Ghibliotheque - A Podcast About Animation and Studio Ghibli
Michael Leader, Jake Cunningham & Steph Watts
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
Mentioned books
Sep 12, 2025 • 56min
Nicolas Rapold on The Worlds of Hayao Miyazaki | Interview Special
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.Find out more about The Worlds of Hayao MiyazakiListen to Nicolas's podcast, The Last Thing I SawRead about the BFI's upcoming Frederick Wiseman seasonDid you know, we have a new book coming out? It's called The Animation Atlas and it is a journey through the world of animation, visiting 30 countries over 30 chapters and highlighting key films and filmmakers along every stop of the journey. It's out in October!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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Aug 1, 2025 • 1h 25min
Claude Barras on Savages | Interview Special
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.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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 14, 2025 • 50min
Gints Zilbalodis on Flow | Interview Special
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 against stiff competition from the animation world's biggest names.Flow is in UK cinemas from 21st March, and Gints's first feature, AWAY, is returning to UK cinemas from 14th March.On Saturday 15th March, we're hosting a special double bill of both films, plus two of Gints's early shorts, with a masterclass Q&A with the director himself, at Curzon Soho in London. Find out more about this 'Whole Loada Zilbalodis' retrospective here.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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 21, 2025 • 37min
Oscars 2025 - Best Animated Feature (Part 2)
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 Zilbalodis (Flow), coming to podcast your feeds in March.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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 14, 2025 • 38min
Oscars 2025 - Best Animated Feature (Part 1)
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: Vengeance Most Fowl) and Adam Elliot, and look forward to our interview with Gints Zilbalodis (Flow), coming to podcast your feeds in March.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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 12, 2025 • 41min
Adam Elliot on Memoir of a Snail | Interview Special
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.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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jan 31, 2025 • 1h 12min
Naoko Yamada on The Colours Within | Interview Special
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.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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jan 24, 2025 • 49min
Aardmail | Park Life #11
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.Follow us on Twitter or Instagram, or drop us an email at ghibliotheque@gmail.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Dec 27, 2024 • 41min
Nick Park & Merlin Crossingham on Vengeance Most Fowl | Park Life #10
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.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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Dec 25, 2024 • 55min
Vengeance Most Fowl | Park Life #9
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
