Studio Ghibli films are something I often turn to whenever I want to be filled with warm fuzzies. There’s something magical about Ghibli films that makes them stand out from other films. Ghibli films often focus on the beauty of everyday life. These films are magically immersive and have just enough realism that it doesn’t feel so far off like other animated films. I’ve spent so much time trying to figure out how to perfectly describe the emotion you experience while watching Ghibli films but I never seem to get it perfect. So instead of trying to explain it, here’s a list of ten amazing Ghibli films you can watch this winter to fill you with warm fuzzies!
- My Neighbor Totoro
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The film follows two sisters, Satsuke and Mei as they settle into a new house in the countryside to be closer to the mother who is staying in a nearby hospital. While the two sisters explore their new house and the surrounding area, the stumble upon different spirits. They end up befriending a huge fluffball called Totoro, a grinning cat that doubles as a bus, and adorable little soot sprites!
- Howl’s Moving Castle
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Howl’s Moving Castle is personally one of my favorite Ghibli films. Loosely based off the novel Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, the film is a love story about Howl, a wizard who wanders around the hills in (you guessed it) a moving castle, and Sophie, a young girl who was cursed by an evil witch. The film is full of magic and an adorable fire demon named Calcifer.
- Whispers of the Heart
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This film is an adorable, romantic coming-of-age-story involving bookworm Shizuku and aspiring violin-maker Seiji. When Shizuku noticed that someone named Seiji had checked out all the library books before her, she then aims to find this mysterious boy, who she has convinced herself is her soulmate.
- Kiki’s Delivery Service
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Another amazing coming-of-age-story about a young witch who moves to a seaside town to begin her witch training as per tradition. The film follows Kiki and her cat Jiji as they meet new people and discover new challenges. Because Kiki’s witch powers aren’t that strong, she starts a delivery service around town since her strongest talent is flying on her broomstick.
- Castle in the Sky
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This film is a steampunk, fantasy genre that follows the adventures of a young girl, Sheeta, and a young boy, Pazu, as they attempt to keep a magic crystal away from airborn pirates while also looking for a magical floating castle. This film was the first official film made under Studio Ghibli and had a huge impact on films, media and games. Fun fact: the golems from this film are what inspired the iron golems in minecraft!
- Ponyo
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After sneaking out from her father, a small goldfish princess sneaks to the surface of the ocean and meets a boy named Sosuke, who eventually gives her the name Ponyo. The more the two of them spend time together, the more Ponyo begins turning into a human. After Ponyo’s father brings her back into the ocean, she escapes once again, but in the process she spills magic elixirs, throwing the balance of the ocean off and putting Sosuke’s village in danger.
- From Up on Poppy Hill
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This film is set in 1963, when Japan was in the midst of modernization, trying to move on from the horrors of World War II and instead look towards the Tokyo Olympics that would be taking place in the next year. We follow Umi, a highschool girl running a boarding house, as she meets a boy named Shun and we see the adventures that follow. They work together to clean up the school’s clubhouse and convince the chairman of the highschool to not demolish their building. It’s a movie full of history and culture and strays from the normal Ghibli style because there is no magic involved.
- The Wind Rises
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One of the more recent Ghibli films, we follow Jiro Hirokoshi from a young age. From the beginning of the film, we see Jiro has a deep love for flight, and eventually becomes an aviation engineer. Along with watching Jiro achieve his dream job, we also get to watch him fall in love. The director of this movie, Hayao Miyazaki, declared The Wind Rises to be one of his best works and decided to retire. This, of course, was not taken well by fans, and Miyazaki came out of retirement in 2017.
- The Secret World of Arrietty
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Loosely based off the novel The Borrowers, we follow Arrietty, a tiny teenager who lives under a family’s house without them knowing. These borrowers have to stay hidden from humans, or else they have to move. However, Arrietty, who is extremely adventurous, ends up meeting and befriending a 12-year-old boy named Shawn. The film follows their secret friendship and how they work together to keep the borrowers’ existence unknown.
- Princess Mononoke
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After being infected by an animal attack while trying to defend his village, the main character Ashitaka goes on a journey to find a deer-like god to cure him. While he is looking for this god, he discovers how much people have destroyed the earth, thus affecting many spirits in the area, and ultimately bringing the wrath of the wolf god down on these people. When Ashitaka meets the wolf-god human companion, Princess Mononoke, he becomes even more invested to make peace between the humans and spirits.
Studio Ghibli films will always be something I hold near and dear to my heart, and are perfect for any situation. Feeling a little sad? My Neighbor Totoro is waiting to take you on an adventure. Want to travel to another world? Spirited Away will achieve that perfectly and will leave you breathless with its visuals. If you haven’t seen any Ghibli films yet, any of these are perfect to watch for your first Ghibli film! The weather may be getting colder, but at least we have Studio Ghibli films to keep us warm!
HCXO, Hannah
Images courtesy of Google Images.