Isao Takahata

ActorProductionArtDirectorWriter Oct 29 (died age 82) Ujiyamada [now Ise], Mie, Japan 1961–2025 (64 year career)

7.3 avg rating

Biography

Isao Takahata (October 29, 1935 – April 5, 2018), co-founder of Studio Ghibli, was one of the most famous directors of Japanese animated films. Unlike most anime directors, he did not draw and never worked as an animator before becoming a director. For the first two decades of his career from the 1960s to the 1980s, Takahata worked primarily as director for anime television. In 1985 he and his long-time collaborative partner Hayao Miyazaki formed Studio Ghibli with Toshio Suzuki and Yasuyoshi T…

Known For

Film

Toy Story 3

Thanks

Film

Grave of the Fireflies

Director

Film

Castle in the Sky

Producer

Film

Kiki's Delivery Service

Music Director

Film

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

Producer

Film

The Tale of The Princess Kaguya

Director

Film

The Red Turtle

Other

Film

Only Yesterday

Director

Filmography

Acting (27)

Movies (24)

Miyazaki, Spirit of Nature

2025

as Self (archive footage)

8.0

Hotaru no Haka to Takahata Isao to 7-satsu no Nōto

2025

as Self (archive footage)

Hayao Miyazaki and the Heron

2024

as Self (archive fotage)

7.8

2399 Days with Hayao Miyazaki & Studio Ghibli

2023

as Self

NHK Image File: I Want To Meet This Person - Isao Takahata, Animation Film Director

2018

as Self (archive footage)

Hyohyo: Dear Mr. Yasuo Otsuka

2015

as Self

Isao Takahata and His Tale of The Princess Kaguya

2014

as Self

6.7

Ghibli Landscapes - Visit 'Japan' as Depicted by Isao Takahata

2014

as Self

The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness

2013

as Self

7.6

Japanese Cinema: New Territories

2011

as Self

Ghibli Landscapes - A Journey to Encounter Directors Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki's Starting Point

2011

as Self

Ghibli's Bookshelf

2010

as Self

A Ghibli Artisan - Kazuo Oga Exhibition - The One Who Drew Totoro's Forest

2007

as Self

6.0

Ghibli and The Miyazaki Mystery

2005

as Self - Interviewee

6.6

Hayao Miyazaki and the Ghibli Museum

2005

as Self

8.0

Yasuo Ōtsuka's Joy in Motion

2004

as Self

The Birth of Studio Ghibli

2003

Paul Grimault, image par image

2003

as Self

7.0

The Cat Returns - Making of

2002

as Self

7.8

Super TV: Frontline Information 15 Months of Exclusive Coverage! The Secret Behind "My Neighbors the Yamadas"

2000

The World, The Journey Of My Heart - Traveler: Animation Film Director Isao Takahata

as Himself

How Ghibli Was Born

as Himself

The Making of Only Yesterday

1991

as Self

10.0

The Story of Yanagawa's Canals

1987

as Himself

7.9

Television (3)

10 Years with Hayao Miyazaki

as Self

Kulturplatz

as Self

NHK Educational TV Special

1985

as Himself

8.0

Crew (63)

Movies (52)

The Red Turtle

2016

Other

7.4

Anne of Green Gables Digest Version

2014

Storyboard Artist

10.0

The Tale of The Princess Kaguya

2013

Director

8.1

The Tale of The Princess Kaguya

2013

Original Story

8.1

The Tale of The Princess Kaguya

Screenplay

Toy Story 3

Thanks

Anne of Green Gables: Road to Green Gables

Director

Winter Days

Director

My Neighbors the Yamadas

1999

Director

7.0

My Neighbors the Yamadas

1999

Screenplay

7.0

My Neighbors the Yamadas

1999

Songs

7.0

Marco: Carry a Dream

1999

Original Series Creator

Pom Poko

Director

Pom Poko

Original Story

Pom Poko

Writer

The Mountain Alps

Director

Alps no Shōjo Heidi: Heidi to Clara Hen

Director

Only Yesterday

Director

Only Yesterday

Screenplay

Kiki's Delivery Service

1989

Music Director

7.8

1988

Producer

Grave of the Fireflies

1988

Director

8.4

Grave of the Fireflies

1988

Screenplay

8.4

The Story of Yanagawa's Canals

Writer

Castle in the Sky

Producer

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

Producer

Gauche the Cellist

Director

Gauche the Cellist

Screenplay

Chie the Brat

Director

Chie the Brat

Writer

3000 Leagues in Search of Mother: The Movie

1980

Director

7.4

3000 Leagues in Search of Mother: The Movie

1980

Director of Operations

7.4

3000 Leagues in Search of Mother: The Movie

1980

Screenplay

7.4

Spooky Kitaro: The All Seeing Eye

Co-Director

Future Boy Conan

Storyboard Artist

The Story of Heidi

Director

Taro the Dragon Boy

Concept Artist

Heidi in the City

Director

Heidi in the Mountains

1974

Director

6.7

Panda! Go Panda!: Rainy Day Circus

1973

Director

6.4

Fantasia

1973

Director

Panda! Go Panda!

Director

Panda! Go Panda!

Director

Yuki's Sun

Writer

Horus: Prince of the Sun

Director

Spooky Kitaro

Co-Director

Ôkami shônen Ken: Obake-girai: Jungle saidai no sakusen

1964

Director

The Little Prince and the Eight-Headed Dragon

1963

Assistant Director

6.5

The Little Prince and the Eight-Headed Dragon

1963

Producer's Assistant

6.5

Duel of the Underworld

1963

Assistant Director

Story of Iron

Production Assistant

The Orphan Brother

Assistant Director

Television (11)

Chie the Brat

1981

Series Director

Anne of Green Gables

Director

Anne of Green Gables

Series Composition

Anne of Green Gables

Storyboard Artist

Anne of Green Gables

Writer

Future Boy Conan

Director

Future Boy Conan

Storyboard Artist

3000 Leagues in Search of Mother

1976

Director

7.7

3000 Leagues in Search of Mother

1976

Series Director

7.7

Heidi: Girl of the Alps

Director

Lupin the 3rd

Director