I'm a huge fan of the works of Studio Ghibli, the legendary Japanese animation house founded in 1985 by Hayao Miyazaki, Toshio Suzuki, and Isao Takahata. I first put this guide together five years ago to mark the studio's back catalogue becoming available globally on Netflix. This new and improved version includes the latest Ghibli film as well as several early works by the studio's founders that I hadn't been able to watch until recently.
Horus, Prince of the Sun (1968)
Horus, a young Scandinavia boy during the Iron Age, accidentally wakes up a stone giant while fighting off some wolves. He pulls a thorn from the giant's shoulder that turns out to be an ancient sword that sends Horus off an a dangerous quest. In many ways, this film is the spiritual foundation stone of what Studio Ghibli would eventually become. Directed by Isao Takahata, it was his first feature film and the first project he worked on with Hayao Miyazaki. The two of them would continue to work together over the next few years on on various TV series that Takahata directed, such as Anne of Green Gables and 3000 Leagues in Search of Mother, before co-directing Lupin III together.
Lupin III: Part 1 (1971-1972)
This was the first anime adaptation of the Lupin III manga by Kazuhiko Katō, better known as Monkey Punch. It was originally overseen by Masaaki Ōsumi, but he was replaced early on by Miyazaki and Takahata, who took the series in a more light-hearted (but no less entertaining) direction. Alas, ratings weren't great and it was cancelled after 23 episodes, but soon became popular in repeats. This led to the production of the immensely successful Part II, which turned Lupin III into one of the most enduring anime franchises. Miyazaki would later return to direct two episodes of Part II as well as the second feature film.
Future Boy Conan (1978)
Loosely based on Alexander Key's 1970 novel The Incredible Tide, this charming TV series follows the adventures of Conan, a young boy who has grown up in the aftermath of a devastating war that threw the Earth off its axis and sunk whole continents beneath the seas. This was Miyazaki's debut as a solo director and essential a dry run for many of the ideas and themes that would become hallmarks of his future films. He wasn't fond of Key's novel, finding it too pessimistic, and made so many changes the final series is practically a completely original work.
The Castle of Cagliostro (1979)
Miyazaki's first feature film is one of the highlights of the entire Lupin III franchise. The plot follows gentleman thief Arsène Lupin III, known as Wolf in some of the English dubs due to rights issues with the estate of Maurice Leblanc (creator of the original Arsène Lupin books), and his partner Jigan as they head to the tiny European country of Cagliostro to track down the source of some counterfeit money they have just stolen.
In 1982, Miyazaki began work on a new steampunk infused adaptation of Sherlock Holmes where all the characters are anthropomorphic dogs. He completed six episodes before legal issues with the Conan Doyle estate resulted in the production being suspended. By the time those issues had been resolved Miyazaki had already began work on other projects so the rest of the series was directed by Kyōsuke Mikuriya. All in all, this is a delightful series, but Miyazaki's episodes make it something truly special.
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
Like Cagliostro, this isn't actually a Studio Ghibli film as it was produced and released a full year before the studio's official founding. But Nausicaä is where Ghibli first came together and it sets the tone not just for Miyazaki's later own work, but the studio as a whole. Based on Miyazaki's own manga, the film is set thousands of years in the future where much of Earth has been consumed by Toxic Jungle and follows Nausicaä, the princess of the Valley of the Wind, as she battles to protect her people and stop two warring kingdoms from awakening a monster from the old world. This is a sublime piece of post-apocalyptic sci-fi and one of my top five Studio Ghibli films. The film was famously hacked to pieces by its original U.S. distributor who renamed it Warriors of the Wind and even released a poster full of He-Man style male characters who don't even appear in the film, including someone riding a fucking Pegasus of all things. This would lead to Ghibli to enact a strict "no cuts" policy for all future film releases outside Japan.
Castle in the Sky (1986)
The first official Ghibli film is a lively piece of steampunk fantasy that follows a young boy and girl who come up against sky pirates and government agents in their search for the legendary flying island of Laputa (inspired by the island of the same name from Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels). While Castle in the Sky lacks the complexity and thematic resonance of Nausicaä, this is still a great showcase for Miyazaki's skill and imagination as a filmmaker.
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
This heartbreaking tale was the first Ghibli film from co-founder Isao Takahata. It's an adaptation of Akiyuki Nosaka's 1967 semi-autobiographical short story of the same name about two siblings who struggle to survive during the final months of World War II.
My Neighbour Totoro (1988)
Miyazaki's magical ode to childhood follows two young girls, Satsuki and Mei, who moved into an old house in the country with their father so they can be closer to the hospital where their sick mother is staying. Not long after moving in they meet and befriend Totoro, a cuddly wood spirit who lives nearby. My Neighbour Totoro is one of Ghibli's best known and beloved films. The title character has since become the face of the company and, thanks to merchandising, a major source of revenue.
Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)
Like much of Miyazaki's oeuvre, Kiki's Delivery Service is coming of age tale with a fantastical bent. It's a sweet and simple tale about Kiki, a 13-year-old witch who leaves home and moves to the big city where she sets up a delivery service using her flying broomstick. This is an absolute joy from beginning to end and another of my favourite Ghibli movies.
Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water (1990-1991)
Set in the late 1800s, the series follows Nadia and Jean, two young children in France who are brought together when a trio of thieves try to get their hands on the jewel Nadia possess, the Blue Water. After being chased by the thieves to the ocean, Nadia and Jean find themselves rescued by Captain Nemo and become tangled up in his secret war with the Neo-Atlantians. I'll freely admit the Miyazaki link here is tenuous to say the least. In the mid-70s he was hired by Toho to develop a TV series based on Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea that never got made. Toho eventually dusted off his concept and put it into production in the early 90s with Gainax and director Hideaki Anno (who was mentored by Miyazaki). While Miyazaki never worked out on the series himself, his influence is easy to spot in the early episodes, but as the series progressed it became more and more of a Hideaki Anno experience, and eventually lead to the creation of Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Only Yesterday (1991)
One of the underrated gems in the Ghibli canon, Takahata's second film is a rich and understated character drama that follows Taeko, a twentysomething who takes time out from her 9-5 life in Tokyo to work on a farm in the countryside while reflecting on her childhood in the 1960s.
Porco Rosso (1992)
Whether it's Nausicaä on her glider or Kiki on her broomstick, flight has been one of the most notable recurring themes in Miyazaki's work and Porco Rosso is his love letter to the early days of aviation. The film takes place in the Adriatic Sea not long after the First World War and follows a former Italian fighter ace turned bounty hunter as he battles air pirates and the cocky American pilot they've hired to take him down. Oh, and for some reason that is never really fully explained he has been cursed with the face of a pig. Why is he cursed with the face of a pig? That's not really important, this film is all about the flying sequences, which are typically stunning, even if the story and characters are weak by Miyazaki's usual standards.
Ocean Waves (1993)
Based on the 1990 novel of the same name by Saeko Himuro, this TV movie was the first Ghibli project not directed by either Miyazaki or Takahata. It was a low budget work given to some of the studio's junior animators. Set in the city of Kōchi, it centres around a love triangle that develops between two friends, Taku and Yutaka, and Rikako, a new girl at their school.
Pom Poko (1994)
When their forest home is threatened by human developers, a group of shape-shifting raccoons try do everything they can to scare humans away. Drawing on Japanese myths and legends, Takahata's third film is a satirical oddity. Still, there's plenty to enjoy here, just try not to get too distracted by the raccoons, ahem, noticeable assets.
Whisper of the Heart (1995)
During her last summer of junior high, Shizuku, a voracious reader and aspiring writer, meets a trainee violin-maker named Seiji, who challenges her to stop reading and start writing. Written by Miyazaki and based on Aoi Hiiragi's 1989 manga, Whisper of the Heart is the only film directed by regular Ghibli animator Yoshifumi Kondō, who was seen by the studio's founders as their natural successor. Sadly, Kondō passed away suddenly in 1998 at the age of 47. His death would lead to Miyazaki's decision to (briefly) retire following the release of Princess Mononoke.
Princess Mononoke (1997)
Princess Mononoke follows Ashitaka, a young Emishi prince, who is cursed by a dying demon. As he searches for a cure he becomes embroiled in a struggle between the gods of a forest and the humans who consume its resources. Miyazaki's environmentalist message runs strongest in this epic, stunningly realised fantasy that, thanks to its violent content, is almost certainly not fun for all the family.
My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999)
Based on the yonkoma manga Nono-chan by Hisaichi Ishii, My Neighbors the Yamadas is a series of vignettes following the daily lives of the Yamada family done in the style of a daily comic strip. Takahata may never have been as prolific as Miyazaki, he only directed five films for Ghibli between 1988 and 2014, but he was certainly the most experimental of the studio's founders.
Spirited Away (2001)
Miyazaki's retirement didn't last very long and he soon returned to Ghibli with the stunning Spirited Away, the first hand-drawn and non-English language film to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. The film follows 10-year-old Chihiro Ogino, who is moving to a new neighbourhood when a wrong turn sends her and her parents into the strange world of the spirits. Like many, this was the film that first pulled me into the wonderful world of Miyazaki and Ghibli.
The Cat Returns (2002)
Ghibli has never done sequels, but they did produce this spin-off from Whisper of the Heart, which focuses on the character of Baron Humbert von Gikkingen. When 17-year-old Haru, who has the suppressed ability to talk with cats, saves Lune, Prince of the Cat Kingdom, from being hit by a truck, she suddenly finds herself engaged to the prince and whisked away to his home. With the assistance of the Baron, Haru seeks to escape the Cat Kingdom and return to her normal life.
Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
After she's swept off her feet one day by the mysterious wizard Howl, shop girl Sophie is soon cursed by the jealous Witch of the Waste and turned into an old woman. Seeking to lift the curse, Sophie begins travelling with Howl aboard his magical walking castle. Based on the novel of the same name by British author Diana Wynne Jones, Miyazaki's follow up Spirited Away is another spellbinding fantasy with a strong anti-war theme, brought on by Miyazaki's opposition to the US invasion of Iraq.
Tales from Earthsea(2006)
Ghibli and Ursula K. Le Guin seems like a match made in geek heaven. Sadly, Tales of Earthsea is the closet thing the studio has to a complete dud. Directed by Miyazaki's eldest son, Gorō, it mixes together the plots of third and fourth Earthsea books, The Farthest Shore and Tehanu, with a few elements from the first book, A Wizard of Earthsea, and twists them all into a rather conventional fantasy adventure that possesses little of the original tales' nuance or elegance.
Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (2008)
Ponyo, the goldfish daughter of the King of the Ocean, upsets the musical balance of the world when she leaves home and seeks to become human after she befriends five-year-old Sosuke. Ponyo is gorgeous and imaginative with a lot of heart, but it never quite manages to reach the same dizzying heights as Miyazaki's previous films.
Arrietty (2010)
This was the first film directed by long time Ghibli animator Hiromasa Yonebayashi. Based on Mary Norton's classic children's book The Borrowers (about a race of tiny people), the film tells the story of 14-year-old Arrietty whose peaceful life living under the floorboards of an old English house with her father and mother is changed forever when when she's accidentally seen by a human boy.
From Up on Poppy Hill (2011)
Gorō Miyazaki's second film, co-written by his father, is a typical Ghibli coming of age tale, but is still a significant step up from his previous effort. Set in Yokohama in 1963, the film centres on the budding romance that develops between teenagers Umi and Shun as they join forces to save their high school’s ramshackle clubhouse from demolition.
The Wind Rises (2013)
After decades of fantastical adventure films, Miyazaki switched gears for The Wind Rises, a biographical drama about the life of Jiro Horikoshi, the designer of the Mitsubishi A5M and A6M Zero fighter planes, used by the Empire of Japan during World War II. It was meant to be his final film. However, he announced in 2017 that he was coming out of retirement again and working on a new film for Ghibli, How Do You Live?, although work on it has been slowed by his advanced age. While not one of my favourite Miyazaki film, The Wind Rises is still a gorgeous work of hand drawn animation that would've made a fitting swan song for one of animation's greatest filmmakers.
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013)
Based on a tale from Japanese folklore, about a miniature girl found in the forest by a bamboo cutter who is taken toe the city and raised to be a princess, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya is one of the most visually striking films Ghibli has produced, a vivid mixture of charcoal strokes and impressionistic watercolours. Sadly, this was Isao Takahata's final film before his death in 2018.
When Marnie Was There (2014)
For a time, it really did seem like Yonebayashi's When Marnie Was There would end up being the last official Studio Ghibli film. Based on the book by British author by Joan G. Robinson, relocating the action from the Norfolk marshes to Kushiro wetlands, it follows 12-year-old introvert Anna Sasaki who comes across a abandoned mansion while holiday with her foster family and meets Marnie, a mysterious girl who asks her to promise to keep their secrets from everyone.
The Red Turtle (2016)
Although not counted as one of the studio's official films, Ghibli teamed up with the German company Wild Bunch to produce this film in 2016. Directed and co-written by Dutch animator Michaël Dudok de Wit, The Red Turtle is a dialogue free tale about a man who becomes shipwrecked on a deserted island and meets a giant red female turtle.
The Boy and the Heron (2023)
After the death of his mother, Mahito Maki moves to the countryside with his remarried father where he encounters a bizarre talking grey heron that leads him into a strange world to rescue his stepmother. Although reminiscent of much of his previous work, this is still a beautifully crafted tale that feel like Miyazaki finally making peace with the fact the wonderful kingdom he has created will not survive without him, and no one, least of all his own children, should feel pressured to give up their own dreams just to preserve his. Like The Wind Rises, it would've made a fine end to his illustrious career, but he just can't seem to stay retired and is already working on another film.
Mark Greig has been writing for Doux Reviews since 2011 More Mark Greig
Fun fact: in Russian the name of the studio is too close to the word "гиблый" ("giblyj"), meaning "deadly", "rotten", or simply "very bad".
ReplyDeleteTakahata is the man! I liked, but did not love most of the championed Ghibli film winners like Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, and even Porco Rosso. I gave up and figured it's not really for me and only came back accidentally, not knowing Only Yesterday is from the same studio. I really, really loved this one, tracked down the director, and basically loved everything else he did, too. If you ask me, Pom Poko especially deserves more love than it got. It always showed up near the bottom of some of the lists I looked up when I first had interest in these films. It's just so... complete. Like I felt I had completed an entire miniseries by the end of it, in a good way. And the deforestation message is completely blunt but straight from the heart. Leaves me with a sweet ache.
ReplyDeleteAlso even though Grave of the Fireflies is hard-hitting stuff, I find it oddly easy to watch. It's largely a boy and his little sister trying to make it out on their own, and it's surprisingly sweet and lovely. And the little girl is IMO the cutest little girl featured in all the Ghibli movies I watched. There's something so charming about a mushroom cut on a girl, lol. Couldn't get enough of her.
So anyone still iffy about giving them another go because they weren't too impressed by a given "cream of the crop" recommendation should still seriously consider trying one of their off-shoots (so to speak). To Studio Gimli's- I mean Ghibli's credit, it really isn't One Size Fits All