Favorite Studio Ghibli Movie?

Except for the ones that have obvious Japanese, you could tell me all of these titles belonged to Journey songs and I'd believe you.

On topic, I haven't seen any. I'm going to change that tomorrow by watching... I suppose whichever one's favored most in this thread.

I have been fortunate enough to see all of Miyazaki's works but Ponyo, as well as Arrietty and Whisper of the Heart. Of them only Whisper of the Heart has the distinction of being my favorite film throughout all of the movies I have ever seen. It feels odd to say that considering it's about a Japanese highschool girl growing up, but no other film has struck the same chord with me in quite the same way. I was sentimental and nostalgic for it the very moment it ended. Yoshifumi Kondō died just four years after I was born and a full thirteen years before I would see his film, but I can't help but get depressed over his death even now.

@TooWalrus said:

Except for the ones that have obvious Japanese, you could tell me all of these titles belonged to Journey songs and I'd believe you.

On topic, I haven't seen any. I'm going to change that tomorrow by watching... I suppose whichever one's favored most in this thread.

Castle in the Sky is a good one to start with if you're not particularly acquainted with anime. In many ways I consider it to be the quintessential adventure story. That said, it certainly isn't as profound as some of the studio's other works.

Easily Nausicaa of The Valley of The winds for me. I don't really like the super kiddy stuff like Ponyo, and I think Princess Mononoke is just a tad overrated, but basically all of them are great.

Spirited Away is pretty great.

Spirited Away should probably be your starting point, then Nausicaa, then read the manga for Nausicaa. When you're having a particularly bad day and want to wallow in the inhumanity of war and maybe kill yourself, watch Grave of the Fireflies.

Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke are their best, but Ponyo, Howl's Moving Castle, Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service and Porco Rosso are also worth watching.

Stay the fuck away from Pom Poko (one of the most excruciatingly boring films I have ever seen), and I don't recommend watching Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind either -- not because it's terrible, but because the manga is so much better. I saw the movie after reading the comic, which was amazing, and was left with a feeling of "uh... is this it?".

@Icemael: I love the manga too, but I think the movie's still pretty dope. As long as you watch it before the manga, anyway. The manga kind of blows it out of the water.

Princess Mononoke is by far my favourite. I love almost all of Miyazaki's movies with only Howl's moving castle leaving me with a feeling of indifference. Ponyo is good also, but feels far more aimed towards young children, without the cuddly charm of Totoro. I even quite liked Tales from Earthsea although it isn't one of their best... I still need to get around to Arietty that has been sitting on my TV planner since christmas.

Laputa - Castle in the Sky is my favorite but if you've never seen a Ghibli movie check out Spirited Away or Howl's Moving Castle.

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. If only all Japanese animation could do just as good a job of localisation as the teams that handled Studio Ghibli films.

Princess Mononoke mainly because it's the one I've watched most recently. They are all pretty special though. I'd recommend starting with Spirited Away or Howl's Moving Castle and then making your way through the rest of the collection.

Howl's Moving Castle and Spirited Away.

For someone who isn't a big anime fan I really enjoyed Spirited Away

Ponyo, though Spirited Away is close. I absolutely adore all those films, some more than others, but I think while Ponyo doesn't have the greatest creative worlds I've seen, the reason I loved it as well as Spirited Away was because of the two main female characters, Ponyo and Chihiro, they remind me of my cute and giddy young female cousin. I really do like the other films, but I'd say Ponyo's my favorite, then Spirited Away.

I find Spirited Away out of most the easy answer out though. My favorite aspects from those is the art style, the creatively wonderful worlds, and the cute; odd or funny characters. What sticks with me most though and why I do watch them is because of the characters. I feel like Studio Ghibli would work well with Nintendo, maybe on a game like Zelda or something. The strange characters you meet in Zelda around towns just reminds me of what you can find in those films.

I wonder, is there a collection on Blu-ray for all of Miyazaki films? I really like Miyazki's work, and I haven't even seen all of them, but I feel like I've seen a lot. I'd have to look into the whole scope of it. Can anyone recommend me one that has adorable characters? I think ones that are relate-able I find most charming. Now that I look at the Rottentomatoes list, there's quite a lot that I haven't seen. Dammit, I have to watch all of them.

I believe it's a great delight to see all these fantastic actors and actresses be in these films. I mean, Christian Bale to Tina Fey to Patrick Stewart. It's amazing. There aren't any of the Ghibli films I don't like, I just like some a little more than others.

@gaminghooligan said:

Princess Mononoke.

Their's no fucking comparison.

Totoro and Porco Rosso are tied. Grave of the Fireflies made me cry.

@StarvingGamer said:

I bet I'm the only person here who says Whisper of the Heart

Whisper of the Heart. Pay up!

Nah, just kidding. But no one should kid about the dangers of reckless gambling.

Spirited Away, but Princess Mononoke is a close second.

Spirited Away.

Least favorite would be Howl's Moving Castle. I really don't understand the praise it gets. I thought it was incredibly dull.

Princess Mononoke.

I'll probably be the only one to say this but The Secret World of Arrietty is my favorite. Porco Rosso and The Cat Returns are pretty close behind though.

Porco Rosso.

Princess Mononoke!

@gaminghooligan said:

Princess Mononoke.

Right answer.

Spirited away is the classic, it's ostensibly a children's film but I'm sure anyone could enjoy it. You could always consider the fact that it's an allegory for prostitution, if that's your thing.

@StarvingGamer said:

I bet I'm the only person here who says Whisper of the Heart

Oh no, you out-hipstered us all! Hee-hee

My favourite Ghibli movies are Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke and Howl's Moving Castle. My Neighbor Totoro is also pretty good, just a little too "kiddy" for me. So yeah, the same as everyone.

Nausicaa = my fav , have seen it 3 times in cinemas hehe it and laputa are basicly god tier.. porco rosso is pretty fucking awesome tho .. ill take ponyo over spirited away and howls moving castle .. monoke was the first i saw so holds a soft spot , totoro and that dang joe hisashi soundtrack MAKES ME CRY MANLY TEARS ... grave of the fireflies makes me cry fucking depressed tears , kiki probably will never resonate with me ..

I really liked Spirited Away and had never seen any kind of Japanese animation before that, was just a really great movie, think it won some Oscars as well if memories serves me right.

Toss up between Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke.

i rewatched ponyo recently and its reeeeeally fuckin deep ( no pun intended ) .. thats some crazy old man skewed concepts there arrgh

I guess I should watch Princess Mononoke then considering how it seems to be winning the thread.

Anyway, mine is probably Spirited Away with Howl's a close second.

Porco Rosso was probably my favourite movie as a kid, I didn't fully know what I was watching, just that that pig-man could fly the shit out of that plane. Also, that gentlemen's fight was great. It is still one of my favourite Ghibli joints, but Princess Mononoke is absolutely the GOAT. Every time I watch that film, it just ignites this amazing feeling of awe and wanderlust.

• If you want a giant hug: My Neighbor Totoro
• If you like a lingering feeling of hopelessness: Grave of the Fireflies
• If you like your comfort zone: Spirited Away

@believer258 said:

I have actually never seen a Studio Ghibli movie.

You haven't seen Breaking and you haven't seen anything from Ghibli. What have you seen, man? Just kidding, man.

Porco Rosso is my favorite with Spirited Away being a close 2nd. But to be honest, every one of their films is worth watching

The correct answer is to watch all of them immediately. The first SG I ever saw was Spirited Away and I haven't looked back since.

I think @Raven10 said it first, but Pom Poko.

There's not enough love for Kiki's in this thread! :(

Everytime I watch it I have the biggest smile on my face, such a charming film.

Spirited away was beautifull.

I am again reminded that I haven't seen enough of these movies. I really, really, really need to rewatch Totoro sometime because I only saw it when I was really young and for the longest time didn't even know what it was called.

Aside from that I've only seen:

• Nausicaä: Which I liked, even though I thought the whole ending thing was weird.
• Porco Rosso: Which I also really liked, pleasing visuals, neat setting.
• Spirited Away: Which was the first one I saw as an adult (i.e. not counting Totoro that I saw as a child) and one I didn't like. I'm not sure what I was expecting but it was something different. I've attempted to rewatch it later on to try and get a new perspective but it just ended up boring me, so for now I can't relate to anyone saying it's a good move and it bothers me a bit.

Only saw Spirited Away and Arrietty. They were O.K.

The only one's I've seen are Mononoke and Howl's. I really need to get around to watching more. Mononoke would be my choice.

@Prismatic said:

There's not enough love for Kiki's in this thread! :(

Everytime I watch it I have the biggest smile on my face, such a charming film.

Yeah man Kiki's is great. It's so down to earth despite her being a witch.

Princess Mononoke or Porco Rosso. I liked Tales From Earthsea as well, I read that book about 15 years ago so it brought back lots of crazy memories.

Spirited Away is probably the best in terms of animation and art direction, also it's easily the most lighthearted of their films. The ending made me cringe a little too much, though. Howls Moving castle is fantastic, too, as is Ponyo, though again it's a little too cutesy for my liking. My Neighbor Totoro is one of the few Ghibli films I haven't seen.

Grave Of The Fireflies is fucking depressing.

All of the Miyazaki ones are stone cold classics. I'd probably say Nausicaa is my favourite. Even though the animation isn't as slick as the later films there's just something about the atmosphere that gets to me. Love that film.

Castle of Cagliostro

Princess Mononoke of course

@gaminghooligan said:

Princess Mononoke.

seconded.