Topcraft

• 1. Introduction

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  Topcraft, a small animation studio in Tokyo, sits at the origin point of two very different legacies. Founded on the 1st of February 1972, it lasted barely thirteen years before filing for bankruptcy. Yet in that short span, it produced some of the most beloved animated films in both Japanese and American households. What kind of studio could simultaneously animate The Hobbit for an American television audience and lay the groundwork for Studio Ghibli? That question drives everything that follows.

• 2. The Rankin/Bass Partnership

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  Rankin/Bass Productions, based in New York City, needed skilled hand-drawn animators and found them in Tokyo. From the very beginning, Topcraft served as the primary Japanese studio for Rankin/Bass's hand-drawn work, a relationship that defined the studio's early identity. Kid Power, a collaborative title, arrived in 1972-1974, just as the studio was getting started. 'Twas the Night Before Christmas followed in 1974, then The First Easter Rabbit and Frosty's Winter Wonderland in 1976.

  The Hobbit, released in 1977, became the most visible product of this partnership. Tolkien's beloved novel had never been adapted into an animated feature before, and the resulting film reached audiences far beyond what most television specials achieved. The Return of the King arrived in 1980, continuing the Tolkien thread. Two years later, The Last Unicorn joined the catalog, adapting Peter S. Beagle's fantasy novel. The Flight of Dragons also came out of this collaboration in 1982. Together, these titles built a transatlantic reputation for Topcraft that few Japanese studios of that era could claim.

  Beyond the Rankin/Bass partnership, Topcraft also worked as a contributing studio on Mazinger Z for Toei Animation, handling specific episodes, and animated sections of Lupin III: Part II for Tokyo Movie Shinsha across a span of episodes from 1977 to 1980.

• 3. Nausicaa and Miyazaki

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  Hayao Miyazaki had been working on his manga Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind since 1982, and by 1984 it was being adapted into a theatrical anime film. Topcraft was the studio chosen for the production, working alongside Tokuma Shoten Publishing and Hakuhodo. The film marked a significant turning point in the studio's history, bringing it into contact with the figures who would soon reshape Japanese animation.

  The film itself was an adaptation of a science-fiction story about a young princess navigating a world of toxic forests and warring nations, drawn from Miyazaki's own serialized manga. For Topcraft, producing a theatrical feature film directed by Miyazaki placed the studio on a different footing from its television work with Rankin/Bass. It also brought Toshio Suzuki and Isao Takahata into close proximity with the studio's staff and resources. That proximity would prove decisive within the year.

• 4. Dissolution and Two Afterlives

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  Financial difficulties overtook Topcraft, and the studio filed for bankruptcy. On the 15th of June 1985, it was formally dissolved. What happened next split the studio's people into two distinct streams.

  Hayao Miyazaki, Toshio Suzuki, and Isao Takahata acquired the assets and formed Studio Ghibli, acting on the advice of Tokuma Shoten. Toru Hara, who had founded Topcraft back in 1972 as a former Toei Animation producer, became Studio Ghibli's first manager. The studio that had made Nausicaa was now, in a meaningful sense, the seed from which Ghibli grew.

  The other stream went in a different direction. A group of Topcraft animators formed Pacific Animation Corporation, headed by Masaki Iizuka, specifically to continue working with Rankin/Bass. Their first major project was ThunderCats, followed by Silverhawks. That continuation eventually ended when The Walt Disney Company bought Pacific Animation Corporation and transformed it into Walt Disney Animation Japan. Some individual animators took yet another path; Tsuguyuki Kubo, for instance, moved to Studio Pierrot and worked on Naruto and Bleach.

  Toru Hara, who had been present at every major chapter of this story, died on the 14th of December 2021, at the age of 85.

• 5. Beyond the Big Titles

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  Topcraft's filmography extended well beyond its most famous productions. The studio contributed to the French children's series Barbapapa from 1974 to 1975 in partnership with K&S. It worked on The Wizard of Oz in 1982 alongside Toho and Wiz Corporation. Adventures of the Little Koala ran from 1984 to 1985 in collaboration with Hakuhodo, and Button Nose followed from 1985 to 1986 with Sanrio.

  The studio also served as a co-production partner on a range of Japanese television series. Time Bokan, made with Tatsunoko, ran from 1975 to 1976. Doctor Snuggles, a European co-production with PolyScope Production, saw Topcraft handle the first seven episodes from 1979 to 1980. The Dragon That Wasn't (Or Was He?), a 1983 film, was made with Rob Houwer Film. Jarinko Chie, a Tokyo Movie Shinsha series, had Topcraft animating specific episodes between 1981 and 1983.

  In its final months before closure, Topcraft was still actively animating. It handled key animation for Magical Fairy Persia with Studio Pierrot in 1984-1985, and worked as one of the animation cooperation studios on Galactic Patrol Lensman alongside Madhouse and Academy Productions. The studio's last year was as busy as any other, even as financial collapse approached.