Hayao Miyazaki is a world-renowned genius storyteller-slash-animator. All his works are full of fluffy goodness and sometimes a handful of magic. All of his characters and stories are very carefully drawn and thought out. Generally, his animated movies are suitable for everyone, although according to the author’s design, the age of the cartoon and the audience will coincided with the age of the main characters.
Let’s get right to the business! Here are Miyazaki’s top 8 most amazing films!
1. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
This is considered to be the first anime of the Ghibli studio, and the second feature film of Hayao Miyazaki. He drew the manga and animated almost everything himself. The anime takes place in a world where a thousand years have passed since the end of a terrible war. In this world covered with huge forests, people strive to live in harmony with the nature. Neat!
2. Castle in the Sky
The huge flying island of Laputa was just an ancient legend that nobody has ever seen, until one day a young girl Sita, a descendant of the owners of Laputa, got her hands on a very particular crystal. Sounds intriguing? I bet!
3. My Neighbor Totoro
Totoro is the guardian of the forest, but also a huge huggable creature that just wants to make new friends. Hop on the Cat-bus, and let’s go on a magical journey! After Totoro made the Ghibli studio a success, he became its official symbol and a mascot.
4. Kiki’s Delivery Service
Thirteen-year-old witch Kiki, according to an ancient tradition, must undergo a year-long challenge in a city where nobody knows her. Sadly, Kiki can only fly on a broomstick. The themes Miyazaki’s touching upon in this anime are things like growing up, seeking one’s place in life, loneliness, making peace with others, and accepting the world as it is. You may even shed a few tears by the end.
5. Porco Rosso
If you like the WWI story about the Red Baron, Porco Rosso is pretty much that, but animated and with a pig’s face as the main character. Look, it’s a classic, and you have to see it, even if it’s only to watch the spectacularly animated aerial battles.
6. Spirited Away
Ten-year-old Chihiro moves with his parents to a new city, they go for a walk, take the wrong path on their stroll and fall into a magical world. It’s the world where the gods come to rest. In this world the old granny Yubaba manages everything and turns people into pigs. Sounds crazy but it all works!
7. Howl’s Moving Castle
According to Miyazaki, the prototype of the castle was taken from the Slavic mythology, namely Baba Yaga’s hut on chicken legs. But in fact the castle is huge, chaotic and looks as if it were made out of hundreds of different objects. And we can even see it changing over the course of the film. It’s definitely one of those must-watch movies.
8. Ponyo
A heart-warming story about the friendship between a five-year-old boy and a fish named Ponyo, who’s really a sorceress’ daughter and a sea goddess. Ponyo falls in love and now wants to turn into a human. Sounds a bit familiar, doesn’t it? Yeah, this is “Little Mermaid” but with a twist!
