CMU School of Drama


Thursday, May 03, 2018

Studio Ghibli Releases Tantalizing Concept Art for Its New Theme Park, Opening in Japan in 2022 | Open Culture

www.openculture.com: When you watch an animated film, you visit a world. That holds true, to an extent, for live-action movies as well, but much more so for those cinematic experiences whose audiovisual details all come, of necessity, crafted from scratch. Walt Disney understood that better than anyone else in the motion-picture industry, and none could argue that he didn't capitalize on it.

4 comments:

Nicolaus Carlson said...

I absolutely love this. This article talks about the whole reason I love these kinds of movies and it is because it takes you into a world, one that where you are fully immersed in a well thought out and created world. It is entirely complete and simply just one world. I love this. What makes this so great though, is that a theme park is coming out of these worlds that have been created. I have always wanted to go to one but till now, nothing existed that was even remotely close to a full encompassing experience. Although a little sad, this is something I would have loved to have built as I always planned on putting the tower from Princess Mononoke in my backyard when I owned my own house and would have totally loved to head up the technical design of this theme park. Since I am not, I will simply enjoy it as I just hope it meets my expectations, as I would create it well, or I will end up very disappointed it.

Lily Kincannon said...

I grew up watching these studio ghibli movies and always dreamed of myself being put in their worlds. I love the idea of a studio ghibli theme park but at the same time I do have some reservations towards the idea. First I am slightly upset that Disney bought studio ghibli a few years ago and have claimed those movies as their own. I also am worried about how Disney is going to make this studio ghibli theme park authentic and adhering to the true themes and beauty of the movies. I am afraid that Disney won’t capture the essence of Miyazaki’s films and turn them into a large commercial project where people will know these characters and visit these places but won’t even consider needing to see the movies. It also bothers me that Disney is using these movies to their own advantage by creating such a commercial gain out of it. Though I know it is also ironic to say this since there has been tons of Studio Ghibli merchandise, I felt that Miyazaki’s message was still being conveyed.

Kelly Simons said...

Studio Ghibli is one of the best and most creative animation studios of the modern age. Miyazaki's creations touch and inspire not only children, but adults as well. The worlds created by this animation studio are vivid in their imagination, characters, and stories. To be able to walk around in one of Miyazaki's world would be incredible. Unfortunately, I'm not sure that this is going to happen in the way that most people would like it to. I agree with Lily and Nick that by creating a theme park, the films of Studio Ghibli may tumble so far into the commercial well that all the magic of these films will be lost. There's also the inevitable concern that these worlds won't look and feel like we would like them too. The ideal theme park is to step through the screen of your tv and become part of that world. This is obviously impossible; but hopefully with Disney's funding they can create a theme park that creates not only an enviornment, byt an experince for all those who visit.

Rosie Villano said...

I have only seen a couple of Studio Ghibli films, but I love the idea of creating a Studio Ghibli theme park where all the different worlds can be connected to one another. Even though almost any film could fit into a theme park, I particularly love the idea of being immersed in the world of these films that are known for their unique art and style. Though it may seem obvious from a marketing and budgeting standpoint, meshing the worlds into one experience is a brilliant way to connect the pieces coherently. Overall this idea sounds really cool, and has the potential to be an awesome way for fans to experiences the films in a different way. I can’t wait to see how this theme park turns out and how the studio brings these films into the real world. Its really smart to see the potential that bringing these worlds to life has, and could be a great experience for fans.