1. Castle in the Sky (1986)
This is a slightly odd film and reminds me somewhat of The Goonies, possibly because it's about children running from fairly bumbling baddies that are a mother/sons partnership. I have to say, like The Goonies, I found the villains quite benign and therefore dull, you don't expect people in children films to die, but I would like there to be more of an effort made to make me think that they are in some type of danger. Like most Ghilbi films, it's mystical and wonderful but also a lot of fun because of the almost steampunk vibe. However, the reason this is my favourite film isn't necessarily the plot, but instead the main character Pazu who is just the loveliest character, throughout the whole films I was just admiring how polite and kind he was. Because it's Ghilbi it's beautiful and worth watching even if it hadn't made this list.
2. Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
I grew up reading Howl's Moving Castle so once I found out about this film I needed to watch it, and although it is quite different from the book, it's an amazing interpretation and the changes made don't detract from the story. The castle is so amazing, detailed and marvellous (if you haven't seen the film just google 'Howl's room' and imagine people drawing that. Sophie and Howl, as the leads, are wonderful and you can definitely fall a little in love with Howl, but the secondary characters (particularly Markl and Calcifer) are so much fun and memorable. Oddly, the cast is huge, with Christian Bale, Billy Crystal and child actors who are now famous like
Josh Hutcherson, animations often have very impressive casts but this one is particularly surprisingly wonderful. I'm going to probably mention it in every review, but this is a beautiful film and enjoyable, there's very little negative to say.
3. My Neighbour Totoro (1988)
This is probably the most famous and recognisable Ghibli film and rightly so, so many of the sequences feel iconic when you are watching them and everything is so happy. It really captures the magic of childhood, or at least how childhood feels (because I've never met a giant cat/bear/thing). The problem that I have with this film is that the mother is ill, apparently, but we don't really know anything else about it so I don't know how to feel about that situation and therefore it seems as though it isn't important, even though an ill mother is very very important. All the little creature creations, from Totoro to the dust balls(?) are delightful so you can see why there is a big market for stuffed Totoros. This is probably one of the Studio Ghibli films that everyone should watch just to have a basic knowledge of the studio (probably along with Spirited Away).
4. Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
The saddest and most serious Ghibli films, not what I was expecting so be prepared, this is not a magical romp through childhood but like being dragged through history. Not a lot of fireflies, this is not about fireflies, furthering the diversion from traditional Ghibli the title isn't so obviously connected to the film. The story is so heart breaking and I was hoping the ending that was hinted at wasn't going to happen all the way through because you just want the children to be ok (and I'm generally quite cold -hearted). It's set at the end of WW2 and based on a semi-autobiographical book, so the mixture of truth and fiction adds to the distressing nature of this film. If you're in the mood to cry, you can check this film out.
5. Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)
So cute, perfect level of cute in a film. As someone who loves witches and cats this film would have been perfect for me to watch as a child but unfortunately I think the first time I saw it, I was 19. Kiki would also be a wonderful person to cosplay as because it's so simple but obvious who you are with the bow and a broomstick/cat (just a slight tangent in this review). The story just ended rather abruptly which confused me, the end credits began rolling before I realised it had ended, but other than that the story is very good. It's yet another thing that makes me so sad that I'm not a witch but at least I can watch this on repeat and pretend I am.
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