Studio Ghibliis arguably the most recognizable name in anime. For decades, the titan of the industry has crafted and released films enjoyed by audiences of all ages, from coming-of-age stories to fantasy tales and even slow-burn dramas about mundane everyday living.Ghibli has painted the pictures of countless childhoods for people around the world, and, in turn, has gained itself a reputation as one of the most important animation studios on the planet.
Though their works are generally aimed at younger audiences,Studio Ghibli has always incorporated heavier themes into their films, allowing both children and adults to take something away while watching. This strategy has helped Ghibli to remain incredibly popular for the better part of 40 years, while shaping the worldviews of fans of all ages. Every one of their films offers something worthwhile to viewers, but some take deeper dives into a variety of real-world subjects.
Spirited Awayis the essential Studio Ghibli coming-of-age movie. Hayao Miyazaki’s first Academy Award-winning work and the highest-grossing Ghibli film of all-time,Spirited Awayfollows a girl named Chihiro who, when traveling with her parents to their new home,is transported to a fantasy world filled with witches, monsters, dragons, and other countless creatures. All the while, the girl is forced to mature and discover herself through her journey back to the real world.
Following a run of films from Hayao Miyazaki that were arguably more for adults than his intended child audience,Spirited Awayturns the fantasy elements to the max whiledelivering a masterfully crafted tale of self-discovery and the importance of family. Its themes may not be the most complex Ghibli has ever touched on, but it is their tightest and most effective delivery of those themes yet.
Kiki’s Delivery Service, likeSpirited Away, is one ofGhibli’s defining coming-of-age movies. Following Kiki, the teenage titular witch, who decides to leave home and find a new town in which to live,the 1989 film is one of the studio’s coziest ever created, and packs enough of Ghibli’s trademark vibe and aesthetic to satisfy any anime fan’s craving for the nostalgic look and feel of the era.
More importantly,Kiki’s Delivery Servicetouches on thestruggles of independence, loneliness, and the difficulties that come along with big aspirations. Kiki begins losing her magic when she runs into an artist named Ursula, who stresses the importance of rest and self-care in undoing what she believes to be a form of artist’s block.Kiki’s Delivery Serviceremains one of Ghibli’s most celebrated works nearly four decades since its release, and for good reason.
Legendary director Hayao Miyazaki has claimed that2023’sThe Boy and the Heronis his final film. Surprisingly, this isn’t the first time he’s made the claim that a movie would be his last,as 2013’sThe Wind Riseswas also supposed to be his swan song with Studio Ghibli. Nevertheless,The Boy and the Heronhas just a bit more of an auto-biographical “final” feel to it.
The protagonist, a boy named Mahito Maki,is supposed to represent Miyazaki’s own childhood, and is taken on a journey that touches on themes like grief, healing, creation, and, as expected from Miyazaki at this stage in his career, commentary on the relationship between humanity and nature.The Boy and the Heroncomes off as the final work of a creator still grappling with his own worthiness and the legacy he will leave behind.
My Neighbor Totoromay be Studio Ghibli’s most iconic film, seeing as the iconic monster has continued to serve as the studio’s mascot for decades. Unlike Ghibli’s many other coming-of-age stories,the film places a larger emphasis on the importance of imaginationand the methods that young children can resort to while coping with stressful situations, rather than following a protagonist who is forced to mature before their time.
My Neighbor Totorofollows sisters Satsuki and Mei, who move to a new home in the Japanese countryside in order to be closer to their mother, who is in the hospital dealing with an unnamed illness. Throughout the film, the titular Totoro, alongside other creatures, whisks the girls away and helps them deal with the fact that their mother is sick.My Neighbor Totorois a moving, but also incredibly fun fantasy classic.
Howl’s Moving Castleis the last in a line of Hayao Miyazaki moviesthat take on darker tones and subject matter, leaving much of Ghibli innocence behind. The film follows Sophie, who, after meeting the Witch of the Waste, is turned into an old woman, and finds her way to Howl’s titular castle in search of a cure to her curse.
The film was somewhat divisive on release,but has since achieved classic statusin the years that followed, and is celebrated for touching on themes like war and the gray areas between right and wrong. It isn’t all dark, as the movie also incorporates elements of romance and found family, but it certainly stands out in Studio Ghibli’s catalogfor its willingness to convey some darker themes.
The Tale of Princess Kaguya, upon release, was the most expensive Studio Ghibli film ever created,and is still the most unique visually in their catalog. Based on the 10th-century Japanese literary tale,The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, the film follows a young girl who was discovered inside a glowing bamboo shoot by a bamboo cutter. He believes her to be a divine princess, and, along with his wife, raises her and later calls her Princess Kaguya.
The Tale of Princess Kaguyais an incredibly emotional experience that touches onthemes of feminism, struggles with tradition, and more. There aren’t many films with the Studio Ghibli name attachedthat can be considered underrated, thoughThe Tale of Princess Kaguyalikely doesn’t get the recognition it deserves as one of the studio’s all-time great works.
Another one of Studio Ghibli’s films that doesn’t exactly get the sort of praise as others,Porco Rossois the first of Hayao Miyazaki’s films that may or may not be meant for the audience the director intended to target. Miyazaki has shared that he has a somewhat difficult relationship withPorco Rosso,expressing that he felt he made the movie for himself rather than for children.
Following the Italian fighter pilot Marco, or Porco has he came to be known, who was cursed to have the head of a pig,Porco Rossotouches on the senselessness of war and loss of life,as well as guilt and people’s unfair treatment of themselves when harboring it. The now-famous line, “I’d rather be a pig than a fascist”, originates from the film, and illustrates that Miyazaki might have strayed from his goal of making movies for younger audiences.
As Hayao Miyazaki’s original farewell film,The Wind Risescarries a similar semi-autobiographical tone asThe Boy and the Heron,but instead uses the real-life Jiro Horikoshi in the role of protagonist, often as a stand-in for Miyazaki himself. Through Horikoshi’s aspirations to build airplanes used as tools of destruction in war, the film explores dreams, the difficulties and cost of pursuing them, and the moral dilemma that those dreams may be used for the wrong purpose.
Horikoshi’s fictionalized story covers many of the difficulties faced by artists in the pursuit of creating something worthwhile, and to drive the point home even further,Hideaki Anno, the creator ofEvangelion, voices the protagonist. Despite Miyazaki’s stated purpose of creating films for children,The Wind Risesis another work that may be better understood by an older audience.
If there was one film in the Studio Ghibli catalog that nearly all fans would point to as not quite belonging,it would be 1988’sGrave of the Fireflies. Directed by Isao Takahata, the film follows brother and sister Seita and Setsukothrough a Japan ravaged by the later stages of World War II. After the siblings lose their mother in a bombing raid, they’re forced to find shelter elsewhere, first with their aunt, and later on their own.
Grave of the Firefliesis one of the most devastating animated films ever created, and it doesn’t ever hold back its depictions of the brutality of war. Violence and disturbing content in anime are one thing, but that completely changes when children become involved. The film is a harrowing look at what happens to innocent bystanders who have no choice but to become swept up in a war they never asked to fight.
Hayao Miyazaki set out to right his perceived wrong of creatingPorco Rossofor an audience he never intended to target, and came back withPrincess Mononoke, a film that is arguably even less suitable for younger viewers. Following Ashitaka, who becomes infected by a curse after killing a demon,Princess Mononokefollows the young princeas he becomes swept up in a war between humans and nature.
The film explores themes of greed, the dangers of hatred, the relationship between humanity and nature, industrialization, and more centered around environmental topics. For a Ghibli work, the film is quite brutal in its depictions of violence, andHayao Miyazaki once revealedthat he felt children probably shouldn’t watch it, only to be surprisedthat his younger audience understood the film better than adults did. While Ghibli has always explored deeper subjects, none do so quite to the extent thatPrincess Mononokedoes.
