After releasing in cinemas across Japan in December last year, Studio Ponoc’s latest movie, The Imaginary, came to Netflix in July of this year. Not only did it finally allow international audiences to check it out, but it also gave us a great reason to interview the studio’s founder, Yoshiaki Nishimura. Nishimura-san, who previously worked with Studio Ghibli, produced and wrote the script for the movie, which adapts A. F. Harrold’s book of the same name.
Due to its whimsical style and preference for adaptations of works for children, Studio Ponoc has been dubbed as Ghibli’s successor. The studio’s name comes from the Croatian word for midnight—“ponoć,” a word Nishimura-san chose after looking to learn more about the country.
During his university days, he watched a documentary on Japanese television about a Croatian artist drawing Croatian scenery on glass and was inspired enough to visit a library where he stumbled upon a dictionary. Later, while studying filmmaking in the United States, he started a Ponoc filmmedia group, bringing together fellow enthusiasts.
Their lives took them toward different paths and the group was disbanded, but when the time came for him to start his own studio in 2015, he remembered the word. You can read our conversation with him below.
Q: To kick things off, what drew you to the story of The Imaginary specifically and made you want to adapt it?
A: When I first read the original work, I found it very interesting, entertaining, and moving. That was my initial impression. However, for it to become a film, that alone wasn’t enough. What drew me in was something special about the original story. The most distinctive aspect is that it deals with an imaginary friend—an entity that is invisible to humans. This was the first thing that caught my attention. Many films have portrayed imaginary friends, but most have done so from a human perspective. However, this work is unique because it depicts the world from the perspective of the imaginary friend. I thought that if we could create a film with the imaginary friend as the protagonist, we could make something unlike anything that’s ever been seen before.
That’s the reason we wanted to make a film based on this concept.
By doing so, we could explore things that are invisible to humans, such as love, sadness, and joy. These are significant aspects of life, but they are often intangible. If we could encapsulate these human emotions within the metaphor of an imaginary friend, we believed we could create an animated film that would resonate with a broad audience, from children to adults.
Animated films allow us to delve into various emotions—whether they relate to love, friendship, or other similar feelings. We wanted to explore these emotions through this film. The invisible aspects of life also serve as metaphors for the important things in human existence. This is something that animated films are uniquely positioned to portray.
Q: For this film, you were involved not only as the producer, but also as the scriptwriter. What is it about The Imaginary that made you want to personally write the screenplay for it and what was your creative process like?
A: I’m not sure whether the concept of an “imaginary friend” is well-known in other countries, but in Japan, it’s actually not very common. I had to explain to the director and creators how fascinating it would be to make a film with an imaginary friend as the main character. My first step was to write a 4-page scenario to try and convince the director and creators.
However, what I intended to be a 4-page scenario ended up becoming 40 pages. The reason for this is that, in order to fully convey the charm of this story, I had to consider and explain everything—camera work, dialogue, situations, and more. So, when I showed the 40-page scenario to the director, they said, “Isn’t this already a script? If you have so much you want to do, you should just write the script yourself.” And that’s how I ended up writing the screenplay.
Q: Adapting an existing work means you have to respect the original elements but also insert your personal touch at the same time. How did you strike the balance between those two things?
A: You know, that wasn’t a particularly difficult task for me. The more I came to love the original work, the more I grew to appreciate it, and the more the most important elements of the original work became apparent. You could say that the core message or concept started to become clear. We place great importance on the core message or concept that the original author intended.
Within that context, it was a matter of adding what was essential and necessary to adapt it into a film. The message conveyed by the film and the message within the original work are fundamentally the same. However, since the original work is text and the film is visual, it’s necessary to tell the story through visuals. So, I incorporated the elements needed to convey the narrative visually.
Q: Did you still feel some pressure due to adapting an existing work due to the existing fanbase and their expectations?
A: When making a film, I don’t usually feel pressure. However, if there’s a particular kind of pressure, it’s related to the fact that this original work deals with imagination, which is very important. Imagination differs from person to person. What each individual imagines when reading the original work varies, right? But when you turn it into a visual medium, that imagination gets fixed in a particular form.
We’re not just presenting one version of imagination. If that visualization ends up being less impressive than what a reader imagined while reading the original, they might think, “What? It was more interesting when I imagined it.” So, when it comes to handling a famous work, there is pressure to create visuals that surpass the reader’s imagination. The need to create something that goes beyond what the readers envisioned was something we took on as a personal challenge.
Q: When you first get an idea for an adaptation, how do you go about pitching your idea, especially if original creators are involved? What does that process look like and does it come with any unique challenges that maybe the average anime fans would not think about or are unaware of?
A: First, we start by gaining their trust. We begin by having the original authors trust us. The reason they trust us is that they see the works we have previously created. We convey to the original authors, “This is the kind of work we have made.” They think, “If these are the kind of people who create such works, we can trust them and believe that they wouldn’t make something strange out of our original work.” After that, we don’t show them anything until the script is completed.
Q: For The Imaginary, Studio Ponoc collaborated with the French studio Les Films du Poisson Rouge to create an innovative technique in creating light and shadows. How did this collaboration happen and why do you think such an approach was necessary?
A: I believe everyone here is familiar with Japanese animation, which, over the past 30 years, has seen a limited degree of progress and development. While backgrounds have become extremely detailed, the characters are still primarily depicted using lines and colors. Although Japanese animation has been enhanced with the use of computer graphics and effects, I felt that the fundamental visuals hadn’t evolved much. I’ve always wanted to explore new ways of evolving characters’ expressions as well, so this was the underlying premise.
While thinking about these ideas, we came across the work of Poisson Rouge. We realized that their technique and technology would complement the Japanese style of 2D animation well. Attempting to achieve what they can do would have required us to manually create tens or even hundreds of thousands of frames of light and shadow, which would have taken an immense amount of time. This realization was what struck me as the most significant advantage at first.
However, it became even more effective given that the theme was “imaginary friends.” I thought their techniques could be used to an even greater effect. As I mentioned earlier, “imaginary friends” are unseen, invisible—something you believe isn’t there. But when we depicted “imaginary friends” in the animation and then worked with Poisson Rouge to add light and shadow effects, we were able to create the sense that these “imaginary friends” actually exist, that they are truly present. Because of this dramatic effect, we decided to collaborate with Poisson Rouge.
Q: Studio Ponoc and Netflix established a partnership that is helping bring the studio’s works to overseas audiences who may not get the opportunity to enjoy them during their theatrical runs. What would you say is the biggest benefit of a partnership like this?
A: First, there’s something I want to highlight. We are still in a time of change, and as we navigate this era of transformation, rather than focusing on what is enjoyable or not, we are trying to challenge everything. Right now, embracing challenges is what’s important. So, we are constantly considering whether to release a film in theaters, stream it online, or go direct-to-digital, and we are continually pushing ourselves with these challenges. For The Imaginary, we carefully considered whether to release it in theaters or online and made progress by seriously weighing which option would be best.
For The Imaginary, we decided to go with direct online distribution. The biggest advantage—the benefit, as I see it—is the simultaneous global release. Nowadays, information that originates in Japan or any other country gets automatically translated and spreads worldwide through social networks and social media.
But in the past, with theatrical releases, even if people in Indonesia knew that a film like The Imaginary was completed a year ago, there were still issues with distribution—like being stuck in 2D formats. However, with Netflix, information spreads globally at the same time, allowing everyone to watch the content simultaneously. I think that’s a huge advantage.
That was the biggest benefit: being able to spread the global release schedule simultaneously.
Q: With Studio Ghibli, you produced quite a few adaptations of already existing works and you’ve carried on with that tradition at Studio Ponoc. Can we expect an original work from Studio Ponoc in the future?
A: Creating original works has become increasingly difficult. It’s a challenging time. For example, in Japan, there’s a strong focus on manga-oriented anime based on existing works, while in the West, there is a strong preference for franchises – sequels, prequels, and spin-offs. Making original animated films has become a real challenge, but we certainly do intend to take on that challenge.
Q: Studio Ponoc’s official X account revealed that Hiromasa Yonebayashi’s next project is already in production. Even though it’s very early, can you share anything about it with us at this time?
A: What you’ve heard is correct. Our next project will indeed be directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi. While we can’t share many details at this moment, I can say that it will be an action-packed and highly entertaining film, so please look forward to it.
Q: Studio Ponoc was founded by you and consists of former members of Studio Ghibli: comparisons are inevitable and I know you hear quite a few of them, including the ones where Ponoc is labeled as Ghibli’s successor. Do you think being labeled as such comes with pressure and kind of overshadows Ponoc’s true identity, or do you welcome it instead?
A: Pressure? Not really, no. Generally speaking, the only pressure that filmmakers should feel is whether the audience will enjoy the film. I believe it’s fine if we only focus on that. At Studio Ponoc, we’re focused on making films for children, which is the most important thing. Our audience is Kids & Family, so we just need to think about making content that children will enjoy. Because of focusing on this, I’ve never felt pressured.
Q: Going back to The Imaginary, we know the film was postponed to further improve quality; a choice we now know paid out. But at the time, how difficult of a decision was it?
A: Making the decision to delay production was very difficult. If we extended the production period, the costs would skyrocket. The production budget would double. If we planned to make something in one year and extended it to two, the costs would double. And if we extended a two-year project to four years, the costs would double again. The production costs really increased. When you delay, the costs just keep going up. So, it was a tough decision between choosing quality or choosing business.
It was so difficult that I asked my son for advice. I told him, “The work that Dad is making has become really tough. It might not be completed. If I try to finish it quickly, the quality might suffer. But if I try to improve the quality, it could cost a lot more money, and we might lose out. Which should Dad choose?” I asked my son that.
At the time, he was about nine years old. I asked my nine-year-old son, “If I choose quality, I need a lot of money, and our company may go bankrupt. If I choose to complete the film quickly, I may be able to save money and save the company.” So, I asked him which he would choose, and he said, “Well, Dad, it’s an easy question. You should make a great film. If you make a great film, even if you lose money and the company is in a bad situation, the audience will be happy and enjoy your film. And if the audience enjoys your film, your company will be successful.”
And because he said that, I decided, “Okay, I’m going to choose to create a great film. I’m going to extend the production period and bear the additional costs.” After that, I discussed this decision with the investors and the production staff.
Q: To be honest, I actually just got into anime in late 2021. I remember I watched Makoto Shinkai’s Your Name and that became a catalyst and life-changing experience for me. What was an anime that made you fall in love with the medium or even made you pursue a career in this industry?
A: When I was 11 years old, I saw a film directed by Isao Takahata—Grave of the Fireflies. That was the film for me. It taught me that an animated film can express deep emotions like grief and joy, even in children. Grave of the Fireflies excels in that.
Often, animation creators, directors, or producers focus on the happy side of children’s emotions, like happiness or fun. I don’t want to give examples, but I believe an animated film can do much more than that. Children experience a much broader range of emotions. If we can create films like the ones Isao Takahata made—those legendary films—we will be happy as filmmakers.
You may think you are not familiar with Nishimura-san’s works, but you probably are. After all, most of us watched Howl’s Moving Castle (where he started out), The Tale of The Princess Kaguya, When Marnie Was There, and Studio Ponoc’s debut movie, Mary and The Witch’s Flower. And now, you have a perfect reason to check out The Imaginary.
We’d like to thank Nishimura-san and Studio Ponoc for taking the time to set up this interview and talk to us. We look forward to seeing what’s next for them!
The interview was conducted by Rakha Alif, with translation assistance from Eli (Anime Corner) and Mr. Geoffrey Wexler (Studio Ponoc).
You can find Studio Ponoc’s official links below:
Website: ponoc.jp / ponoc.jp/Rudger/en/
X (formerly Twitter): @StudioPonoc / @ponoc_intl
Facebook: @studioponoc
Instagram: @ponoc_jp
YouTube: @StudioPonoc
TikTok: @studioponoc
All images ©2023 Ponoc
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