Anyone else adore Hayao Miyazaki's movies?

[Guest Cindie2dds]

My dad buys Miyasaki movies for my girls' birthdays. I don't think there's one we haven't liked, but my favorite is Kiki's Delivery Service. Our latest one is Ponyo. The one they ask for all the time is My Neighbor Totoro. Anyone else?:)

[elizabeth]

Love, love love his movies. My favorite is Howl's Moving Castle.

[HRAAB]

Absolutely love his movies. Spirited Away is my favorite, but I'll watch any of them over and over.

[Jilly]

We love them all! My favorites are My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service.

[melissel]

So far we've only seen Howl's Moving Castle and Spirited Away, but yes, we love them. When I first saw Spirited Away I was totally weirded out, but I couldn't look away :lol: Eventually I was totally spellbound. Actually, I think I love them more than my DDs! The girls saw Ponyo with my mom, but I haven't seen it yet. You guys just reminded me that I want to get Kiki's Delivery Service for a movie night soon.

 

LOVE them!

[nmoira]

Yes, yes, yes. :D

[Wendi]

We love them.

 

Wendi

[Geek]

We adore Totoro in this house, right down to Christmas tree ornaments. I started watching it in the early 80s in Japanese before Disney dubbed it, and I loved it even then. (My brothers are anime junkies since the 70s.)

 

Not Miyazaki, but we also like the Japanese cartoon My Neighbors, the Yamadas. It's about a dysfunctional (read: normal, LOL!) family in Japan and is quite funny.

[Alphabetika]

We are huge Miyazaki fans here, especially DH. My dh is especially impressed because Miyazaki is, to his knowledge, the last director/artist to use solely hand animation, no digital. His favorite is Porco Rosso. I am fond of Spirited Away, as disturbing as it is, and my second favorite is probably Castle in the Sky. His movies are visually gorgeous.

[TheTwinsMom1]

Another family that loves these movies. Howl's moving castle is my favorite. We also like, Kiki's delivery service, and The cat returns is good also. We have almost all of the movies and the kids have loved them all.

[Guest Cindie2dds]

Don't have Howl's. That will be next on our list! :)

[whitestavern]

My dad buys Miyasaki movies for my girls' birthdays. I don't think there's one we haven't liked, but my favorite is Kiki's Delivery Service. Our latest one is Ponyo. The one they ask for all the time is My Neighbor Totoro. Anyone else?:)

 

Yes! We only discovered Miyasaki in the last year and these are the three we have seen. I'm glad to see other recommendations. Off to put them in my Netflix queue!

[Shawna in Texas]

Yes. Have them all and love them.

[WishboneDawn]

More fans here. Spirited Away is my favourite but Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is a close second.

 

No one does animation better.

[Guest Cindie2dds]

Yes! We only discovered Miyasaki in the last year and these are the three we have seen. I'm glad to see other recommendations. Off to put them in my Netflix queue!

 

Another favorite of ours is A Cat Returns. Definitely queue worthy!

[Guest Cindie2dds]

More fans here. Spirited Away is my favourite but Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is a close second.

 

No one does animation better.

 

What age do you think Nausicaa of the Valley is for? Some are a little scary for wee ones, although I have loved all of the ones we watched. Beautifully animated, absolutely. Nothing like hand-drawn films, especially the details he brings.

Edited July 20, 2010 by Cindie2dds
Clarification

[The Girls' Mom]

My daughter LOVES them. I found a boxed set on Amazon for her birthday for a steal. Most of them were in Japanese with subtitles (a bonus in her book) In the set was one she hadn't heard of (because it hasn't been released in the US I guess) was Grave of the Fireflies. She said it was disturbing, but very good.

 

Anyway, she has loved them since she was little and first saw Totoro.

[orangearrow]

What age do you think Nausicaa of the Valley is for? Some are a little scary for wee ones, although I have loved all of the ones we watched. Beautifully animated, absolutely. Nothing like hand-drawn films, especially the details he brings.

 

 

Wasn't Nausicaa the rather violent one? Maybe I have it mixed up with Princess Monoke (or some spelling like that).

 

I love many of Miyazaki's movies - Howl's Moving Castle is my ultimate favorite. I think it's a bit old for my oldest daughter still, though, so we haven't watched it together yet. The kids loved the Totoro and Kiki's when they were littler.

 

Spirited Away, I have to say, freaked me out. :001_huh: Just too "out there" for my personal taste. :)

[BigMamaBird]

I love them! I haven't introduced them to my kids yet because my favorites are Nausicaa and Princess Mononoke which are too mature for them. But I really love Spirited Away and Totoro too. Miyazki's just great!

[GnomeyNewt]

Love these movies, have ever since my DH and I watched Spirited Away a long long time ago. I can't name a favorite, it changes a lot... Howl's Moving Castle, Castle in the Sky, Porco Rosso, and the new Ponyo which we went to see in the theaters when it came out (we had to travel 2 hours!) are my current top favorites.

 

For Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind, my DD did watch this film when she was rather young, maybe 4 years old and it is one of her favorites. I love the music in this film, maybe more than any of the others. It is very enchanting but also has a great moral story line. Princess Mononoke and Grave of the Fireflies imho are for a much older audience. Princess Mononoke is just a slightly different story telling and the subject manner is for mature audiences, it gets boring quickly for the little's. Grave of the Fireflies, I personally still haven't gotten over watching this film and I saw this over 7 years ago! It is very good film, but the subject matter for me is too close for comfort for me. I wouldn't want to give details away, so read the description carefully.

 

I try to buy 1-2 of these movies each Christmas, since I really can't find a need to purchase them all at the sametime! But this is one DVD set I would love to own. For my DD's birthday, she had a pink soot sprite cake and totoro cup cake toppers. We've also make several soot sprites out of yarn and we sewed 3 different sized totoro's out of felt.

 

We Love Miyazaki films and plan to visit the museum in Japan in the future. I hear there are some short films only shown at the museum there and I'd love to see those too! This is the blog I follow, and they are uber obsessed with all things Ghibli:

 

http://ghiblicon.blogspot.com/

[Guest Cindie2dds]

Sarah ~

 

Thanks for the review of Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind. I put it in my queue. Do you have a picture of these? I would love to do a project like that with mine!

We've also make several soot sprites out of yarn and we sewed 3 different sized totoro's out of felt.

[Shawna in Texas]

My daughter LOVES them. I found a boxed set on Amazon for her birthday for a steal. Most of them were in Japanese with subtitles (a bonus in her book) In the set was one she hadn't heard of (because it hasn't been released in the US I guess) was Grave of the Fireflies. She said it was disturbing, but very good.

 

Anyway, she has loved them since she was little and first saw Totoro.

 

Grave of the Fireflies just about gutted me.

[daffodil]

I really enjoyed Kiki's Delivery Service and Howl's Moving Castle, but I couldn't get into Spirited Away. Maybe I'll give it another chance.

[nmoira]

 

Grave of the Fireflies just about gutted me.

I'm not sorry to have seen it, but I'll never watch it again. I couldn't bear to. Edited July 20, 2010 by nmoira

[Shawna in Texas]

I'm not sorry to have seen it, but I'll never watch it again. I couldn't bear to.

 

That's exactly how I feel about it. I watched it when I was pregnant.

[nmoira]

I just read this at Wikipedia, and can't begin to wrap my head around it:

 

Its [Grave of the Fireflies] initial theatrical release in Japan was accompanied by Hayao Miyazaki's much more lighthearted My Neighbor Totoro as a double feature. In commercial terms, the theatrical release was a failure. While the two movies were marketed toward children and their parents, the extremely depressing nature of Grave of the Fireflies turned away most audiences.

[nmoira]

In the set was one she hadn't heard of (because it hasn't been released in the US I guess) was Grave of the Fireflies. She said it was disturbing, but very good.

This is Studio Ghibli, but isn't Miyazaki. I'm not sure it had a theatrical release in the US, but it's long been available on DVD (both dubbed and subtitled).

[mommytobees]

My dad buys Miyasaki movies for my girls' birthdays. I don't think there's one we haven't liked, but my favorite is Kiki's Delivery Service. Our latest one is Ponyo. The one they ask for all the time is My Neighbor Totoro. Anyone else?:)

 

We love Miyasaki!!

 

And, then we moved to Japan!!!

 

Talk about wonderful!! We find Miyasaki stuff everywhere!! There is even a store in Kamakura!

 

We now have Totoro bento boxes, Totoro, Gigi, & Castle in the Sky (the robot's head) planters, and other odds and ends including a few stuffed animals.

 

We are planning on going to the Studio Ghibli museum in Tokyo this year.

 

Kris

[WishboneDawn]

What age do you think Nausicaa of the Valley is for? Some are a little scary for wee ones, although I have loved all of the ones we watched. Beautifully animated, absolutely. Nothing like hand-drawn films, especially the details he brings.

 

My daughter watched it with her brother and cousins. Ages were 6, 8,9 and 11. They all loved it. Of course the 6 year old was my tough-as-nails neice. If it had been my nephew who was 6 rather then 9 I would not have let him watch it and he's a more tender soul. :)

[KarenNC]

My almost 10 yo just recently watched Nausicaa and Princess Mononoke and loved both. She wouldn't have done well with them even last year, but this past year has been a big step forward in movies for her: Pirates of the Caribbean, Avatar, Lord of the Rings, etc. We introduced her to Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle and Castle in the Sky a couple of years ago. Totoro, Kiki and The Cat Returns were all great even when she was very young.

 

The only one of his movies I haven't cared for was Porco Rosso.

[GnomeyNewt]

Sarah ~

 

Thanks for the review of Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind. I put it in my queue. Do you have a picture of these? I would love to do a project like that with mine!

 

We call these frankenstein Totoros because we just used the felt pieces that we had on hand to make these. We sewed smaller pieces of felt together in coordinating colors and cut it up into a totoro shape. The biggest is about 15 inches tall. Here is the result:

 

 

Bigger Pics: Photo 1 Photo 2

 

 

I just read this at Wikipedia, and can't begin to wrap my head around it:

 

Its [Grave of the Fireflies] initial theatrical release in Japan was accompanied by Hayao Miyazaki's much more lighthearted My Neighbor Totoro as a double feature. In commercial terms, the theatrical release was a failure. While the two movies were marketed toward children and their parents, the extremely depressing nature of Grave of the Fireflies turned away most audiences.

 

Seriously? The marketing team here really messed that one up! As most other PP's have said, it really tugs at your heart strings... I am sure I will watch Grave of the Fireflies again, but I am not positive when that will be since I've never gotten over watching it the first time.

 

 

 

We love Miyasaki!!

 

And, then we moved to Japan!!!

 

Talk about wonderful!! We find Miyasaki stuff everywhere!! There is even a store in Kamakura!

 

We now have Totoro bento boxes, Totoro, Gigi, & Castle in the Sky (the robot's head) planters, and other odds and ends including a few stuffed animals.

 

We are planning on going to the Studio Ghibli museum in Tokyo this year.

 

Kris

 

Lucky you! Do you guys need English pen pals? I am starting to teach them Japanese, very slow at this though because I don't know Japanese either (though I've been studying or trying to for a few years). I see the cute Totoro bento boxes online, I so want one of these... but we are home most of the time so at the moment I can't find a reason I should buy it... but still. If you go to the museum, you should post up some pictures, especially if you see the cat bus, I'm pretty sure its where they have a huge one that the kids can get into.

[Just Robyn]

Another fan here!

[The Girls' Mom]

This is Studio Ghibli, but isn't Miyazaki. I'm not sure it had a theatrical release in the US, but it's long been available on DVD (both dubbed and subtitled).

 

 

Ah, I didn't realize that. I haven't watched the whole thing. It took dd two tries to watch it, she had to turn it off the first time. She's told me the story line...very sad.

[BigMamaBird]

I'm going to need someone to spill the beans about Grave of the Fireflies. I gather it's a disturbing movie about kids, but what is the story? I'm a big worrier when it comes to my kids so I'm pretty sure this is on my no fly list, but I'm curious what everyone's talking about.

[The Girls' Mom]

It's about the bombing during WWII and there is a lot of death and destruction.

[Closeacademy]

My girls love them here.

 

My oldest's favorite is "Castles in the Sky." I think she likes the flying ships and robots.

 

My youngest used to like to play Kiki. She had a little broom and used her webkinz black cat and they would have adventures all over the yard.

 

Totoro also lives in our yard (a long piece of plastic piping) and eats all kinds of sticks and leaves.

 

My favorite was "Whisper of the Heart." But then I am a bit of a romantic. It features the cat in statue form who is in the movie "The Cat Returns.":001_smile:

[Sparkle]

Big fans here, too. The girls just watched Ponyo at my niece's house and are begging me to get a copy of it. I really enjoyed Spirited Away and Kiki's Delivery Service.

[nmoira]

 

It's about the bombing during WWII and there is a lot of death and destruction.

And children left alone and homeless and worse in its wake.

[Guest Cindie2dds]

Thanks for showing us your Totoros. How adorable!

[Guest Cindie2dds]

 

My favorite was "Whisper of the Heart." But then I am a bit of a romantic. It features the cat in statue form who is in the movie "The Cat Returns.":001_smile:

 

Okay. Yet another one to try. :)

 

Thanks, Christy!

[nrg]

Grave of the Fireflies is the most moving, poignant, heart-wrenching movie I have ever seen.

[secular_mom]

The only one I didn't enjoy completely was Pom Poko- he was a write for it, though the parade is one

of my favorite movie scenes.

We will visit the Studio Ghibli Museum at some point in my lifetime. :)

My mom made all four kiddos a crocheted Totoro from a ravelry pattern. Our huge Christmas tree wouldn't fit in our current home, so we left the top off and put the Totoros up there for our tree topper. :)

[Guest Cindie2dds]

We will visit the Studio Ghibli Museum at some point in my lifetime. :)

My mom made all four kiddos a crocheted Totoro from a ravelry pattern. Our huge Christmas tree wouldn't fit in our current home, so we left the top off and put the Totoros up there for our tree topper. :)

 

I would love to visit the museum sometime.

 

What a great idea for the Christmas tree. I think we will have to try to make our own Totoro too!

[Punchie]

Yes! Spirited Away is what got me hooked. That and Howl's Moving Castle are my favorites (yay for Diana Wynne Jones!). ODD loves Kiki's Delivery Service and Ponyo.

[Geek]

More fans here. Spirited Away is my favourite but Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is a close second.

 

No one does animation better.

Nausicaa was such a favorite in my family of origin that my 33yo brother's first tattoo as a young adult was of Nausicaa. :D It's beautiful, about nine inches long on his inside forearm.

[GailV]

My mom made all four kiddos a crocheted Totoro from a ravelry pattern. Our huge Christmas tree wouldn't fit in our current home, so we left the top off and put the Totoros up there for our tree topper. :)

 

We've been on a Totoro binge here -- this month I've crocheted the chu Totoro that's on Ravelry, as well as a chibi Totoro, and a tiny little Totoro keychain. All patterns are from Ravelry, as I said, and we're thinking the keychain Totoros might be Christmas tree decorations/presents this year. My kids will get a kick out of the idea of a Totoro tree topper.

 

They're considering doing Totoro as their theme for Halloween (they perform a little number at each house they visit, so this is big deal to figure out what they're doing -- maybe sing the closing song, maybe re-enact the scene of making the seeds grow -- personally, I think they should chuck it all and do Naruto, which would be way simpler, but we'll see).

 

I sort of wanted to make these Totoro cream puffs for my birthday, but it's been too hot to bake. Also check out some of the other Studio Ghibli-inspired lunches on the site.

 

Up next: I just got some black yarn to make Jiji, the cat from Kiki's Delivery Service.

[BikeBookBread]

Love Love Love! My girls watched Ponyo and Totoro for the 7 day drive of our move from The Desert to Almost by the Atlantic.

 

PDG likes Spirited Away, but limits watching it as it sometimes gives her "the creeps". The Cat Returns is cute, too. They don't like Kiki for some reason. They didn't quite understand Howl's Moving Castle (yet) but I'm sure they will re-visit it when they are older.

[sagira]

Fans here too. Ds' favorite movie so far is My Neighbor Totoro. I think he's seen it ten times in all.

 

We've watched:

 

Spirited Away

The Cat Returns

Whisper of the Wind

Howl's Moving Castle

Ponyo

 

Dh and I watched Princess Mononoke together. We thought it was good, but obviously too intense for my tender-hearted ds (6). This is someone who just yesterday cried because Stilicho was executed unjustly and it's near the end of the Roman Empire.