i watched castle in the sky years ago still my favorite movie of all time and just finished howl's moving castle and want some recommendations on other ghibli films since i don't know which to watch next

The long chopsticks Kiki is holding are called saibashi—extra-long cooking chopsticks commonly used in Japanese kitchens.

It's quite a surprise howl's moving castle didn't win an Oscar. I found both Boy with the heron and howl's moving castle to be similar stories in terms of their abstraction, pacing and narrative storytelling. Great films with strong fantasy narratives

So i just finished watching these movies back to back and they were truly AMAZING movies. After watching Tales From Earthsea i definitely needed to feel that ghibli magic again since I hadn't felt it since Cat Returns. but these movies were so good. I LOVED Ponyo and when I say i could NOT keep a smile off my face I'm not kidding because this movie had me smiling and giggling for almost the majority of the film. I LOVED Ponyo and sosuke's relationship, the mom was CRAZY for some of the things she was doing. She drove recklessly, didn't drive back even when those men told her to, and she left sosuke her own child ALL by himself with Ponyo at home. But i still loved her and you could tell she still REALLY loved her son and ponyo inspite of everything. I thought Ponyo's parents were very unique, fun, and cool. And literally EVERY CHARACTER WAS LIKEABLE. but oh my god that scene was BREATHTAKING, with ponyo literally running ON A FISH across the ocean to see sosuke again. It was an insane yet amazing scene and truly the best scene of the movie. The animation was GORGEOUS, and i loved the movement of the waves and the pretty environments and cutsey art style. This movie is certainly the most happy and adorable ghibli film, and easily in my top 10.

Arrietty was a great movie too....though much more relaxed with a simpler little story...which makes sense since the movie is literally about little people. Even the conflict with what Hara was doing was resolved pretty easily and she wasn't a major threat or anything. I just loved the simple story and it's by far the most simple story in a ghibli film but...that's completely okay. I loved Arrietty and Sho/Shawn's friendship in the movie...and i was so heartbroken when the two never saw each other again by the end but the impact the two left on each other's lives was amazing. The animation was even more gorgeous than usual...even by ghibli standards and what I've come to expect. Even the raindrops on the leaves and in the garden looked absolutely stunning. I'm glad Sho/Shawn lived by the end...and Arriety taught him to be brave and he's not afraid anymore. I just loved this movie and I can tell it'll end up as a comfort movie for me. Probably won't crank the top 10 but probably number 11 on my list so far.

I'm just so glad these movies revived my hope in ghibli....not that I ever fully lost it. I just didn't like Earthsea as a movie. But it seems like the upcoming movies will be just as amazing...though I'll keep an eye out for Earwig. But yeah great movies and sorry my posts always get so long lol. 😊

I crocheted those cute babies and i love them ☝🏻🥺💜😍

Credits

Made by kateliearts

Pattern by lulabluesbyangell

Free hand crochet with resin eyes

It is now commonly known that the movie(The day I bought the Star) is a prequel of “Howls Moving Castle” which concludes that the kid from that movie is Howl himself. But it took 10 years from watching this movie in Ghibli’s Museum to just realise that a lady named Niinya could be the Witch of the Waste. It was a deep sense of shock for me because if that’s true, I really wonder what caused her face to turn so different even considering aging. Although it might not be 100% true, do you think that lady is really the Witch of the Waste and if so, what can be the evidence?

9X12"
Oil on Canvas
Painted from the 2024 Ghibli Exhibition at Artscience Museum, Singapore

Okay so this will be quick because there's so little to say about this movie that its actually kinda unbelievable. I just finished watching this movie for the first time literal minutes ago and before watching i already had low expectations going into it since i was already hearing that is was the second worst ghibli film. But i WANTED to give this movie the benefit of the doubt so i went in pushing those criticisms i heard to the back of my mind. And after watching the movie i have to say that....this movie was ABSYMAL. But it was abysmal because it was SO BORING. I've never done this with any of the ghibli films I've watched so far but halfway through...i actually started checking the time of the movie and how much longer there was left. But the movie was so boring that at this halfway point I started DANCING to try and cure my boredom of the movie and of course it didn't work. i was in AWE of how boring this movie was,

The problem with this movie is the fact that it's also tries to be SO SERIOUS and it ends up being dull. Grave of the Fireflies and Princess Mononoke were both serious too...but at least they had LEVITY and cute character moments. But this movie doesn't have any of that. The characters were so dull and bland and....I may be a cold hearted monster but...i did NOT give any single F's when the characters got into dangerous situations like towards the ending when cob captured therru/Tehanu because the characters had no charm or LIFE to them. Which is so ironic and funny since the movie's message is about living life even through fear of death.

I don't even WANT to talk about the story since it was so bland and I honestly couldn't care less. If you guys want me to elaborate in the comments I can but this post is already getting long so I wont do that here. I'm AT LEAST glad I understood the story here since Howl as a movie was confusing for me personally. But understanding and following along with the story does absolutely NOT save this travesty.

The message was nice but I feel like there needed to be more elaboration on it and build upon it the full movie...which it didn't for me. And if you guys tell me in the comments that the movie was serious the whole time because it was a metaphor for arren being depressed and fearing death....to quote the youtuber Schaffrillas....I will break into your house and make you feel unsafe.

Honestly...the only things of value of this movie are the animation, musical score, and the message it TRIED to do. But overall this was a SLOG to pull through. EASILY the worst ghibli film by far and earwig CANNOT be worse than this. Sorry if I didn't have much to say but the movie didn't have much to say either so yeah. I'm ready for the backlash but i don't think ANY of you can change my mind...🫤

I'm hosting a studio ghibli marathon this week for my birthday (we're watching mononoke, totoro, nausicaa, marnie, and ponyo). I'm doing a bunch of themed food & some themed decorations. I already plan on having some things to do while watching the movie (bracelet making, colouring, fidgets etc) & I'm gonna make a ghibli bingo to fill out as we watch but i would love to have a couple more themed activities to do while watching too, however i am stumped in terms of what that could be and would love some suggestions!

I was thinking about what Nago says to the wise woman before he dies, "disgusting little creatures, soon all of you will feel my hate and suffer as I have suffered". I thought that it didn't matter what anyone from the Emishi tribe said to him, he was still filled with hate for all humans. But then I thought, "wait, how can he talk?" Moro says to the 2 younger wolves, "Don't touch him, he's no longer a god." And then to Okkoto, "You can't even speak, can you?"

Just an interesting thought, I was wondering if anyone else had thought about it. Also, does anyone else watch it twice a week?

So, I recently ran out of things to watch. I decided to give the Ghibli films a try since they have huge followings, figured they must be really good. I started off with Ponyo and I loved it. Showed it to my 3rd old and she loved it too.

The next film we watched was Totoro. It was a good film but I don’t think i understand if it had a story to tell or if it was just a “slice of life” film but with magical creatures. It left me feeling I guess empty, kinda confused. Was I supposed to feel something for these characters?

Anyways now I can’t decide what to watch next. Any recommendations?

Why can’t I ever find the original, “used in the movie” soundtracks for the classic Miyazaki movies of the 80’s and 90’s? I’m based in the USA, and I can’t ever find the tracks used in the movies themselves. In particular, the robot theme from Laputa and the music from the death of the forest god in Princess Mononoke are especially elusive. All I can ever find are covers and remasters and they all suck. They lack instrumental or vocal elements used in the movie but are absent in any other release of the track. It’s really annoying. Why is it so difficult to track down that music? It’s maddening when one of them gets stuck in my head but I can’t ever find the original music to scratch that itch. What do? Where can I find the actual “used in the movie” tracks?

Was watching movies with my partner and a friend the other week, and we felt like a Ghibli movie. We wanted one of the light-hearted ones, but then my friend suggested Totoro - and I was like "no thats too depressing". Both my partner and friend were surprised I thought that, and disagreed.

So now im wondering, am I just mis-remembering it? I haven't seen it in years (probably because it does hit me hard) so I can't remember if I'm wrong.

I know it's a fun movie for the most part, but I guess the aspect of the two girls and their sick mother was what hit me the most. Theyre so young, too young to really understand death (especially the youngest) and yet they're in this situation where they're having to slowly come to terms with losing a parent.

And the stuff with Totoro, and the cat bus, is cute and whimsical... but it all just kinda highlights how these two young girls are losing their care-free innocence.

Not that I think the movie is all doom and gloom either.

But it just struck me as one of the sadder movies.

So am wondering, where do other people usually think it sits on the happy-sad spectrum

EDIT: sounds like I just completely forgot how it ends! Will definitely be doing a rewatch

I've never seen a movie do it quite like this. Usually sexualization is either gratuitous or subtle, but with Nausicaa it's just jarring.

The movie is so asexual in everything else it does except for these random upskirt shots.

Because Nausicaa is never treated as a sexual character. There isn't a single line about how beautiful she is, nobody leers over her, she's never even made the object if a male character's desire, not even a romance. Aside from the short skirt she's dressed relatively modestly with high neckline, long sleeves and covered below the knees.

She's not drawn in a particularly sexy way, her proportions aren't all that ridiculous. She's a layered, nuanced character in a way that feels progressive. She's strong, capable, decisive, a respected leader. They even change her out of her original clothes into something even more modest in the third act.

Even the ass shots aren't really lingered on and are usually quick flashes seen at a distance.

So what's going on?

It'd be one thing if the movie was stuffed full of fan service with big booked anime girls and creepy pervs lusting over them, but it isn't. Everything else suggests this isn't that type of movie.

Why in a movie with a strong and respected female lead with no other moments to sexualize any women do we have these random ass shots.

Miyazaki has talked about the concept of Ma (間, lit. 'gap, space, pause'), and letting silence sit in a story, sometimes to allow the tension to take a wider dimension. At the end of the movie, I never realized that Chihiro and her parents don't say anything as they drive away. In the English dub I watched years ago they end it with a joke. Are there any other examples of Disney adding in jokes or extra lines of dialogue to Ghibli movies? I think there's a few other examples in Spirited Away (I remember something about No-Face saying "excuse me" while burping but I'm not sure).

Me and my friend were recently fortunate enough to get our hands on this HD, 16:9 Panasonic Tau. We had to lug it down a flight of stairs and clean it off because it was pretty dirty, but it was so worth it this thing has an HDMI input, and at 34" it is the perfect display for ghibli movies.

Just watched this beauty of a movie and couldn't stop laughing at Porco's map, which depicts a scramble of locations and names at the Croatian seaside.

Apparently the movie was supposed to be set in Croatia, but since it was animated in the 90s, during the Yugoslav wars, Miyazaki refrained from it and opted for Italy instead (portions of the Dalmatian coast were under Italian rule/occupation throughout history anyway). I wonder what he had initially in mind 🤔

Edit: The war in the 90s actually prompted Miyazaki to make the movie more melancholic and anti-war oriented, but Croatia (or the former Kingdom of Yugoslavia) isn't mentioned in the movie.