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Studio Ghibli Movies
| Kaze no Tani no Naushika (a.k.a. Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind) Originally released in 1984, 116 minutes long.
A thousand years after a global war, a seaside kingdom known as the Valley of the Wind remains one of only a few areas still populated. Led by the courageous Princess Nausicaä, the people of the Valley are engaged in a constant struggle with powerful insects called ohmu, who guard a poisonous jungle that is spreading across the Earth. Nausicaä and her brave companions, together with the people of the Valley, strive to restore the bond between humanity and the Earth. |  | Tenkuu no Shiro Lapyuta (a.k.a. Laputa: Castle in the Sky) Originally released in 1986, 124 minutes long.
Pazu is a young boy with a life's dream: to seek and find the legendary floating island of Laputa, hidden somewhere in the clouds. Legends tell of its vast, hidden treasures as well as its closely guarded secrets. His father once photographed it once by chance. No one believed him, though, and Pazu's father died a poor, desolate man.
One day, Pazu's dreams look close to becoming fulfilled when a young girl named Sheeta mysteriously floats down to earth from the sky, unconcious and wearing a mysterious pendant. The pendant is a relic of Laputa, and has been in Sheeta's family for generations.
The two become fast friends and decide to seek the island of Laputa to fulfill Pazu's dream and to learn more of Sheeta's clouded heritage. At the same time, other parties also seek Laputa and the pendant worn by Sheeta: the Dola pirate clan, for starters, not to mention the government, including the ambitious agent Muska... |  | Tonari no Totoro (a.k.a. My Neighbor Totoro) Originally released in 1988, 86 minutes long.
Dr. Kusakabe and his two daughters, Satsuki and Mei, move out to a new house in the countryside. Moving into the large house is an adventure and a thrill for the young duo, who are still innocent and unjaded enough to still notice sprites and fairies living inside the woodwork and the nearby forest.
To their delight, they discover that their new neighbor is a mysterious forest spirit called Totoro, who can be seen only through the eyes of a child. Totoro introduces them to extraordinary characters and takes them on an incredible journey. |   | Hotaru no Haka (a.k.a. Grave of the Fireflies) Originally released in 1988, 88 minutes long. Based on the partially-autobiographical book of the same title by
Akiyuki Nosaka.
It is post-war Japan, just weeks before American troops arrive for occupation. In city of Kobe, a boy lies dying in a train station. By his body lies a small metal candy container. A janitor, not sure what to make of its ashy contents, pitches it into the night. As fireflies float softly around it, the ghostly figures of the boy and his little sister emerge...
Flashback to a short time earlier. Orphaned and homeless from a fire-bomb attack on their city, 14-year-old Seita and his 4-year-old sister Setsuko set out to survive on their own in the face of a society no longer able to help them. Forced into living in an abandoned bomb shelter in the Japanese countryside, they slowly come to realize that they cannot escape the hardships of war or even find enough food on which to survive...
There is also a Japanese live-action movie with the same name, released in 2005. |  | Majou no Takkyuubin (a.k.a. Kiki's Delivery Service) Originally released in 1989, 102 minutes long.
Kiki is thirteen years old, right at the age when a young witch in training is supposed to travel to another city and strike out for herself. It's a real test of responsibility and independence, and if Kiki can handle it for a year, she'll be ready to undergo the rest of her education.
So, with only a little money, her pet cat / confidante Jiji, and her mother's broom, Kiki makes her way to a big city by the sea, where witches haven't been seen for years and the demand for them isn't exactly great. Being resourceful, Kiki starts the kind of business most suitable for a witch who can fly on a broom: an airborne package delivery service. As her fledgling business becomes more and more successful, she meets various friends who each teach her about independence, inspiration, and what to do on days when both seem to vanish. |
 | Omohide Poro Poro (a.k.a. Only Yesterday) Originally released in 1991, 118 minutes long.
Okajima Taeko, a 27-year-old career woman, has never really felt that she fit in with everyone else. All her life, she's felt that something was missing, although she could never really figure out just what it was. Tired and bored with her current lifestyle, Taeko decides to take a ten-day vacation to her sister's husband's relatives' farm to help out with the safflower harvest.
Recollections of events during her 5th grade year begin to resurface in Taeko's memory as she makes her trip and also while she helps with the harvest. As she remembers more and more, Taeko begins to come to a realization of what she has become as a result of some philosophies she first adopted in fifth grade -- and eventually is faced with an important decision concerning what she can do to change. |  | Kurenai no Buta (a.k.a. Porco Rosso) Originally released in 1992, 93 minutes long.
The setting is 1920's Italy, just after World War I, and the skies are ruled by daring sea-plane pilots of all sorts -- soldiers, bounty hunters, and pirates, all who after a hard day's work convene at Gina's island café to kick back, relax, and hear the lovely Gina sing. An unwritten truce between all men, no matter what vocation, is always in effect at Gina's.
When ''Porco'' -- whose face has been transformed into that of a pig by a mysterious spell -- infuriates a band of sky pirates with his aerial heroics, the pirates hire Curtis, a rival pilot, to ''get rid'' of him. On the ground, the two pilots compete for the affections of the beautiful Gina. But it is in the air where the true battles are waged. Will our hero be victorious? |
 | | Umi ga Kikoeru (a.k.a. Ocean Waves) Originally released in 1993, 72 minutes long.
Morisaki Taku, now a student in college, has never quite shaken from his head the memories he has of his life in middle and high school. Back then, he was best friends with Matsuno Yutaka, the student body president, and enjoyed a relatively quiet life in his small home town of Kochi. One day, though, a new student is transfered to Morisaki and Yutaka's school: Muto Rikako, a Tokyo city girl.
Yutaka took quite a liking to Muto, and since Morisaki was his best friend, he found himself compelled to be nice to her as well. But after a class trip to Hawaii and another incident involving Muto that happened after that, things became a bit ... complicated between Morisaki and Yutaka. Sitting a plane flying back home now, Morisaki has to ask himself: what price friendship? |  | Heisei Tanuki Gassen Ponpoko (a.k.a. Pom Poko) Originally released in 1994, 118 minutes long.
The Raccoons of the Tama Hills are being forced from their homes by the rapid development of houses and shopping malls. As it becomes harder to find food and shelter, they decide to band together and fight back. The Raccoons practice and perfect the ancient art of transformation until they are even able to appear as humans. In often hilarious ways, the Raccoons use their powers to try to scare off the advancement of civilization. But will it be enough? Or will the Raccoons learn how to live in balance with the modern world? |
 | Mimi wo Sumaseba (a.k.a. Whisper of the Heart) Originally released in 1995, 111 minutes long.
Tsukishima Shizuku is the kind of 14-year-old girl you might expect to run into anywhere in Japan. School and helping out with chores around the house are her biggest concerns during the day; in her free time, she enjoys hanging out with her best friend Yuuko, reading lots of books, and occasionally trying a little writing.
One evening, she notices that all the books she checks out from the library have been read before by someone named Amasawa Seiji, which eventually leads to the start of a rather serendipitous friendship with an antique shop owner and his grandson. Shizuku is inspired to try and make something of herself as well, but also begins to question her pathway in life at an age where everything already seems uncertain and scary. Now, she finds herself struggling with questions of her talent, future, self-worth, and maybe love? |  | On Your Mark Originally released in 1995, 7 minutes long. This is a long music video for the Japanese pop artists Chage & Aska for the song "On your mark."
Upon raiding what appears to be a religious cult, the Saint Nova's Church, two police officers (Chage & Aska) find a girl with a rather angelic appearance lying tied and unconscious in an alley. As she is then taken to what looks like a lab of sorts, the two make plans to rescue her and set her free. |
 | Mononoke Hime (a.k.a. Princess Mononoke) Originally released in 1997, 133 minutes long.
Depicting a mystical battle between Animal Gods of the forest and humans during Japan's Muromachi Period, young Ashitaka receives a fatal infection after a demonic wild boar attacks his northern village. Seeking a cure, he sets out to locate the deer-like god Shishigami. Along the way, he sees the rape of the Earth by a mining village. The constant plundering by the village has brought the wrath of the Wolf God, Moro, who attacks the village along with San, a human who was raised by the wolf god. She communicates with the nature spirits -- which is why she is called Princess Mononoke ("spirits of things"). Ashitaka wants these opposing forces to co-exist, and he hopes to bring peace between San and the ironworks owner, Lady Eboshi. However, he is thwarted as higher powers, intent on killing the Shishigama, intrude, and a battle erupts over the future of all nature. |  | Houhokekyo Tonari no Yamada-kun (a.k.a. My Neighbors the Yamadas) Originally released in 1999, 104 minutes long, based on a very popular comic strip.
The Yamada family consists of laid-back, rice cracker-addicted mother Matsuko; the bland businessman father Takashi, who has illusions of machismo; the fearless, acid-tongued grandmother Shige; the slacker teenaged son Noboru; the younger sister Nonoko, who has a freakishly voracious appetite; and Pochi, the misanthropic family dog. During the film, the Yamadas wrestle for control of the TV remote and they deal with a band of bikers who have invaded the neighborhood, while Takashi has fantasies about being born into a more interesting family. |
 | Ghiblies Originally released in 2000, 20 minutes long. Episode 2 was released in 2002 and is 25 minutes long.
The magnified life of the employees of Studio Ghibli and the workings of the studio itself. Each character in the anime corresponds to a real-life person. |  | Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (a.k.a. Spirited Away) Originally released in 2001, 124 minutes long.
While on their way to their new home in a country town, Chihiro and her parents get sidetracked and discover a mysterious tunnel that leads to what appears to be an old, but fabricated Japanese village. But this isn't an ordinary village at all — it adjoins a bathhouse for magical spirits — who are none too happy to find humans among them. Chihiro's parents fall under a spell, and Chihiro herself must work under the bathhouse's manager, an intimidating, greedy old witch named Yuubaba who binds her with a contract and steals her name, renaming her Sen. With the help of various otherworldly employees, including the young man Haku, she must find a way to undo the spell on her parents and return home to the human world before she loses her identity forever. |  | Neko no Ongaeshi (a.k.a. The Cat Returns) Originally released in 2002, 75 minutes long.
Haru, a schoolgirl bored by her ordinary routine, saves the life of an unusual cat, and suddenly her world is transformed beyond anything she ever imagined. The Cat King rewards her good deed with a flurry of presents, including a very shocking proposal of marriage to his son! Haru embarks on an unexpected journey to the Kingdom of Cats where her eyes are opened to a whole other world and her destiny is uncertain. To change her fate, she'll need to learn to believe in herself and appreciate her everyday life. |
 | Howl no Ugoku Shiro (a.k.a. Howl's Moving Castle) Originally released in 2004, 118 minutes long.
Sophie, a quiet girl working in a hat shop, finds her life thrown into turmoil when she is literally swept off her feet by a handsome but flamboyant and mysterious wizard named Howl. The vain and vengeful Witch of the Waste, jealous of their friendship, puts a spell on Sophie that turns her into an old woman. The next day, to avoid her family from noticing what happened to her, Sophie decides to leave town, eventually ending up in a castle that literally moves. She befriends the fire demon Calcifer, who promises to lift the curse if she helps liberate him from the influence of Howl, and Markl, who protects the four-way door which can instantly take visitors to other lands and dimensions. |  | Gedo Senki (a.k.a. Tales from Earthsea) Originally released in 2006, 110 minutes long.
Ged was on a journey, searching for the source causing evil disturbances to the world. Ged — once an impetuous and arrogant goatherd boy — is now a mature man, called by others as "Lord Archmage", the greatest of wizards. During his travels, he meets Arren, Prince of Enlad. The youth was being pursued by a "shadow". The disastrous force destroying the world's balance and driving people mad was nearing Arren as well.
The two in their quest, seek refuge in Tenar's place, an old acquaintance of Ged. Tenar was once a priestess that guarded the dark Tombs of Atuan when she was a girl. When Ged recovered the broken Ring of Erreth-Akbe from the Tomb, she was brought out to the world of freedom and light by him. Also living in Tenar's house was Therru, a girl whose face was marked with a scar of fire. Therru who had been abandoned by her parents, avoids Arren who holds darkness within and occasionally devastated with despair. Arren spends his days laboring in the fields and interacting with nature, taught and guided by Ged how all creation in the universe is realized on a balance. Therru gradually opens her heart to Arren. Yet even during this time, Arren's fear toward the shadow grows severe and he is troubled by nightmares of being chased by the shadow. |
 | Gake no ue no Ponyo (a.k.a. Ponyo On A Cliff) Has not been released yet, scheduled to be released in 2008.
Story about a 5 year old boy Sosuke and the princess goldfish Ponyo who wants to become human. |  |
The two main paople at Studio Ghibli are Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata. Both made movies before starting Studio Ghibli, but this page will just focus on their Studio Ghibli movies (although, technically, Nausicaä is a pre-Ghibli movie). (For lots of great info, check out Nausicca.net, a great site with LOTS more information, including info on many animations that weren't mentioned here.) The official Studio Ghibli site is also awesome, but is completely in Japanese.
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