StudioGhibli

(Satsuke and Mei from Totoro)

Studio Ghibli is the production company of Hayao Miyazaki. They have released a number of feature films of uniformly impeccable quality, not even half of which have been released in the U.S. There is a set of 6 DVD's produced in Hong Kong that, while not licensed, and therefore illegally distributed, are the only way for viewers in the U.S. to see many of these films, or to see them in letterboxed, unedited original release form. The english subtitles in the Hong Kong "bootleg" collection are of decent quality. Some of the U.S. releases sadly do not include a Japanese language track.

Princess Mononoke

Set during the late Muromachi period (1333-1568) at about the time that Portuguese trade began with Japan, this animation is about a mystic fight between the animal demons of the forest and humans. Acting on behalf of the animal demons is San (Mononoke Hime), a human girl raised by the wolf demon Moro. Her counterpart on the human side is Lady Eboshi, intent on building a kind of worker's utopia financed by the manufacture and sale of portable firearms of a type introduced by European trade. Unfortunately the massive smelting and forging operation that Lady Eboshi constructs requires the consumption of vast amounts of forest for fuel, and therefore the destruction of the habitat of the animals, enraging their protective spirits. Arguably the finest animated feature ever made.
Running time: 133 minutes

Nausicaa of The Valley of Wind

Nausicaa, the princess of The Valley of Wind, lives in a world devastated by an ongoing battle between humans and insects, fought by increasingly desperate and unscrupulous warlords. After a rollercoater ride through exciting battles, chases, and an underground world, she establishes a truce that is the only hope for the surviving humans.
Running time: 116 minutes

Only Yesterday

Directed by Isao Takahata, and based on the manga by Hotaru Okamoto and Yuuko Tone. Taeko, a single working woman looks back at herself as a young school girl, and her coming of age, during a vacation in the countryside. The bittersweet memories cause Taeko to re-evaluate her life choices and to consider her future. The long sequence dealing with the growing and processing of safflowers to make traditional Japanese cosmetics and fabric dye is wonderfully done!
Running time: 105 minutes

Whisper of the Heart

Based on a manga by Aoi Hiirage, it tells the story of Shizuku, a junior high-school student struggling to find out who she really is. This animation will take you on a journey through her imaginations and daily life as she makes decisions that may change her life forever.
Running time: 111 minutes

My Neighbor Totoro

Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Satsuki and Mei move to a rural farmhouse with their father, while their mother recuperates from a protracted illness in the prefectural hospital. Mei discovers that the ancient camphor tree near their house is inhabited by forest spirits called "Totoro", and Mei and Satsuki have a series of brilliant fanciful adventures with them. Very low-key and a winner with all children. The U.S. release is very near to the original, with only very minor cuts. It has been reformatted however, which is unfortunate. The english language voice actors do an excellent job (the voice of the father is actually better in the english dub!) and the dialogue is true to the original (impressively so).
Running time: 86 minutes

Ponpoko

Director Isao Takahata's anthropomorphic fantasia deals with environmental conservation issues with humor and intensity. Tanuki are a kind of animal native to Asia resembling a large raccoon. Threatened with the destruction of their natural habitat by urban sprawl these animals fought to sabotage the projects in order to protect their forest. The techniques used by the tanuki range from outright violence to staging a convocation of the spirits. Brilliant! The sequence in which the Tanuki prepare a lantern parade to end all lantern parades is breathtaking.
Running time: 118 minutes

Porco Rosso

Based on a Hayao Miyazaki manga, Hikoutei Jidai, this animation is also directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It was first featured in 1992. A very imaginative comedy-drama about an Italian air force captain who experiences a mystical transformation into a pig when his squadron is otherwise destroyed in a dogfight. As the fascists come to power he is under pressure to join the air force once again. A fascinating fairy tail that deals with complex issues of emotion and individuality. Not violent, but probably not appropriate for children. The treatment of the aircraft in the film is strikingly realistic. Not that the ariplanes themselves are "realistic" looking, but that they are treated as real complex mechanical constructions, and that they flex, and break with surprising veracity.
Running time: 93 minutes

Laputa aka "Castle In The Sky"

Produced by Hayao Miyazaki in 1986, this is another of the many Japanese animated retelling's of the myth of Atlantis, this time conflating it with the legendary floating island Laputa from Swift's Gulliver's Travels. Without question the most epic of Ghibli's productions, with a large cast of fascinating characters and non-stop action. Amusingly renamed Castle In The Sky for international release because of the unfortunate spanish idiomatic meaning of the original name.
Running time: 124 minutes

Kiki's Delivery Service

Featured in 1989, this animation is directed and produced by the well-known Hayao Miyazaki. Very interesting and fun to watch! The animation centers around the life of Kiki, a 13-year old witch who was sent away from home to spend a year in another city without any witch living there, so that she can learn to be independant and practice her witch craft.
Running time: 102 minutes

Grave of The Fireflies

Based on a book by Akiyuki Nosaka, this is a very somber and touching animation directed by Isao Takahata. The story revolves around two children, Seita and his sister Setsuko, struggling to survive during World War II, Seita and his younger sister Setsuko are left to fend for themselves when their mother passed away from severe burns inflicted by the American fire-bombing of their town and their father is serving in the Japanese navy. They have never seen their father for a long time now and left alone to fend for themselves.
This film is quite violent and deals frankly with the reality of death in wartime. NOT FOR CHILDREN!!
Running time: 88 minutes

Ocean Waves

Directed by Tomomi Mochizuki based on the novel written by Saeko Himuro, the story is set in Kochi (on the island of Shikoku) and tells the story of a love triangle between two good friends and the new girl, Rokiko,who just got transferred from Tokyo.. She was at first arrogant and distant, but eventually manage to make friends with the boys.
Running time: 72 minutes

On Your Mark

A music video created in 1995 by Hayao Miyazaki for the Japanese pop music artists Chage & Aska.
Running time: 6 minutes 40 seconds

Spirited Away

Winner of the Academy award for best animated feature in 2003. The U.S. release was a revelation to American audiences of the vast superiority of Japanese animation when compared to the dismally unoriginal products of Disney and Pixar. Disney's selection of voice actors for the english dub was truly inspired. There are a few very small inexplicable differences between the Japanese and the U.S. version of the film.
Running time: 124 minutes

The Cat Returns

Terrific fun. Reminds one of Catnapped, though much less manic! Actually contains a nodding reference to Catnapped, in that when the young heroine transforms into a cat, she resembles the transformed children in Catnapped far more than she does the other cats. Another example of something Disney might take a stab at, and blow utterly.
Running time: 80 minutes

Howl's Moving Castle

Howl's Moving Castle

Ghibli continues in straight fairytale mode with an adaptation of an English children's book with a sort of Baba Yaga storyline. The animation style is a return to the traditional cel style of Kiki's Delivery Service after the flashy digital Spirited Away work.
The example above shows however that the digital work in Howl's is impeccable ;^)
Running time: 118 minutes