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Studio Ghibli films

Pegs

By Pegs,
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OneStepAtATime

OneStepAtATime

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Howl's Moving Castle is our number one.  We all love it.  

 

Others that we have loved:

Kiki's Delivery Service

Castle in the Sky

My Neighbor Totoro

Ponyo

Spirited Away

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

Porko Roso

Whisper of the Heart

The Cat Returns

Up on Poppy Hill

When Marnie was There

The Tale of Princess Kaguya

 

We also love Princess Mononoke but it is really pretty violent and there is some gore.

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Tangerine

Tangerine

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Howl’s Moving Castle is the most beloved here. Lots of the others listed. Just so you know, there’s a Studio Ghibli theatre tour going on right now. We just went. Also, we love the book Ronia the Robber’s Daughter, and enjoyed the Amazon series adaptation.

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Word Nerd

Word Nerd

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Howl’s Moving Castle is the most beloved here. Lots of the others listed. Just so you know, there’s a Studio Ghibli theatre tour going on right now. We just went. Also, we love the book Ronia the Robber’s Daughter, and enjoyed the Amazon series adaptation.

I forgot about that one. DD loved it.

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Lori D.

Lori D.

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I'd get the Studio Ghibli DVD collection. :)

 

If that's not an option, then I'd suggest starting off with these top 5 films, in this order:

1. Totoro

2. Spirited Away

3. Kiki's Delivery Service (maybe move this to #1 if you have no experience with Studio Ghibli/Miyasaki films)

4. Howl's Moving Castle

5. Castle in the Sky (Laputa)

 

Two recent Ghibili films that are a bit closer to Disney-like films:

- Ponyo

- Secret World of Arrietty

 

For an older, non-sensitive child (say, 11+) you could then branch into Princess Mononoke and Nausicaa. (They are a bit heavier with more violence and the environmental concerns of Miyasaki.)

Edited by Lori D.
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ILiveInFlipFlops

ILiveInFlipFlops

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I'd get the Studio Ghibli DVD collection. :)

 

If that's not an option, then I'd suggest starting off with these top 5 films, in this order:

1. Totoro

2. Spirited Away

3. Kiki's Delivery Service (maybe move this to #1 if you have no experience with Studio Ghibli/Miyasaki films)

4. Howl's Moving Castle

5. Castle in the Sky

 

Two recent Ghibili films that are a bit closer to Disney-like films:

- Ponyo

- Secret World of Arrietty

 

For an older child (say, 11+) you could then branch into Princess Mononoke and Nausicaa. (They are a bit heavier with more violence and the environmental concerns of Miyasaki.)

 

 

I agree with Lori. We are HUGE Studio Ghibli fans here, and Spirited Away is my personal favorite--there's so much beauty and detail in that movie, I see new things every time we watch it (and I've probably seen it 7-8 times by now). Howl's Moving Castle and Totoro are very close seconds--beautiful beautiful beautiful! But all of those five would be great for a not-terribly-sensitive 11-year-old. They do have some intensity in them, if she's sensitive to that. IMO, there's nothing scary, and neither my sensitive kid nor my horror movie watcher (!) were bothered by any Studio Ghibli movies at that age, and even younger.

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Pegs

Pegs

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These are not Disney films, though. Pegs, have you seen any of them? My mother doesn't understand them. Most of them sort of creep her out. She does better with Mickey Mouse and Cinderella. We love them but they CAN be a bit weird. LOL.

 

And avoid Pom Poko. Wow. Blech. Never again. :lol:

I've seen most of the movies listed, yes. (Including Pom Poko! :lol: )

 

My young friend likes Pixar and the like, but I think she'd really love some Studio Ghibli. She's pretty open-minded.

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Pegs

Pegs

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Howl’s Moving Castle is the most beloved here. Lots of the others listed. Just so you know, there’s a Studio Ghibli theatre tour going on right now. We just went. Also, we love the book Ronia the Robber’s Daughter, and enjoyed the Amazon series adaptation.

Thanks. We're in Australia, and they don't seem to be running the festival here.

 

Which film did you see? Was the big screen and surround sound a treat?

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LMD

LMD

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Grave of the fireflies is not for children, in my opinion, it's haunting.

 

A lot of my favourites have been mentioned. My kids love Howl, Ponyo and Totoro the best. We also love Spirited Away, Nausicaa, Mononoke, Laputa.

 

One I don't think I saw mentioned was Tales from Earthsea based on Le Guin's novel...

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mathnerd

mathnerd

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Ranked by my DS:

My neighbor Totoro (was our top favorite)

Kiki's Delivery Service
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

Castle in the Sky

Mononoke
Ponyo
Spirited Away

The Tale of Princess Kaguya

The Cat Returns
 

I was not very impressed with:

When Marnie was There

Porko Roso

Up on Poppy Hill

 

DS did not like Howl's Moving Castle when he was younger, though I liked it. I recommend that you get the book and ask your DD to read it before watching the movie.
 

 

If she is into music, there are a lot of sheet music of these movies available that she might like playing.

Edited by mathnerd
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Pegs

Pegs

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DS did not like Howl's Moving Castle when he was younger, though I liked it. I recommend that you get the book and ask your DD to read it before watching the movie.

 

 

If she is into music, there are a lot of sheet music of these movies available that she might like playing.

Thanks. She's not my own DD, just a very special young friend, and the daughter of another WTMer. :) I'll get her the book to read first. I haven't read it myself.

 

And yes, she is very into music. I hadn't thought of sheet music, but that's a great idea! Thanks so much.

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Lori D.

Lori D.

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...DS did not like Howl's Moving Castle when he was younger, though I liked it. I recommend that you get the book and ask your DD to read it before watching the movie...

 

 I'll get her the book to read first. I haven't read it myself...

 

FYI -- re: Howl's Moving Castle -- I've read the book and seen the movie, and in my opinion, they are different enough in story and are definitely VERY different in feel, that reading the book is not really much of a help to prep for the movie, or a good indicator if you might like the movie. Same with The Secret of Arrietty, which is based on the book The Borrowers, and even more extremely so with Ponyo, which is extremely loosely based on the idea of the fairy tale of The Little Mermaid. The Japanese movies are SO their own thing. JMO.  :)

Edited by Lori D.
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xixstar

xixstar

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“Grave of the Fireflies†is also a masterpiece, but I’d save it for high school and war studies. It’s one of the few movies I’ve bawled my eyes out over. “The Wind Rises†is our new favorite of the newer releases, but again, not sure if your daughter would love it.

 

I was almost coming back to chime in to not watch this one. I think it was a well done, but so depressing - which is fine when you're expecting it, we were not. We were all just in the Studio Ghibli love bubble and watched it. 

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eternalsummer

eternalsummer

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I'd say Totoro (imo one of the best small kids' movies of all time, maybe the best), then Kiki, then Arietty (a very quiet, gentle movie imo - but get the American dub, the British dub is terrible), then Ponyo.

 

That said, though, the kids and I really liked watching some of the more obscure ones - we watched The Wind Rises (the kids were 2, 4, 7, and 10 at the time) and it went over well.

 

eta: we have also seen every single one except grave of the fireflies.

 

I also really liked Ronja on Amazon but DH didn't.  

 

 

Something you might also consider is Song of the Sea - not Ghibli but similarly non-adult, non-snark, non-modern (if that makes sense, even though Ghibli can be modern).  

Edited by eternalsummer
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Tangerine

Tangerine

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Thanks. We're in Australia, and they don't seem to be running the festival here.

 

Which film did you see? Was the big screen and surround sound a treat?

 

Well, darn.  I sent my DH with the 3 older kids.  They had a great time.  They saw Howl's Moving Castle, just because it was my daughter's favorite, and it was playing a few weeks after her birthday.  So we kept it a surprise.  Unfortunately leading up, she kept asking to watch the movie (which we don't own, we'd have rent), and I kept trying to put her off until the trip.

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ILiveInFlipFlops

ILiveInFlipFlops

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Well, darn.  I sent my DH with the 3 older kids.  They had a great time.  They saw Howl's Moving Castle, just because it was my daughter's favorite, and it was playing a few weeks after her birthday.  So we kept it a surprise.  Unfortunately leading up, she kept asking to watch the movie (which we don't own, we'd have rent), and I kept trying to put her off until the trip.

 

We just saw Howl in the theater as well. Actually, we saw all but Nausicaa (though DD saw it) and Kiki, because the theater had a problem for Kiki and it wouldn't show. 

 

It was really wonderful to see the on the big screen. I'd seen Spirited Away before but not the others. Definitely worth the money and time!

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Lori D.

Lori D.

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Watching Nausica again today as a family thanks to this thread. LOL.

 

:thumbup:

 

Our local independent movie theater shows "cult classic" series, and once a week for the past month has been showing anime favorites. I just went and saw Spirited Away for about the 12th time, finally on the big screen, and a few weeks ago, got to see Princess Mononoke for the first time, on the big screen. Magical! :)

 

 

We also recently watched The Wind Rises at home. Stunningly beautiful -- subtle, complex, like visual poetry. It's very different story-wise from anything else I've seen by Studio Ghibli/Miyazaki -- more adult and meditative. The imagination/creating moments or dream moments in the film capture so many of the images and emotions of past films, but flow so seamlessly into the realistic world of following the real life character. Perfection! :) 

 

 

 

From this list of Studio Ghibli films, I've seen 15 of their 20 feature films. (They also have a number of shorts and TV shows, none of which I've seen.) I've seen 11 of the 12 feature films directed by Miyazaki (most were done with Studio Ghibli, but not all). Miyazaki also has directed a number of shorts and some TV series. I find that the more I watch, the more I see the repetitions and variations on visual images and themes in the films, which adds so much resonance to the viewing -- and re-viewing. :)

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Lori D.

Lori D.

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Does anyone know why the box set linked above is so much cheaper than the ones on Amazon? I wouldn’t want to inadvertently buy a pirated collection.

 

Just a guess:

1. used, not new

2. DVD, not BluRay

3. older collection, so does not contain quite as many films, and does not have the most recent films

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OneStepAtATime

OneStepAtATime

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:thumbup:

 

Our local independent movie theater shows "cult classic" series, and once a week for the past month has been showing anime favorites. I just went and saw Spirited Away for about the 12th time, finally on the big screen, and a few weeks ago, got to see Princess Mononoke for the first time, on the big screen. Magical! :)

 

 

We also recently watched The Wind Rises at home. Stunningly beautiful -- subtle, complex, like visual poetry. It's very different story-wise from anything else I've seen by Studio Ghibli/Miyazaki -- more adult and meditative. The imagination/creating moments or dream moments in the film capture so many of the images and emotions of past films, but flow so seamlessly into the realistic world of following the real life character. Perfection! :)

 

 

 

From this list of Studio Ghibli films, I've seen 15 of their 20 feature films. (They also have a number of shorts and TV shows, none of which I've seen.) I've seen 11 of the 12 feature films directed by Miyazaki (most were done with Studio Ghibli, but not all). Miyazaki also has directed a number of shorts and some TV series. I find that the more I watch, the more I see the repetitions and variations on visual images and themes in the films, which adds so much resonance to the viewing -- and re-viewing. :)

We've talked about seeing them in the theater.  DS and DD don't really like theaters anymore, though, so we haven't.  Maybe DH and I will go on a date.  LOL

 

I agree, the Wind Rises was very different from others of the Studio Ghibli set.  Beautiful and more meditative and just overall a bit different from the other movies.  We definitely enjoyed it but I don't know that the kids would have liked it when they were younger.  

 

One that is also very different but DD has loved is The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, based on The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, a Japanese 10th century fictional prose narrative.  She found the visuals and the story so compelling it launched her into an independent study she is doing regarding Japanese history/culture/art.  In fact, for her Saturday morning free time last weekend she binge watched a multipart/multihour documentary on historical Japan for "fun" while sketching Japanese inspired images.

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OneStepAtATime

OneStepAtATime

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The same filmmaker/illustrator made The Secret of Kells, which we also enjoyed. Gorgeous visuals.

Oh yes, Song of the Sea and the Secret of Kells were also very popular here.  Definitely.  I had forgotten about both of those.  :)

 

O.k. now if DH can just get our DVD player working (apparently the cat broke it so we are still not able to watch Nausica like we had planned) we may have to have a marathon.   :laugh:

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Lori D.

Lori D.

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The same filmmaker/illustrator made The Secret of Kells, which we also enjoyed. Gorgeous visuals.

 

Love Kells and Song of the Sea!

 

We just saw their newest film, The Breadwinner at the theater. It's beautiful and powerful. Not for kids !! -- but a must-see for teens/adults, IMO. I don't think I've ever seen such a difficult and harsh topic handled with such delicacy -- they could address this topic *because* of the animation.

Edited by Lori D.
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Penguin

Penguin

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I am also wondering about the cost of the ebay collection. Some of the reviews mentioned not-so-great quality.

 

I feel a bit stupid admitting that I have not watched any of these, even though I profess to love animation. I have been interested in them, but somehow just never got to them. So now I have decided to watch all of them, lol.

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ILiveInFlipFlops

ILiveInFlipFlops

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I am also wondering about the cost of the ebay collection. Some of the reviews mentioned not-so-great quality.

 

I feel a bit stupid admitting that I have not watched any of these, even though I profess to love animation. I have been interested in them, but somehow just never got to them. So now I have decided to watch all of them, lol.

 

Do it!!! You'll love them. 

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OneStepAtATime

OneStepAtATime

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Don't miss The Wind Rises.  There's no magic or spirits or changelings or anything like that, it's more true life, a beautiful love story between a pilot and a girl with a chronic illness.  My dh loves it (he's getting it for Christmas).

I agree this is a good movie and it is not fantasy or anything like that so a bit different from a lot of the other Studio Ghibli movies.  Actually, it is more than a love story, too.  It is a beautifully done historical drama, basically a fictionalized biopic, and might tie in well with a WWII study.

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Suzanne in ABQ

Suzanne in ABQ

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I agree this is a good movie and it is not fantasy or anything like that so a bit different from a lot of the other Studio Ghibli movies.  Actually, it is more than a love story, too.  It is a beautifully done historical drama, basically a fictionalized biopic, and might tie in well with a WWII study.

 

Thanks.  It's been a couple years since the one time I saw it, so can't remember the details.  I just know we loved it, and the historical aspects, along with the flying, explain why my dh liked it so much.  I'm looking forward to seeing it again.

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chocolate-chip chooky

chocolate-chip chooky

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My daughter is the recipient of this generous gift from Pegs.

 

A huge, huge thank you to everyone who helped and a MASSIVE thank you to Pegs for such an amazing gift for my daughter. 

She was absolutely thrilled to get the package of DVDs and she and her older sister immediately sat down to watch Totoro together.

 

Pegs, you're amazing and ever so generous.

 

*thank you*  :001_wub:

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ILiveInFlipFlops

ILiveInFlipFlops

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My daughter is the recipient of this generous gift from Pegs.

 

A huge, huge thank you to everyone who helped and a MASSIVE thank you to Pegs for such an amazing gift for my daughter. 

She was absolutely thrilled to get the package of DVDs and she and her older sister immediately sat down to watch Totoro together.

 

Pegs, you're amazing and ever so generous.

 

*thank you*  :001_wub:

 

I love this! What a wonderful gift. I hope your daughter enjoys the selections.

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