Lukie's Top 16 Studio Ghibli Films

[LUKIE]

I have never done a top list on EWB, so why the hell not! Studio Ghibli get's more respect from me then any other animation studio in the world, as they continue to produce solely 2D feature length animation films, of the highest quality.

For those who don't know, I myself, am an animator. A qualified animator, with two awards under my belt, and no animation job (Y)

For clarification, Nausicaa is not on the list, as it is not a Ghibli film. If I included it, then I would have had to include Panda GO! Panda, which would undoubtedly be number one on the list. So let's start with number 16! I have also not included the most recent 2 films, as I am yet to see them.

16. MY NEIGHBOURS THE YAMADAS

My Neighbours the Yamadas tells the story of the Yamada family, a typical urban Japanese family. The entire film was produced in watercolour, and has some amazing techniques and animation involved, but sadly, I had to rank this as the "worst" of the Ghibli films, as it doesn't translate to western audiences very well. It is a comedy drama, showing the trials and tribulations of a regular Japanese family. Unless you understand Japanese culture to a great extent, especially how the family dynamic works, a lot of what goes on can go over your head. This is the only film I couldn't sit down and watch in one sitting, as it was mentally exhausting trying to keep up with what the hell was going on. I still enjoyed it, and do own it on DVD, like every single other Ghibli movie. I would recommend getting this if you are a completist, otherwise, it can be skipped.

[LUKIE]

15. Ocean Waves

Nearly all of the Ghibli films have love stories in them. Miyazaki's love stories are so incredibly subtle, that he can get away with a love story about 5 year olds. This entire plot is about a love story amongst two best friends and a new student at their school. Incredibly, this had the lowest budget of all of the Ghibli films to date, but yet some of the best background artwork. The film was used by Ghibli to give experience to their younger animator's, but yet, they still made a good film. To be honest, this doesn't really fit into the style of Ghibli film I like, which is why this, and the next couple of entires, are so low on the list. Personal preference and all. The artwork cannot be dismissed at all, and the animation is great. I enjoy watching this film, and watching it with a lucky lady would be the ticket here. I would say, like every other film that isn't Yamadas, this needs to be seen at least once for any fan.

[Johnny Latino Heat]

I had heard of the Yamadas already, but not of Ocean Waves. I think I'll give OW a shot. Keep 'em coming, LUKIE.

[LUKIE]

14. Only Yesterday

Low in the rankings for the same reason as the previous film, since the story doesn't really appeal to me. But once again, it's a good film. Only Yesterday is a drama about a single female named Taeko. She lives in the city, and takes a trip to the countryside to visit her older sisters in-laws and to help them with a harvest. Here she realises that so far that her life has not really gone the way she wanted. The story just focuses on her, as she has flashbacks to what she wants to do as she grows up, and how all of her friends from school basically accomplished what they set out to do. It's very much a film designed specifically for adults, particularly females, and is incredibly unique to everything else that Ghibli was producing at the time (Ocean Waves came later).

I have the movie. I have watched it a couple of times. It's good, but is very much a drama piece looking at the life of a young woman in Tokyo. I recommend it for those of you with a lady in your life and want something to watch.

[LUKIE]

13. Whisper of the Heart

I HAD to put a picture of the violin playing there. It has been a long time since I have seen this, but the most amazing thing about this movie, is that one of the sub-characters, the Cat, Baron Humbert, was so popular, they did another movie. In essence, you could argue this is part 1 of the two movies, but really... they are so different. It's a love story, with Baron Humbert basically acting as a mentor to the main character, Shizuku. Memory is really fuzzy on this, so nothing comes out straight away as being a memorable part of the film, but it is good. From here on out, the controversy starts, as the rest of the films are the far more famous ones! What is number 12... dum dum dum! People will be surprised. Some may be disappointed.

[LUKIE]

12. Pom Poko

Following a group of Tanuki, "raccoon's" who can shape shift, Pom Poko is a story about how humans are destroying the natural habitat of Earth's animals. Their home is being invaded and the Tanuki decide to fight back as best they can, to stop a big development destroying their home. The reason this is so low, is because there is nothing really memorable about the movie, outside of the fantastic ghost circus parade. The characters are hard to identify with, let alone have their own personalities. They are just a collective unit. There is no real happy ending to this film either, which is good, I guess, in that it makes people think about the implications humans really have on the environment.

[Ruki]

Plus, lots of raccoon balls.

[Johnny Latino Heat]

Plus, lots of raccoon balls.

Magical raccoon balls.

[LUKIE]

Magical not-raccoon raccoon balls.

[LUKIE]

11. The Cat Returns

Baron returns to this eclectic movie about a young girl called Haru who gets taken away into the mystical land of the cats, when she accidentally accepts a marriage proposal to the Prince of the cats, who isn't very nice. Baron returns to save the day, along with his buddy in Muta, the big fat white cat who is awesome. There are some great scenes in this movie, especially the sword fighting scene at the end in the tower. It's been a few years since I have seen this, and there are some slow points in the movie with the story that let it down, but overall, it's a great movie, with Baron once again proving to be an amazing character.

TOP 10!

[LUKIE]

10. Grave of the Fireflies

This is the first movie on the list which surprised me when making the list in regards to where it was placed. I have never ranked the Studio Ghibli films before this (apart from number 1), so some of them genuinely surprised me from where they ended up on the list, compared to others. Some much higher then a though, some (like this) much lower. Grave of the Fireflies was released in 1988, which is surprising in itself, because it is one of the most amazingly animated movies, and it feels incredibly modern. People point to AKIRA as a film that traverses time with it's animation, but this movie far, far, far and away destroys AKIRA in all regards, from animation technique, to story, to evoking emotion. I really want to rank this much higher, but I just can't.

The movie is based around two orphaned children at the end of World War II. It's a heartbreaking movie of two children just trying to survive as the war comes to an end. It really needs to be seen, but after the first time, it's almost depressing to watch it again. There aren't really too many more words I can say without giving away the entire movie plot, but if you have never seen this, this is a movie that must be seen once in your life.

I'll just call this the honourary #1 spot for how powerful and emotive the movie is. I guess it is so low on my list for that fact that it goes against the tradition that Ghibli built up. I guess we have to remember that Ghibli just animated the movie, and it was not their story to tell.

[LUKIE]

09. Tales from Earthsea

I kid you not, the first time I watched this film, I had NO IDEA what happened in the first half of it. I just sat there, confused as to all hell on who was who, what was what, and what the flying buggery was going on. To be fair, the movie doesn't really kick into gear until the second half, and you could argue that the movie itself can be split into two seperate movies. The animation in this is of the highest class. I guess the issue was basing the entire film on four seperate books.

There are some great story arcs in here, none the less, and if you follow it, the writing itself, and the story flow is superb. It can get confusing though if you are not fully immersed into the film. It took me about three viewings to really appreciate this movie, and I like it, and do go back to it on a yearly basis to re-watch.

[stokeriño]

Do not like Earthsea. You can tell it tried to slam several books together and it just ends up a poor mish-mash.

You can also argue that it requires multiple rewatches all you like. It still shouldn't be above Fireflies.

[LUKIE]

08. Princess Mononoke

Now we get into the nitty gritty of the movies. From this one onwards are possibly the most popular of all of the movies, and really made me think about which ones I liked more then the others. It's pretty damn close between number 8 and number 4, and it was a difficult task to put them in an order. The opening scene alone to this movie is fantastic, with the boar demon running around destroying the absolute shit out of everything. This movie is immense in it's demon visuals, and background artwork. So much happens all the time. The characters are memorable, from Ashitaka, the curse stricken warrior, to Jigo, the wandering monk, through to Mononoke herself, who is a vengeful spirit. Some argue this is a remake of Nausicaa, and it essentially is. I would put this higher then Nausicaa. Nausicaa is memorable, but this is the improved version.

A great film, and from here on out, every single one of these movies needs to be in the collection of everyone.

[LUKIE]

Do not like Earthsea. You can tell it tried to slam several books together and it just ends up a poor mish-mash.

You can also argue that it requires multiple rewatches all you like. It still shouldn't be above Fireflies.

I guess the main reason it is above fireflies, is because it's not really a ghibli film.

[Johnny Latino Heat]

Mononoke being so low makes Johnny feel (it's absolutely my favorite from Studio Ghibli).

[LUKIE]

What you have to remember, is that I do not dislike any of these films. They are all good to absolutely sensational. Everything in the top 10, I watch on a yearly basis.

[Johnny Latino Heat]

Yeah, I know. I didn't say you did not like them, if you didn't, you wouldn't put them in a top list. Hey, maybe if I had seen every movie in the list, I would feel differently and not put Mononoke on my #1 spot, but still, I think this is a really brilliant masterpiece. One of my favorite movies. Not "one of my favorite anime movies", one of my favorite movies, period. But hey, keep the goods coming, I'm curious to see what your #1 is (Y)

[LUKIE]

07. My Neighbour Totoro

TOTORO! As you can see in my pic, I have a Totoro plush! I love Totoro. This film is as much of an innocent film as you can get, and it is perfect for all ages, from young children, to adults of all ages. Once again, this film is from 1988, but if you watched it today, you would think it was made a couple of years ago, the animation stands up that well! Satsuke and Mei live with their father in the farmlands on the out skirts of Tokyo. Their mother is in hospital from an unconfirmed illness. Both miss their mother a lot. They venture into the forest where they meet big Totoro (there are 3 Totoro). If you ever study, or hell, read about film plots, the main thing is there is a dilemma that the main protagonists must overcome. The dilemma in this movie is that Mei goes missing while trying to find their mother's hospital. It is such an innocent scenario, but everything about this movie makes it amazing. From Totoro Daimo himself, to the characters of Satsuke, Mei and their father. It is so heart felt, warming, but in no way corny.

Seeing massive Totoro standing there in the rain with a tiny leaf umbrella, only to be offered a real umbrella which still doesn't really do anything, is one of the most amazing scenes in all of cinema. I love this film, as does everyone who ever brings it up.

[LUKIE]

06. Spirited Away

The most successful film in the history of Japanese cinema. The first (and only... I think) animation by Ghibli to be awarded an Academy Award (which is laughable since every year a Ghibli movie was released after this, they have been finalists). Spirited Away is very much focused on the spiritual side of Japanese culture, but it translates incredibly well because of the visuals of the various demons and spirits. Just mention NO FACE to a Ghibli fan, or someone who has seen Spirited Away, and most will realise who you are talking about. The story revolves around Chihiro, a 10 year old girl, who is transported to a bathhouse for spirits. There she must work, while trying to free her parents who have been transformed into pigs. There are so many memorable characters, from the aforementioned, NO FACE, to Yubaba, the bathhouse witch, and her giant baby.

Most who have heard of Studio Ghibli will synonymously think of Spirited Away, as it reached out into the mainstream around the entire world. It is a wonderful film for parents and children alike.