Top 10 Studio Ghibli Films

[ParadoxLC]

What do you think are the top 10 Studio Ghibli films?
I would say the top 10 are:

1. Spirited Away
2. Princess Mononoke
3. Castle in the Sky
4. Grave of the Fireflies
5. Howl's Moving Castle
6. My Neighbor Totoro
7. Whisper of the Heart
8. Kiki's Delivery Service
9. The Cat Returns
10. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

[Kyo28]

Big fan of Ghibli here. I have most of their works on DVD (Japanese releases) and am planning to upgrade them to Blu-ray as soon as they become available. Here's my order of preference:

1. Majo no takkyuubin (it's a great coming-of-age story, I think)
2. Neko no Ongaeshi
3. Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi
4. Tonari no Totoro (great depiction of how life in the country side used to be. It gives my wife recollections of her own childhood)
5. Houhokekyo tonari no Yamada-kun (great satire on Japanese family life. Think: Simpsons meet Japanese culture and you have an idea)

After these it becomes hard for me to put one movie over the other, so I'll leave it at my top 5.

[mikejet]

Howl's is at the bottom for me. Couldn't get into it.

1. Princess Mononoke
2. Spirited Away
3. My Neighbor Totoro
4. Grave of the Fireflies
5. Ponyo On a Cliff by the Sea
6. Kiki's Delivery Service
7. Howl's Moving Castle

That's the one's I've seen. I'm kind of worried for the English language version of Ponyo as I don't know if the voice actors can capture the sheer innocence and bewilderment of Seosuke and Ponyo. It was a great film. Highly recommended.

[Sagacious Koreo]

1. Porco Rosso (Couldn't tell you exactly why, but this has always been my favorite Miyazaki film.)
2. Nausicaa
3. My Neighbor Totoro
4. Princess Mononoke
5. Grave of the Fireflies
6. Castle of Cogliostro
7. Laputa: Castle in the Sky
8. Spirited Away
9. The Cat Returns
10. Pom Poko

It's really hard for me to list these because I really love all of them, but that's sort of the best I could come up with I guess.

[Kyo28]

Originally Posted by mikejet

I'm kind of worried for the English language version of Ponyo as I don't know if the voice actors can capture the sheer innocence and bewilderment of Seosuke and Ponyo. It was a great film. Highly recommended.

Personally, I think watching any of the Ghibli movies with a language track other than the original Japanese one is doing a great disservice to the movies.

You're always missing some little connotations in the translation and it's hard for foreign voice actors to capture the same intonation and emotion as the original cast did. This is especially true for Ghibli movies, which are permeated with Japanese culture.

[PH3AR]

Ghibli Films?

[newtype]

I'm scared to watch Grave of fireflies, from everything I heard I will be crying like a baby.

[MOONPHASE]

Originally Posted by PH3AR

Ghibli Films?

They make anime movies but anyways my choices are Lupin the Third: Castle of Cagliostro, Castle in the Sky, Kiki's Delivery Service, Grave of the Fireflies, and Princess Mononoke

[MOONPHASE]

Originally Posted by Kyo28

Personally, I think watching any of the Ghibli movies with a language track other than the original Japanese one is doing a great disservice to the movies.

You're always missing some little connotations in the translation and it's hard for foreign voice actors to capture the same intonation and emotion as the original cast did. This is especially true for Ghibli movies, which are permeated with Japanese culture.

Um no offense but um you say that about any anime not just Studio Ghibli movies. Besides sometimes they change names and stuff like that so that it can be easy to do in English.

[Monkey]

I just randomly chose on to see what it was about.. I chose the cartoon Ponyo On a Cliff by the Sea Trailer. Ok, well I don't have sounn at work but that looks like a pretty interesting cartoon.. What the heck are those babies/kids in the pink? All that fish flying up was pretty cool (reminds me a littel bit of Nemo).

[Doc Ostrow]

Originally Posted by Kyo28

Personally, I think watching any of the Ghibli movies with a language track other than the original Japanese one is doing a great disservice to the movies.

You're always missing some little connotations in the translation and it's hard for foreign voice actors to capture the same intonation and emotion as the original cast did. This is especially true for Ghibli movies, which are permeated with Japanese culture.

I have 10 Ghibli movies on DVD and all of them allow the viewer to select either Japanese or English language tracks. I always choose the English soundtrack with the exception of the Japanese song during the end titles of Kiki's Delivery Service (Majo no takkyûbin), which is my favorite music from my favorite Ghibli movie. If I have to read subtitles, I would not be seeing as much of the animation and it will distract me from being immersed in the movie. Since I do not speak Japanese, I would not understand the intonation either. I agree that translations are not always accurate, even for subtitles, but what choice do I have? One could also say that a Japanese person who did not speak English would have to depend on Japanese voice actors and translators for Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Here are all of the Ghibli movies I own in alphabetical order:

1. Castle in the Sky
2. The Cat Returns
3. Howl's Moving Castle
4. Kiki's Delivery Service
5. My Neighbor Totoro
6. Nausicaa
7. Porco Rosso
8. Princess Mononoke
9. Spirited Away
10. Whisper of the Heart

Hayao Miyazaki was involved in all of these movies, usually as director and screenwriter. I have also seen Grave of the Fireflies.

[Zen_Amako]

It's tough to decide, but I'd put them in this order:

Whisper of the Heart (Mimi wo sumaseba)
Only Yesterday (Omoide poroporo)
Ocean Waves (Umi ga kikoeru)
Porco Rosso
Princess Mononoke (Mononoke hime)
Spirited Away (Sen to chihiro no kamikakushi)
Kiki's Delivery Service
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
Grave of the Fireflies
Laputa: Castle in the Sky
My Neighbor Totoro
Raccoon Wars (Heisei tanuki-gassen pompoko)
The Cat Returns (Neko no ongaeshi)
Howl's Moving Castle

Have not seen Ponyo, Tales of Earthsea or My Neighbors the Yamadas.

[ParadoxLC]

Originally Posted by Sagacious Koreo

6. Castle of Cagliostro

I didn't know that was made by Studio Ghibli, or else I would've put it in my top 10 as well.

[javabear]

Howl's moving castle is #1 for me.

If you haven't read the book, by Diana W. Jones, you may want to. The book is absolutely charming.

[MOONPHASE]

Originally Posted by ParadoxLC

I didn't know that was made by Studio Ghibli, or else I would've put it in my top 10 as well.

Yup directed by Miyazaki himself

[AnimeOnBlu]

Technically, Castle of Cagliostro is not a Ghibli film. It was done a few years before Nausicaa, which is considered the first real Ghibli film.

[OrlandoEastwood]

I haven't seen all the Ghibli films but:

1. Princess Mononoke
2. Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea
3. My Neighbor Totoro
4. Spirited Away
5. Nausicaa
6. Howl's Moving Castle
7. Castle in the Sky
8. Porco Rosso

Edit: Someone should re-edit the English dub for Howl's Moving Castle and throw Bale's rant in it.

[totoroplushtoy]

My top 10 Ghibli Films are:
1. My Neighbor Totoro
2. Castle in the Sky
3. Kiki's Delivery Service
4. Spirited Away
5. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
6. Princess Mononoke
7. Howl's Moving Castle
8. Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea
9. Porco Rosso
10. Pom POKO

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by Kyo28

5. Houhokekyo tonari no Yamada-kun (great satire on Japanese family life. Think: Simpsons meet Japanese culture and you have an idea).

Y'know, I was just about to post that no stateside Ghlbli-poseurs ever seem to remember "My Neighbors the Yamadas", just because it wasn't Miyazaki and didn't play theaters, even though a good DVD dub came out with the other Disneys--
A good "comic strip" anime in the style of US comic strips (or Azumanga Daioh), but even more surprising that Isao Takahata turned out to own a sense of humor.

(You can always tell a true anime fan by the Ghiblis he doesn't mention first.)

[toddly6666]

I have seen all of Ghibli and Ghibli-related films/tv - here's my list:

1. Kiki's Delivery Service
2. Future Boy Conan
3. Princess Mononoke

The above are super excellent...everything else is just regular excellent!