Ghibli classics: 5 beloved films by Hayao Miyazaki and team

‘Castle in the Sky’, the first feature from Studio Ghibli, won the ‘Animage’ magazine Anime Grand Prix in 1986. (Studio Ghibli pic)

TOKYO:

Fans of popular Japanese animators Studio Ghibli rejoice – a new theme park opens in Aichi prefecture, a three-hour train ride from Tokyo, next month! Immerse yourselves in the fantastical worlds dreamed up by director Hayao Miyazaki and his colleagues.

To commemorate the imminent opening of this exciting destination, here are five of Miyazaki’s most beloved films.

1. ‘Castle in the Sky’ (1986)

The first animated feature from Studio Ghibli, which was founded in 1985 by Miyazaki and fellow director Isao Takahata, remains one of its most popular.

Following two orphans in a quest to reach a mythical castle in the clouds, the adventure is laced with danger, air pirates and the military on their tail; but it also serves as a deeper meditation on the influence of technology in people’s lives.

2. ‘My Neighbour Totoro’ (1988)

Totoro has become a cultural icon that has made multiple cameo appearances in a number of Studio Ghibli films and video games. (Studio Ghibli pic)

Shades of “Alice in Wonderland” are found in this tale of two sisters who go to live with their father in the countryside and discover an enchanting world of strange happenings and oddball creatures, including the lovable woodland spirit Totoro.

An instant classic, delighting audiences in Japan and abroad, Totoro has since become the Studio Ghibli mascot.

3. ‘Princess Mononoke’ (1997)

This film was the highest-grossing in Japan of 1997, and held the country’s box-office record for domestic films until 2001’s ‘Spirited Away’. (Studio Ghibli pic)

In this film, a box-office smash in Japan, Miyazaki explored the destruction of nature through industrialisation.

The tale of a young prince and a girl raised by a wolf goddess in a forest where fearsome clashes play out between gods and humans boosted Miyazaki’s global profile thanks to a distribution deal with Disney.

4. ‘Spirited Away’ (2001)

‘Spirited Away’ has been widely regarded by critics as one of the greatest films of the 21st century, and to be among the best animated films ever made. (Studio Ghibli pic)

Scooping the 2003 Oscar for best animated feature, “Spirited Away” follows a 10-year-old girl, Chihiro, whose family moves to the suburbs.

She accidentally wanders into a world of spirits and finds her parents turned into pigs – forcing the young heroine to combat the spirit world with a courage she never knew she possessed.

“I wanted to make a movie especially for the daughters of my friends,” Miyazaki once said.

5. ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’ (2004)

‘I wanted to convey the message that life is worth living, and I don’t think that’s changed,’ Miyazaki said of ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’. (Studio Ghibli pic)

The young protagonist of this film, which brought Miyazaki a second Oscar nomination – he later earned a third in 2014 with “The Wind Rises” – is transformed into an old lady under a witch’s spell.

A less-than-majestic wizard and his troupe living in a walking castle are her only hope for breaking the spell, but she does not give up, in an enchanting defence of world peace.

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Ghibli classics: 5 beloved films by Hayao Miyazaki and team

With the new theme park opening in Japan next month, here's a celebration of the best works this animated studio has to offer.