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| Studio Ghibli Animated Movies, 1980's - 1990's (2000's - present click here) ¦¦ Titles are translated from the Japanese release. To see the Pre-Studio Ghibli anime & Studio Ghibli shorts, 1960's - 1970's, click here. To see the Pre-Studio Ghibli anime & Studio Ghibli shorts, 1980's - present, click here.
¦¦ Other names: | 風の谷のナウシカ :: Kaze no Tani no Naushika (a.k.a. Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind) Originally released in 1984, 116 minutes long.
A thousand years after a global war, a seaside kingdom known as the Valley of the Wind remains one of only a few areas still populated. Led by the courageous Princess Nausicaä, the people of the Valley are engaged in a constant struggle with powerful insects called ohmu, who guard a poisonous jungle that is spreading across the Earth. Nausicaä and her brave companions, together with the people of the Valley, strive to restore the bond between humanity and the Earth.
|  | 天空の城ラピュタ :: Tenkuu no Shiro Lapyuta (a.k.a. Laputa: Castle in the Sky) Originally released in 1986, 124 minutes long.
Pazu is a young boy with a life's dream: to seek and find the legendary floating island of Laputa, hidden somewhere in the clouds. Legends tell of its vast, hidden treasures as well as its closely guarded secrets. His father once photographed it once by chance. No one believed him, though, and Pazu's father died a poor, desolate man.
One day, Pazu's dreams look close to becoming fulfilled when a young girl named Sheeta mysteriously floats down to earth from the sky, unconcious and wearing a mysterious pendant. The pendant is a relic of Laputa, and has been in Sheeta's family for generations.
The two become fast friends and decide to seek the island of Laputa to fulfill Pazu's dream and to learn more of Sheeta's clouded heritage. At the same time, other parties also seek Laputa and the pendant worn by Sheeta: the Dola pirate clan, for starters, not to mention the government, including the ambitious agent Muska...
|  | となりのトトロ :: Tonari no Totoro (a.k.a. My Neighbor Totoro) Originally released in 1988, 86 minutes long. * There is a short spin-off movie called Mei to Konekobasu (a.k.a. Mei and the Kittenbus) *
Dr. Kusakabe and his two daughters, Satsuki and Mei, move out to a new house in the countryside. Moving into the large house is an adventure and a thrill for the young duo, who are still innocent and unjaded enough to still notice sprites and fairies living inside the woodwork and the nearby forest.
To their delight, they discover that their new neighbor is a mysterious forest spirit called Totoro, who can be seen only through the eyes of a child. Totoro introduces them to extraordinary characters and takes them on an incredible journey.
|   | 火垂るの墓 :: Hotaru no Haka (a.k.a. Grave of the Fireflies) Originally released in 1988, 88 minutes long. Based on the partially-autobiographical book of the same title by Akiyuki Nosaka.
It is post-war Japan, just weeks before American troops arrive for occupation. In city of Kobe, a boy lies dying in a train station. By his body lies a small metal candy container. A janitor, not sure what to make of its ashy contents, pitches it into the night. As fireflies float softly around it, the ghostly figures of the boy and his little sister emerge...
Flashback to a short time earlier. Orphaned and homeless from a fire-bomb attack on their city, 14-year-old Seita and his 4-year-old sister Setsuko set out to survive on their own in the face of a society no longer able to help them. Forced into living in an abandoned bomb shelter in the Japanese countryside, they slowly come to realize that they cannot escape the hardships of war or even find enough food on which to survive...
There is also a Japanese live-action movie with the same name, released in 2005.
|  | 魔女の宅急便 :: Majou no Takkyuubin (a.k.a. Kiki's Delivery Service) Originally released in 1989, 102 minutes long.
Kiki is thirteen years old, right at the age when a young witch in training is supposed to travel to another city and strike out for herself. It's a real test of responsibility and independence, and if Kiki can handle it for a year, she'll be ready to undergo the rest of her education.
So, with only a little money, her pet cat / confidante Jiji, and her mother's broom, Kiki makes her way to a big city by the sea, where witches haven't been seen for years and the demand for them isn't exactly great. Being resourceful, Kiki starts the kind of business most suitable for a witch who can fly on a broom: an airborne package delivery service. As her fledgling business becomes more and more successful, she meets various friends who each teach her about independence, inspiration, and what to do on days when both seem to vanish.
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 | おもひでぽろぽろ :: Omohide Poro Poro (a.k.a. Only Yesterday) Originally released in 1991, 118 minutes long.
Okajima Taeko, a 27-year-old career woman, has never really felt that she fit in with everyone else. All her life, she's felt that something was missing, although she could never really figure out just what it was. Tired and bored with her current lifestyle, Taeko decides to take a ten-day vacation to her sister's husband's relatives' farm to help out with the safflower harvest.
Recollections of events during her 5th grade year begin to resurface in Taeko's memory as she makes her trip and also while she helps with the harvest. As she remembers more and more, Taeko begins to come to a realization of what she has become as a result of some philosophies she first adopted in fifth grade -- and eventually is faced with an important decision concerning what she can do to change.
|  | 紅の豚 :: Kurenai no Buta (a.k.a. Porco Rosso) Originally released in 1992, 93 minutes long.
The setting is 1920's Italy, just after World War I, and the skies are ruled by daring sea-plane pilots of all sorts -- soldiers, bounty hunters, and pirates, all who after a hard day's work convene at Gina's island café to kick back, relax, and hear the lovely Gina sing. An unwritten truce between all men, no matter what vocation, is always in effect at Gina's.
When ''Porco'' -- whose face has been transformed into that of a pig by a mysterious spell -- infuriates a band of sky pirates with his aerial heroics, the pirates hire Curtis, a rival pilot, to ''get rid'' of him. On the ground, the two pilots compete for the affections of the beautiful Gina. But it is in the air where the true battles are waged. Will our hero be victorious?
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 | | 海がきこえる :: Umi ga Kikoeru (a.k.a. Ocean Waves) Originally released in 1993, 72 minutes long.
Morisaki Taku, now a student in college, has never quite shaken from his head the memories he has of his life in middle and high school. Back then, he was best friends with Matsuno Yutaka, the student body president, and enjoyed a relatively quiet life in his small home town of Kochi. One day, though, a new student is transfered to Morisaki and Yutaka's school: Muto Rikako, a Tokyo city girl.
Yutaka took quite a liking to Muto, and since Morisaki was his best friend, he found himself compelled to be nice to her as well. But after a class trip to Hawaii and another incident involving Muto that happened after that, things became a bit ... complicated between Morisaki and Yutaka. Sitting a plane flying back home now, Morisaki has to ask himself: what price friendship?
|  | 平成狸合戦ぽんぽこ :: Heisei Tanuki Gassen Ponpoko (a.k.a. Pom Poko) Originally released in 1994, 118 minutes long.
The Raccoons of the Tama Hills are being forced from their homes by the rapid development of houses and shopping malls. As it becomes harder to find food and shelter, they decide to band together and fight back. The Raccoons practice and perfect the ancient art of transformation until they are even able to appear as humans. In often hilarious ways, the Raccoons use their powers to try to scare off the advancement of civilization. But will it be enough? Or will the Raccoons learn how to live in balance with the modern world?
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 | 耳をすませば :: Mimi wo Sumaseba (a.k.a. Whisper of the Heart) Originally released in 1995, 111 minutes long.
Tsukishima Shizuku is the kind of 14-year-old girl you might expect to run into anywhere in Japan. School and helping out with chores around the house are her biggest concerns during the day; in her free time, she enjoys hanging out with her best friend Yuuko, reading lots of books, and occasionally trying a little writing.
One evening, she notices that all the books she checks out from the library have been read before by someone named Amasawa Seiji, which eventually leads to the start of a rather serendipitous friendship with an antique shop owner and his grandson. Shizuku is inspired to try and make something of herself as well, but also begins to question her pathway in life at an age where everything already seems uncertain and scary. Now, she finds herself struggling with questions of her talent, future, self-worth, and maybe love?
|  | もののけ姫 :: Mononoke Hime (a.k.a. Princess Mononoke) Originally released in 1997, 133 minutes long.
Depicting a mystical battle between Animal Gods of the forest and humans during Japan's Muromachi Period, young Ashitaka receives a fatal infection after a demonic wild boar attacks his northern village. Seeking a cure, he sets out to locate the deer-like god Shishigami. Along the way, he sees the rape of the Earth by a mining village. The constant plundering by the village has brought the wrath of the Wolf God, Moro, who attacks the village along with San, a human who was raised by the wolf god. She communicates with the nature spirits -- which is why she is called Princess Mononoke ("spirits of things"). Ashitaka wants these opposing forces to co-exist, and he hopes to bring peace between San and the ironworks owner, Lady Eboshi. However, he is thwarted as higher powers, intent on killing the Shishigama, intrude, and a battle erupts over the future of all nature.
|  | ホーホケキョとなりの山田くん :: Houhokekyo Tonari no Yamada-kun (a.k.a. My Neighbors the Yamadas) Originally released in 1999, 104 minutes long, based on a very popular comic strip.
The Yamada family consists of laid-back, rice cracker-addicted mother Matsuko; the bland businessman father Takashi, who has illusions of machismo; the fearless, acid-tongued grandmother Shige; the slacker teenaged son Noboru; the younger sister Nonoko, who has a freakishly voracious appetite; and Pochi, the misanthropic family dog. During the film, the Yamadas wrestle for control of the TV remote and they deal with a band of bikers who have invaded the neighborhood, while Takashi has fantasies about being born into a more interesting family.
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The two main people at Studio Ghibli are Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, and now Goro Miyazaki (Hayao's son) has joined the directing team. Both made movies before starting Studio Ghibli, but this page will just focus on their Studio Ghibli movies (although, technically, Nausicaä is a pre-Ghibli movie). To see the pre-Studio Ghibli efforts of either of these great animators or to view a list of the Studio Ghibli shorts (1960's - 1970's), check out the third Ghibli page, or (1980's - present) check out the fourth Ghibli page. (For lots of great info, check out Nausicca.net, a great site with LOTS more information.) The official Studio Ghibli site is also awesome, but is completely in Japanese.
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