Animation studio
Studio Ghibli
Hand-drawn films that adults and children both claim as their own, every one graded.
Studio Ghibli made hand-drawn animation feel like the most modern thing on screen. This collection grades the films this site reviews, ranks the scenes people carry around with them, and follows Joe Hisaishi's scores.
The scenes
The moments people describe when they explain why these films matter.
- The bus stop in the rainMy Neighbor Totoro, 1988
- The train across the waterSpirited Away, 2001
- The Forest Spirit at nightPrincess Mononoke, 1997
- The flight from the palaceThe Tale of the Princess Kaguya, 2013
- The firefliesGrave of the Fireflies, 1988
- The castle walksHowl's Moving Castle, 2004
- The first morning in KorikoKiki's Delivery Service, 1989
- The robot's gardenCastle in the Sky, 1986
- The field of planesPorco Rosso, 1992
- No-Face on the trainSpirited Away, 2001
Hisaishi's scores
Joe Hisaishi scored almost every Miyazaki film. These are the pieces that outlived the cinema.
- Spirited Away, 2001One Summer's DayA piano melody that sounds like the end of a holiday.
- Howl's Moving Castle, 2004Merry-Go-Round of LifeA waltz that keeps changing clothes.
- My Neighbor Totoro, 1988The Path of the WindCountryside quiet, in a minor key.
- Princess Mononoke, 1997Ashitaka and SanThe closing theme of a film that refuses easy endings.
- Castle in the Sky, 1986Carrying YouThe theme the whole film builds toward.