Studio Ghibli Movie Roundup

"Dola: [to Sheeta, softhearted] Oh, poor little thing. There's nothin' worse than having your pigtails shot off!"

1. Castle in the Sky: An action-packed story set in a steam-punk (before it was a thing) world. Inspired by the flying island in Gulliver’s Travels, this movie is quite long but worth the time put into it. Some fight scenes with explosions that could be overwhelming for very young children, but overall a great one for the entire family.

2. My Neighbor Totoro: Probably the most well known film. A girl befriends Totoro, a giant magical cat (?) beast living in a giant magical tree next door. This was a hit with the kids. It is also strange though—prepare yourself.

3. Kiki’s Delivery Service: This is based off a (delightful) book, and I like this one more than my kids do. There’s some meandering parts, but the world is so fun. Kiki is a witch and witches set off when they are 13 years old to live on their own and earn their living. She’s not great at some witchy stuff, so she ends up starting a delivery service on her broom. We’re about to reread this book as a readaloud, so I’ll post a full review soon. The “belly bands” are what stuck with my kids the most— a grandma knits belly bands (think a knit tube top but just on your stomach) for every person and object she comes in contact with (to keep bellies warm, the key to health!).

4. Whisper of the Heart: A writer-teenage-girl falls in love with a violinist boy. Overall we thought this one was as sappy as the title (unlike Up on Poppy Hill, which we loved). Basically she falls in love, her grades drop at school, then she realizes she must not let her grades drop. Perhaps too realistic.

5. Princess Mononoke: I thought this was one of the creepier ones, a little bit violent in the spirit world. I haven’t seen it in a while, but I think we’ll skip this one for the kids.

6. Spirited Away: This is my favorite Ghibli movie. It’s like watching one of my nightmares on the screen, but in a good way (like safely observing it from a distance). I would NOT let my kids see this. It isn’t gruesome—it’s just weird and creepy. A little girl gets sucked into the spirit world, and the spirit world is not the best place to be.

7. Ponyo: Ghibli’s weird take on the little mermaid. Heads and “tails” (ha) above the Disney version. Ponyo is a little fish-girl who comes on land and has legs (sometimes chicken legs). I found the strangeness charming, and this is one of my kids favorite Ghibli films.

8. Arrietty: A thumbalina-sized girl befriends a normal sized boy. The Borrowers are little tiny people living in the walls of a house. The movie strays from the books a little bit, but I think it keeps to the main spirit of the Borrowers better than the other adaptations. The kids loved this one.

9. From Up on Poppy Hill: I don’t want to give away the big plot twist here, so I’ll keep it vague—this is a high school love story. Bryan and I liked it better than the kids did, but overall there were enough humorous parts to keep them interested (and it’s completely clean).

10. The Red Turtle: This isn’t fully Ghibli, but Bryan and I loved it. It has no words (other than “hey”). This guy gets stranded on an island, is going crazy, kills this giant turtle who turns into a woman, then it shows their life together on the island. This movie was slow, but incredibly moving! If you like artsy films, I highly recommend.

    

Movies I’ve not seen yet:

Howl’s Moving Castle, The Cat Returns, My Neighbor the Yamadas, Only Yesterday, Grave of the Fireflies, Porco Rosso, Pom Poko, Tales from Earthsea, The Wind Rises, The Tale of Princess Kaguya, When Marnie was There, The Boy and the Heron

Which Studio Ghibli movies are your favorite? Have you seen some of these we’ve not watched yet?