Introduction

When discussing animation, one might be forgiven for being drawn to Disneys classics, or Pixars almost two decade long standard bearing slew of family oriented CGI affairs. After all, both are so firmly established that they are widely agreed to constitute genres in themselves. One company that is often overlooked is that of Japanese Studio Ghibli, founded by Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata in 1986, off the back of the success of Miyazaki’s film Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind.
Studio Ghibli is the only major foreign animation studio to consistently and successfully break through to western audiences, with considerable critical acclaim. The studio has had multiple newcomers appearing for directorial roles over the years including Yoshifumi Kondo, Hiroyuki Morita and recently Miyazaki’s own son, Goro Miyazaki, but the studio has always retained the same stylistic tone and core values, in no small part because of Miyazaki's close scrutiny of all productions under the house.
Therefore I propose that Studio Ghibli can be viewed as a genre, it would be possible for somebody outside the studio to create a Ghibli-esque animation, in the same way that new directors debut films are frequently lauded as Tarantino-esque. The studio is Miyazaki and to a lesser extent Takahatas Auteuristic creation and so I will also be referencing Auteur theory in this discussion as a backdrop for the argument of Studio Ghibli as a genre.
Because of Hayao Miyazaki’s strong presence throughout the studios history this could easily be a discussion only of his work, and would likely be easier to argue, as his films have a very developed tone and style that he rarely deviates from. However I believe that because of his involvement in all productions there are enough constants running through all the studios work to make my argument a valid one.
Therefore, in speaking of Studio Ghibli, I will be referring to all the feature films produced by the studio, including Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind, which although not technically Ghibli, gave Miyazaki the success to start the studio, is generally labeled as part of the canon, and should therefore be considered.