Ghibliotheque - A Podcast About Animation and Studio Ghibli

Ghibliotheque - A Podcast About Animation and Studio Ghibli

Welcome to the Ghibliotheque, the podcast that leafs through libraries of films from the world’s greatest animation studios. In 2018, Michael Leader, an avowed Studio Ghibli fanatic, sat down with Jake Cunningham, who had never seen any of the Studio’s work before. Together they looked at the history behind Ghibli's films (including Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro and Princess Mononoke), and got a critical perspective from Jake as a first-time viewer. They covered all of Studio Ghibli's films, visited Japan on the ultimate Ghibli pilgrimage, and have since interviewed artists, animators and filmmakers who have either worked on or have been deeply inspired by Ghibli's films. With their co-host Steph Watts, they have also branched out to cover filmographies of other studios and filmmakers whose work has revolutionised animation, from Satoshi Kon and Mamoru Hosoda to Cartoon Saloon and Henry Selick. Where will we go next? For more information, follow us on Twitter at @ghibliotheque, or on Instagram at ghibliotheque.pod. Or email us at ghibliotheque@gmail.com. Follow Michael and Jake on Twitter: @MichaelJLeader – Michael @jakehcunningham – Jake Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episodes

October 9, 2025 8 mins

It's a shameless plug! Our new book, The Animation Atlas, is out today! So, to celebrate, here's a little chat with Michael and Jake talking about what the book is all about and why (hopefully) you should be excited about it.


A cartography of cartoons, The Animation Atlas takes in everything from titans of animation such as DisneyPixarAardman and Studio Ghibli to pioneers, innovators ...

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Michael speaks with film critic Nicolas Rapold about his new book, The Worlds of Hayao Miyazaki, which examines the films of our favourite grumpy Japanese master through a spectrum of influences and inspiration.



Did you know, we have a new book coming out? It's called...

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This episode, Michael and Jake speak with stop-motion director Claude Barras about his new film, Savages, his previous film, the Ghibliotheque favourite My Life as a Courgette, his life in animation and his almost Takahata-like approach to research.


To listen to Claude's full, unedited French answers, fast forward to 40.10.


Savages is in UK cinemas now.


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On the pod this week, Michael speaks with Latvian filmmaker Gints Zilbalodis about his Oscar-winning feature, FLOW. This conversation was recorded during the London Film Festival in October 2024, partway through Zilbalodis's remarkable journey with the film: a low-budget, independent feature made by a small crew that became one of the most lauded films of the year, and eventually picked up the Oscar for Best Animated Feature agains...

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It's the second part of our awards season chat about the Oscar-nominated animated films! Michael, Jake and Steph talk about Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, Flow and Memoir of a Snail.


Scroll back through our archive for interviews with Oscar nominees Chris Sanders (The Wild Robot), Nick Park & Merlin Crossingham (Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl) and Adam Elliot, and look forward to our interview with Gints...

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It's awards season! And we're jumping into the fray. In this first episode of a two-part awards miniseries, Michael and Jake talk about the two CG-animated offerings from Hollywood studios in contention for Best Animated Feature this year: Inside Out 2 and The Wild Robot.


Scroll back through our archive for interviews with Oscar nominees Chris Sanders (The Wild Robot), Nick Park & Merlin Crossingham (Wallace and Gromit: Veng...

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In this episode, Michael speaks with Australian stop-motion filmmaker Adam Elliot (Mary & Max, Harvie Krumpet) about his new, Oscar-nominated film Memoir of a Snail. In this wide-ranging conversation, Adam speaks about the enduring influence of David Lynch, how he crafts his distinctive films, his love of stories that mix the dark with the light and his memories of working with Philip Seymour Hoffman on Mary & Max.


Subsc...

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Director Naoko Yamada (A Silent Voice, Liz and the Blue Bird) joins us to talk about her new film, the delightful coming-of-age music drama The Colours Within.


If you would like to hear Ms Yamada's Japanese responses in full, the unedited interview starts from 32.30.


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January 23, 2025 48 mins

It's not a Ghibliotheque miniseries until we've opened the mailbag! This week, Michael, Jake and Steph are opening some Park Life mail from listeners, to hear their thoughts on all things Vengeance Most Fowl, which Wallace and Gromit adventure deserves the top spot in the rankings, and more.


Subscribe to our Patreon for ad-free episodes and bonus conversations in our Library Cafe series.


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Our journey through the films of Nick Park comes to a close with a conversation with the man himself! To mark the release of the new Wallace and Gromit adventure, Vengeance Most Fowl, Michael speaks with Nick Park and co-director Merlin Crossingham about directing as a pair, the importance of the human touch in animation, and how intimidating it is to animate Feathers McGraw.


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December 24, 2024 55 mins

It's us... again! Michael, Jake and Steph gather round the Christmas tree to discuss Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham's latest Wallace and Gromit adventure, Vengeance Most Fowl.


Subscribe to our Patreon for ad-free episodes and bonus conversations in our Library Cafe series.


Follow us on Twitter or Instagram, or drop us an email at ghibliotheque@gmail.com.


...

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December 20, 2024 45 mins

Ole, ole, ole, ole... it's time for Early Man! Jake's doing his best Peter Crouch robot dance in the recording studio, but will Steph and Michael feel just as celebratory?


Subscribe to our Patreon for ad-free episodes and bonus conversations in our Library Cafe series.


Follow us on Twitter or Instagram, or drop us an email at ghibliotheque@gmail.com.


Hoste...

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Back in 2020 we looked at a couple of documentaries about Studio Ghibli, including Kaku Arakawa's Never-Ending Man. Now, after the release of Arakawa's latest documentary Hayao Miyazaki and the Heron, made during the production and release of Miyazaki's most recent film, Michael and Jake take a look at this latest look into the interior world of Ghibli.


Follow Ghibliotheque on Twitter:


@ghibliotheque

@MichaelJLeader – Michael

...

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December 12, 2024 45 mins

Hold onto your buns, this week Michael, Jake and Steph are back in shorts territory with Nick Park's fifth Wallace & Gromit adventure, A Matter of Loaf and Death.


Subscribe to our Patreon for ad-free episodes and bonus conversations in our Library Cafe series.


Follow us on Twitter or Instagram, or drop us an email at ghibliotheque@gmail.com.


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Beware! Michael, Jake and Steph are about to explore the lore of the terrifying Were-Rabbit. Continue if you dare...


Subscribe to our Patreon for ad-free episodes and bonus conversations in our Library Cafe series.


Follow us on Twitter or Instagram, or drop us an email at ghibliotheque@gmail.com.



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November 29, 2024 45 mins

"It's a podcast machine, you idiot. Podcasters go in, podcasts come out." This week, Michael, Jake and Steph discuss Aardman's feature debut, co-directed by Nick Park alongside studio co-founder Peter Lord, the farmyard break-out comedy-adventure, Chicken Run.


Subscribe to our Patreon for ad-free episodes and bonus conversations in our Library Cafe series.


Follow us on Twitter or Instagram, or drop us...

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November 21, 2024 40 mins

Tragic romance! Sheep rustling! Dirty windows! Michael, Jake and Steph don their favourite woolly jumpers and settle in for a chat all about Nick Park’s third Wallace and Gromit adventure, A Close Shave.


Subscribe to our Patreon for ad-free episodes and bonus conversations in our Library Cafe series.


Follow us on Twitter or Instagram, or drop us an email at ghibliotheque@gmail.com.


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November 14, 2024 49 mins

Is that a chicken, or a penguin? Steph, Michael and Jake are here to investigate, as they look into Nick Park's second Wallace and Gromit tale The Wrong Trousers.


Subscribe to our Patreon for ad-free episodes and bonus conversations in our Library Cafe series.


Follow us on Twitter or Instagram, or drop us an email at ghibliotheque@gmail.com.


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November 8, 2024 44 mins

This week, Nick Park's career takes off with the very first Wallace and Gromit adventure, A Grand Day Out.


Subscribe to our Patreon for ad-free episodes and bonus conversations in our Library Cafe series.


Follow us on Twitter or Instagram, or drop us an email at ghibliotheque@gmail.com.



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November 1, 2024 35 mins

This week, Michael, Jake and Steph are back with a new miniseries charting the career of animation legend Nick Park and his work at the peerless plasticine-powered studio, Aardman Animations. To start, we look at his Oscar-winning first film, the chatty zoo-themed mockumentary Creature Comforts (1989), which was his first directorial credit for Aardman after contributing to projects such as the era-defining music video for Peter Ga...

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