In 2014, Studio Ghibli laid off its animation staff and entered a period of dormancy. The two directors who defined the studio’s output, Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, retired. Without the box office success of new movies, Ghibli limited itself to co-producing works for several years. However, the studio wasn’t gone forever, and on July 14, 2023, it’s set to release its adaptation of the 1937 novel, How Do You Live?
As arguably the greatest animation company of all time, Studio Ghibli possesses an incredibly impressive film library. Their most notable works have been nominated for a variety of awards around the world, and one could make a serious argument that several of their films are the most impressive animated movies of all time.
Updated on April 8, 2023 by Kennedy King: Despite its relative dormancy over the past decade, Studio Ghibli’s reputation remains as stellar as ever. Fans eagerly await the company’s latest product, How Do You Live?, and until its release, many are reexamining its prior works. The ever-changing expectations of anime fans have led some Ghibli films to age like fine wine, while others have lost some of their original luster.
24 Tales From Earthsea
Despite Studio Ghibli’s stellar track record, most agree that Tales from Earthsea isn’t the studio’s best product. Goro Miyazaki made his directorial debut with the film, so it’s understandable that Tales from Earthsea wasn’t as polished as many of its Ghibli counterparts. However, that perspective does little to rectify the movie’s shortcomings.
As the second disastrous attempt to bring Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea novels to the screen, Tales from Earthsea upset Le Guin and her fans due to its major changes from the source material. Although its animation is good, virtually nothing else about this botched adaptation is worth remembering.
23 Ocean Waves
Ocean Waves isn’t actively bad — just utterly unmemorable. A made-for-TV movie with a lower budget than normal Ghibli products, its lack of ambition is as expected as it is uninteresting. Ironically, despite its attempt at minimizing costs, the films ended up going over in terms of both budget and schedule.
Ocean Waves’ animation qualityis good for a TV movie released in the 1990s, but there’s almost none of the visual creativity seen in the other, more realistic Ghibli movies. Seeing as it was the first time a director other than Miyazaki or Takahata directed a Ghibli film, it makes sense why Tomomi Mochizuki never made a second film at the studio.
22 Ghiblies: Episode 2
70zll0v” title=”origin”>Originally released in Japan along with The Cat Returns, Ghiblies: Episode 2 is the only one of the Studio Ghibli’s short films to get an official American release (it was attached to the DVD/Blu-Ray of Ocean Waves). Jumping between multiple stories and styles over the course of 25 minutes, it portrays the life of a bunch of fictional animators based on Ghibli employees.
Ghiblies: Episode 2’s scattershot nature and inconsistent animation quality make it hard to recommend for all but the most hardcore of Ghibli nerds. However, for those who have secretly wished to watch a pig-nosed caricature of Hayao Miyazaki breakdance, it’s the best kind of amusement.
21 Pom Poko
Pom Poko might be best known for its main characters’ use of their magic “pouches,” but in all actuality, the 1994 film is an enjoyable watch. Admittedly, its reliance upon the audience’s familiarity with the cultural connotations of tanuki is a bit alienating to some viewers. Thankfully, Ghibli’s talented animators help elevate the film to where this aspect is secondary to its fun aesthetic.
The big issue with Pom Poko is that it feels like a first draft that needed significant revisions. The idea of the tanuki slowly losing their identity as they spy on and assimilate with the humans is an interesting conflict, and its “ghost parade” sequence is amazing. Unfortunately, the terrible pacing, half-hearted characterization, off-putting tone largely hold its successes back.
20 The Red Turtle
Co-produced by Studio Ghibli and animated in France by Dutch filmmaker Michaël Dudok de Wit, The Red Turtle is astonishingly beautiful. Nominated for the 2016 Best Animated Feature Oscar, it’s worth praising for its gorgeous animation and the skillful way it tells its story without dialogue.
As artistically generative as this minimalist fantasy film is, its non-traditional storytelling isn’t necessarily everyone’s cup of tea. The Red Turtle’s lack of dialogue forces its readers to pay the utmost attention to its narrative, resulting in a movie that seems clearly designed for film critics rather than the average fan.
19 The Cat Returns
Hiroyuki Morita’s The Cat Returns — the only feature-length sequel/spin-off movie in the Ghibli library — is essentially a spin-off of the fantasy novel written in Whisper of the Heart. The film is a cute, 75-minute excursion, but it’s ultimately pretty forgettable compared to other Ghibli movies.
The art style of The Cat Returns is notably different from the traditional Ghibli style, and it’s much closer to the more typical “anime” style of Whisper of the Heart’s author, Aoi Hiiragi. In relation to its narrative, it feels closer to a standard Disney fairy tale than a work with the usual Ghibli complexity.
18 My Neighbors The Yamadas
My Neighbors the Yamadas is a very good piece of animation that simply has no business being a feature film. There’s no overarching plot or character development across this adaptation of the gag manga — just assorted comedic vignettes about family life.
My Neighbors the Yamadas is often funny, thoughtful, and beautifully animated. In 11-minute chunks, it would be impossible to dislike. However, over 104 minutes, its disconnected storytelling units become more than tedious. It doesn’t help that the most visually stunning part of the movie, a fantastic visualization of a wedding speech, happens in the first 10 minutes, and the movie never reaches the same heights after that.
17 From Up On Poppy Hill
Goro Miyazaki’s second film, From Up on Poppy Hill, is certainly an improvement from his previous works. Based on a 1980s manga that is set in the 1960s, Miyazaki’s second film generates a wonderfully nostalgic sense of place thanks to the work done by the Ghibli animators.
From Up on Poppy Hill brings the Yokohama seaside to vibrant life, and its subplot about student activists saving their clubhouse from demolition is also done well. On the other hand, the relationship between its main characters, Umi and Shun, is less exciting.
16 Whisper Of The Heart
Yoshifumi Kondo, a top animator at Studio Ghibli, was briefly set to be the successor to Miyazaki and Takahata. Sadly, he passed away in 1998 from health issues, having only completed one film. That film, Whisper of the Heart, is still one of the studio’s most realistic romances.
Whisper of the Heart is a sweet coming-of-age movie that explores how young people can nurture artistic talents. It’s slow-paced, but thanks to its nostalgic animation and the touching bond between its main characters, the film keeps viewers engaged throughout.
15 Only Yesterday
After originally debuting in 1991, Only Yesterday went without an American release until 2016. Eventually, it was licensed by Disney, finally allowing it to air for Western audiences. However, even with the help of the American company, Only Yesterday is one of the hard Ghibli movies to pitch to the family market.
Only Yesterday is a quiet, slow-paced drama about a young woman reflecting on her childhood, and for those old enough to relate to the film’s protagonist, the film is quite beautiful and insightful. While its narrative isn’t a story that necessarily needed to be animated, Takahata’s visual filmmaking more than justifies its production.
14 When Marnie Was There
In 2014, When Marnie Was There was advertised as the final feature to be animated by Studio Ghibli. Despite this historic status and an Academy Award nomination, Hiromasa Yonebayashi’s second feature is still one of the lesser-known Ghibli films.
Based on Joan G. Robinson’s classic British novel, When Marnie Was There is a sensitive story about the friendship between an orphan with social anxiety and a mysterious ghost. Although much more mundane than Ghibli’s plethora of fantasy films, its final plot twist will almost certainly bring first-time viewers to tears.
13 The Secret World Of Arrietty
The highest-grossing Ghibli film at the American box office, The Secret World of Arrietty, was co-written by Hayao Miyazaki and marked the directorial debut of Hiromasa Yonebayashi. Although Yonebayashi found success after founding Studio Ponoc with other ex-Ghibli artists, his first film is still his best.
Based on the classic Borrowers books, The Secret World of Arrietty has a lot of fun with scale, presenting the world through the eyes of a character that is six inches tall. While this makes for a fun spectacle, the true strength of this movie is the powerful story it tells about a child with a life-threatening illness.
12 The Wind Rises
Although Hayao Miyazaki is set to return from his retirement with the 2023 release, How Do You Live?, it’s hard to imagine a bolder closing statement for his career than The Wind Rises. This historical biopic of a WWII-era airplane designer is not what most expect from the normally family-friendly Miyazaki, but it’s also a film only he could make.
Miyazaki’s father owned a company that manufactured airplanes during World War II, so this film blurs the line between realistic fiction and autobiography on several occasions. The Wind Rises may not be a film that viewers rewatch as much as his other movies, but it’s one that’s almost impossible to stop thinking about after seeing it.
11 Castle In The Sky
Castle in the Sky is the closest that Studio Ghibli has come to making a classic Spielbergian blockbuster. It’s a simple, straightforward adventure story with gunfights, chases, robots, magic, and perhaps the only truly evil villain in the studio’s filmography. It’s a pure blast of entertainment.
As one would expect from Miyazaki, Castle in the Sky’s animation is incredible, and its narrative flows in a way that allows fans to appreciate its beauty. In addition, the movie’s characters are great; Pazu and Sheeta make equally compelling co-leads, while Captain Dola and her pirate gang are hilarious.
10 Howl’s Moving Castle
The Oscar-nominated Howl’s Moving Castle is supposedly an adaptation of Diana Wynne Jones’ novel, but the plot becomes completely different midway through. Miyazaki’s influence is felt throughout this film, as evidenced most plainly by its subplot surrounding the pervasive impact of war.
What Howl’s Moving Castle lacks in narrative structure, it makes up for with vibrant characters and breathtaking creativity. Sophie is a wonderful protagonist, and the way her age changes based on her mood makes for some great character animation. The titular castle itself is also a marvelous invention and represents one of the best uses of CG in a 2D-animated film.
9 Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is the film that started Studio Ghibli’s rise to fame in earnest. Technically, it was a Topcraft production, but it’s retroactively considered the first Ghibli film. As Miyazaki’s first film based on his own story (he previously directed the Lupin III movie, The Castle of Cagliostro), Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind establishes all of his thematic obsessions: the wonder of flight, the strength of women, the horror of war, the power of nature.
The Nausicaa manga kept going after the release of the anime, developing a deeper story, but that’s no knock on the anime. It is a gorgeous movie with rich post-apocalyptic mythology and an amazing heroine. For those that think they could never feel emotions for giant insect monsters, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind will likely change their mind.
8 The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya — the final film by Isao Takahata — is an artistic masterpiece unlike anything else in the anime medium. Takahata developed the animation technology for My Neighbors the Yamadas, but The Tale of the Princess Kaguya takes his methods to the next level. His final film looks like an ink painting brought to life, the brushstrokes used to heighten a wide range of emotions.
For an adaptation of a legend dating back to the 10th century,The Tale of the Princess Kaguya’s ability to evoke emotion from contemporary viewers is highly impressive. Somehow, it’s simultaneously cute, wondrous, surreal, and brutally somber. While Takahata’s wild tonal experiments didn’t always work, all his gambles pay off in this stunning ode to the beauty and suffering of life on earth.
7 Kiki’s Delivery Service
Kiki’s Delivery Service is similar to My Neighbor Totoro — they’re both lighthearted, fantasy, slice-of-life movies that are safe to show even the youngest of kids. However, while My Neighbor Totoro is directly about the concerns of young kids, Kiki’s Delivery Service is focused on the transition between childhood and adulthood. Kiki is 13 when she leaves home, but any teens or young adults still figuring out independent life will relate to this movie.
Kiki’s Delivery Service is the ultimate sick day movie — it’s the perfect feel-good flick to get anyone through a rut. It should be noted that while its dub isn’t as accurate a translation as other Ghibli works, Phil Hartman’s performance as Jiji the Cat is absolutely wonderful.
6 Ponyo
Ponyo’s defining quality, for good and bad, is that it’s a movie for five-year-olds envisioned as if a five-year-old wrote it. Young children’s imaginations are pretty surreal, and Miyazaki is good enough at tapping into that creativity to result in a delightful film that is often befuddling for adults.
If there are any deeper themes to Ponyo, they lie in the film’s portrayals of parenthood. Hayao made the movie as an apology to his son, and much of the film is about how kids deal with absent or eccentric parents. Mostly, though, Ponyo is content to be painfully cute for the eyes and ears.
5 Porco Rosso
Marco, the Italian fighter pilot who chooses to transform into a pig in Porco Rosso, might be the single most interesting character in all of Miyazaki’s movies. Interestingly, he is perhaps the character most like Miyazaki himself. Although the director often restrains his curmudgeonliness when making family movies, Porco Rosso, a movie specifically aimed at older adults, is full of this tone.
Befitting its eccentric protagonist,Porco Rosso is also Miyazaki’s funniest movie. However, that doesn’t mean it lacks heart — far from it. The general emotional arc of this film can be described as “Casablanca, but with a flying pig.” If a studio was going to do a twist on this classic tale, it’s clear that Studio Ghibli was the right choice.
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