Joe O'Connell on Ultimate Anime | Interview

It's time for another bloomin' episode of the Briggsonometry mini series. This week, Michael, Jake and Steph have picked up their red fur snowsuits from the dry cleaners and hopped aboard the Ghibliotheque sleigh to go for the Big One, Father Christmas. Whilst we're in the Christmas spirit... Did you know, we have a new book 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 a perfect stocking filler, we promise.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 [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our journey through the adaptations of the works of Raymond Briggs continues with the definitely-not-festive feature film, When the Wind Blows - a heartbreaking satire following an elderly couple weathering the impact and fallout of a nuclear attack.Whilst we're in the Christmas spirit... Did you know, we have a new book 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 a perfect stocking filler, we promise.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 [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this special bonus episode, Michael speaks with Joe O'Connell, creator of the Youtube channel Beyond Ghibli and author of Ultimate Anime, a doorstop guide to Japanese animation encompassing 100 films and series. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're walking through the airwaves! Ghibliotheque has returned with a festively fused new season exploring the adapted works of Raymond Briggs, beginning here with perenial TV favourite: The Snowman. Whilst we're in the Christmas spirit... Did you know, we have a new book 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 a perfect stocking filler, we promise. 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 [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 Disney, Pixar, Aardman and Studio Ghibli to pioneers, innovators and rising stars from the wider world of cinema.A truly global history of animation - Each of the 30 chapters sets down in a different country to focus on local talent that has made a global impact on the form, from Spain to South Africa and China to Chile.The book can be purchased wherever you get your books, online or out in the real world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.