Favorite Studio Ghibli Movie

Kiki’s Delivery Service

Olivia Chen

Haven’t seen this movie in years, but it was a favorite of mine and my sister growing up. I remember being mesmerized by Kiki’s dress and how it looked when she was flying for some reason. 

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Grave of the Fireflies

Lauren Hardie

This was one of the first animated films I watched as an adult — you know that time in your life when you realize that animated films are just as much for adults as they are for kids and they’re filled with innuendo, life lessons, or allegories? I spent the whole hour and a half bawling. I have an older brother and our mum always told us that we had to look out for each other, so there really wasn’t a part of this film that didn’t make me think of him. 

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Spirited Away

Autumn Henry

I was twenty years old when this film opened, and I immediately vowed that anyone who would claim to know and love me would love Spirited Away. I cannot wait to share it’s mesmerizing wonder, terror and dreamy ride with my daughter.

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Spirited Away

Rebecca Lee Lerman

A 10-year-old girl, Chihiro, finds herself trapped in the spirit world and her parents have been turned into pigs! She must find a way to set herself and her family free. Her journey introduces creatures and shapeshifters beyond our wildest imagination. It is a lush visual feast. It really is what dreams are made of: magical, nightmarish, and delightfully unpredictable. I was completely enthralled. It outgrossed Titanic, so I’m sure everyone has seen it, but if you are one of the few who hasn’t, watch it today!

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My Neighbor Totoro 

Nathan Liu

Totoro was the first Miyazaki film I ever saw. It got me interested in anime to begin with. And as I got older, I found themes in it, such as fear of losing loved ones, resentment, and jealousy that I could really appreciate. 

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Spirited Away

Matt Park

If you haven’t seen it, watch it. It’s even better if you’re high. The part where Chihiro’s parents gorge themselves on dumplings and then turn into pigs is hilarious and frightening.

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The Castle of Cagliostro

Gen Parton Shin

Not quite Ghibli but it was the last movie Hayao Miyazaki directed before he became head of Ghibli Studios. It’s about a Phantom Thief named Lupin III, who’s steals not only with style, but with heart. Or wait... maybe it’s the hearts that he steals that gives him the style. 

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My Neighbor Totoro

Melissa Slaughter

When I was a kid in the ‘90s before there were TVs already in cars, my dad would create a tiny DVD and VCR setup before road trips. The two VHS tapes my brother and I always chose to watch were Kiki’s Delivery Service (his pick) and My Neighbor Totoro (my pick). Something about the fantastical idea that a giant furry squishy band of creatures could enter my life and whisk me away on a cat bus was very appealing to elementary-age me. That interest in the fantastical and fun has stayed with me, and I’m sure that is largely due to the influence of the kind woodland creatures in Totoro.

Also, the theory that Totoro is actually an allegory for death wrecked me. Please read if you’re interested in this bizarre conspiracy, read here.

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From Up on Poppy Hill

Sam Tanabe

I love the fantasy and ingenuity of Spirited Away, but there is something so calming to me about From Up on Poppy Hill. I often fantasize the idea of a simple, structured life in a seaside Japanese city. Umi is set in her routine of caring for her sister, running the boarding house, and going to school, but when she is tasked with helping save the school’s clubhouse, it gives her new direction. Umi’s conventional life shifts through a trip to Tokyo, a foray into love, and a discovery about her father’s past. From Up on Poppy Hill is full of pure, innocent Japanese vibes that wind up getting me every time, in true Ghibli fashion.

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