the works of Paul Grimault, a French animator, as well as French New Wave directors, including Jean-Luc Godard.[17] He was also influenced by French-born Canadian director Frédéric Back, including his works Crac and The Man Who Planted Trees.[18] He felt it was important to be able to achieve trompe-l'œil, the illusion of three dimensions using a two-dimensional medium.[18]
Takahata's films had a major influence on Hayao Miyazaki, prompting animator Yasuo Ōtsuka to suggest that Miyazaki learned his sense of social responsibility from Takahata and that without him, Miyazaki would probably have been interested in comic book material.[26]
TV works
Filmography
Further reading
External links
References
- Ami Nazru. The Tale of Princess Kaguya’s Unmade Prequel Discovered In Ghibli Director’s Long-Lost Drafts Animehunch, November 12, 2025, retrieved March 5, 2026^
- Smith, Harrison. Isao Takahata, poignant Japanese director who co-founded Studio Ghibli, dies at 82 The Washington Post, April 8, 2018, retrieved April 9, 2018^