The Ghibli Appeal

If you have a Netflix account you may have probably seen in your homepage some new movies that have an Asian cartoony feel to them. They belong to the beloved Japanese animation film studio called Studio Ghibli. It was founded on June 15, 1985, in Tokyo, and has since then warmed the heart of each of its viewers with their colorful films.

By Valeria Beltrán, 10th A

If you’re into movies with cute characters, then My Neighbor Totoro will most definitely be your cup of tea. Rotten Tomatoes (an American review-aggregation website for film and television) describes it as a heartwarming, sentimental masterpiece that captures the simple grace of childhood; and shares a score with the general audience of 94%, (a very high score considering the high standards of the popular website critics). Alongside a light and cheerful soundtrack, the beautiful animation will surely deliver the story of Satsuke, Mei, and their family with a sense of wonder to it, and it will teach you to appreciate even the smallest details of life; letting you grow on the way.

Now very well, if this cutesy stuff is not something you really enjoy, Studio Ghibli will provide an ample selection of other genres for you to choose. Spirited Away, for example, narrates the story of little Chihiro and her journey through a new land filled with weird and lowkey scary monsters, creatures and characters, all the same, providing a wonderful story the viewer will get lost in. It has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 97% and a general audience score of 96%.

My Neighbor Totoro

Spirited Away

Grave of the Fireflies

Finally, If fantasy is not your favorite genre, even while being animated Studio Ghibli can deliver stories based on real life, and topics that can be hard-to-swallow. Grave of the Fireflies is the adaptation of an autobiographical novel and narrates the story of Seita and Setsuko, siblings that are left fighting for their lives after an American firebombing separates them from their parents. The movie is heartbreaking to watch, which helps it deliver its anti-war message in a wonderful way. It has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 98% and a general audience score of 95%. Some professional critics have reviewed it as:

One of the most startling and moving animated films ever.
We're so used to seeing the human spirit triumph. Here,

we're allowed to understand how it might fail.

This film isn't easy to watch but it's essential viewing among the great works of animation--or really of all film, for that matter.
Writer-director Isao Takahata, a frequent collaborator of Miyazaki's at Studio Ghibli, adapted a partly autobiographical novel by Akiyuki Nosaka, and his handling of the tragic story is masterfully understated.

Another great aspect of Ghibli movies is that even though they are not very new, they tend to have female lead characters, shifting the focus from a damsel in distress to an independent heroine. Even in princess movies, such as Princess Mononoke, or Kiki’s Delivery Service, a witch one, there is a full development of the characters and an establishment of a good role model to follow. At the same time, in some other films, there are male lead characters; nevertheless, they always provide a story that breaks gender stereotypes and lets kids (and even adults) look up to its characters and feel connected to them. So whether you’re 10, 20, or 70 years old, a Studio Ghibli film will most probably be able to enter deep within your heart and will provide you an escape of reality or new ways to assimilate it and to grow with them.

By Valeria Beltrán, 10th B