When Marnie Was There ( 思い出のマーニー ) is a Ghibli anime directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, based on the novel When Marnie Was There by Joan G. Robinson. This was the last animated feature to be released by the studio after their announcement of a production hiatus.
Just like previous Ghibli art of books this volume is packed with a generous amount of concept art, character design sheets and the highlight of the book are the gorgeous background art plates painted for the film.
(above & below) Character designs by the director Hiromasa Yonebashi. More of his illustrations on other Ghibli films ( Arrietty, Ponyo and more ) can be found in his personal art book Hiromasa Yonebayashi Art Works.
Taking the role of art director on the film is renowned art/production designer Yohei Taneda, whose impressive credits include Kill Bill, Swallowtail Butterfly, Ghost In The Shell 2, Hula Girls, Flowers Of War and more. You can read more about his work in Filmcraft’s Production Design Book.
(below) The Kinoko Forest. Taneda-san sketched many set design concept art work which are featured in the book.
A good portion of the book is dedicated to the many background art pieces used in the film, painted by a a group of background artists including Kazuo Oga.
I had the good fortune of seeing some of these original background art pieces up-close during the Ghibli Structures Exhibition and they were absolutely stunning.
Hiromasa Yonebashi has created a beautiful film which sadly might be one of the last productions from Studio Ghibli. The quality of animation, art direction and background art in the film is stunning and this book comes highly recommended.
“When Marnie Was There Ghibli Art Book ジ・アート・オブ 思い出のマーニー” details :
– Dimensions – 11.7 x 0.8 x 8.3 inches
– Softcover, 260 pages
– Full color, in Japanese language
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July 3rd, 2015 at 5:43 am
“when marnie was there” was a fantastic “last” film by studio ghibli. very well written film with beautiful visuals. reminded me of the early 90s ghibli films like “only yesterday”,”whisper of the heart”, and “ocean waves”; the more drama centric/ slice-of-life ghibli films.
i also think its a fantastic companion piece to pixar’s film “inside out”.
lovely book too.