Rainy movie days are one of the purest forms of good in this world- Along with old Golden Retrievers and cold water when it's really hot outside. As it storms in my town today I felt the need to return to one of my favorite activities -- the movie marathon. There really is no better feeling than hiding under a pile of blankets with a cat curled up at your side, an oversized sweatshirt and a film that takes you on a journey to another land whether or not beloved since childhood, or a new and thought-provoking adventure. Some of my favorite movie marathons include Star Wars, Back to the Future, Lord of the Rings, or Harry Potter but a very special one is a Studio Ghibli marathon. If you've seen those pretty gifs on Tumblr of landscapes that look animated but not Disney it's probably a Studio Ghibli film. An Oscar-winning Japanese animation company, it is marketed in the United States by Disney (which is most definitely for its mainstream success over here) and boosts legions of celebrity fans who fight tooth and nail to voice a minor character in the film. I've selected my top 5 that are the most accessible and popular in the canon and are perfect for a rainy day marathon. Happy watching.
5. The Wind Rises (2013)
(Starring Joseph Gordon Levitt, Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Martin Short, Mae Whitman, Stanley Tucci, & Elijah Wood)
Created and spearheaded by the former head of the studio, The Wind Rises was Hayao Miyazaki's (often referred to as the Japanese Walt Disney) swan song and last film. Inspired by Miyazaki's childhood love of planes, the film is a romantic turn on the life of WW2 Mitsubishi Zero engineer Jiro Horikoshi. Pulling from a different side of history one leaves the film with a empathic view on human kind, even if they are on the opposite side of a World War. The audience sees the tragic events that form Jiro's life and we can't help feel the same pain he feels as death, job failure, and the poignant fact that our gifts can start with the purest of intentions but eventually can warp into something we don't even recognize. Even then, as the famous quote from the movie says, "The wind is rising. We must try to live."
4. From Up on Poppy Hill (2011)
(Starring Sarah Bolger, Anton Yelchin, Jamie Lee Curtis, Aubrey Plaza & Christina Hendricks)
Sweet, youthful and strong. From Up on Poppy Hill deals with two high school students, Umi and Shun, who fight their local government for the opportunity to keep their old school club house. Since it takes place in the 1960's, the film is driven forward by the student activism of the time which remains the objective of the two leads' wants and desires. Their desire is to change the direction their generation is heading and to regain some of the pride their community lost since the World War. Umi and Shun are molded by the fact that they both lack their fathers since both were taken away in military activities and find solace in one another. Their relationship is the subplot of the film and binds the characters together with the turbulent issues of their time.
3. Spirited Away (2001)
(Starring Daveigh Chase, Jason Marsden, Susan Egan, & Tara Strong)
If anyone asks an average film audience anything about Studio Ghibli, memories of Spirited Away, the Oscar winning film of 2001 which put Ghibli on the map, may come up. Frankly, the movie is weird. Reminiscent of Disney's Alice in Wonderland, the hero's young female protagonist Chihiro undergoes a multitude of different adventures and odd characters after visiting an abandoned amusement park with her parents and portals to a whole other world -- the spirit world. (Hence Spirited Away, har har.) The animation is weird, beautiful, detail-oriented, and a true epic in the novel sense of the world. The film teaches the audience to look at their own world in a new way, one that invites adventure we didn't see before.
2. Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
(Starring Christian Bale, Lauren Bacall, Josh Hutcherson, & Jean Simmons)
Based upon the fantasy children's book series by Diana Wynne Jones, Howl's Moving Castle is a creative kaleidoscope dealing with the emotion of love -- self, familial, and romantic love. The hero of the film is a young woman named Sophie, a dutiful, kind, insecure girl and her boring life. Upon being cursed by a witch she is transformed into an old woman and finds her way into working as a maid for the infamous, broody, man-child, that is the Wizard Howl Pendragon. The movie is whimsical and brimming with visuals that fill the imagination to the brim. As my mother said after we watched it for the first time together, "Thanks for sharing your weird, pretty, hipster movie with me." While the over-arching plot is about two medieval like kingdoms in battle over the disappearance of a prince, the main and most fascinating relationship is between Howl and Sophie. By giving up her youth, the quiet Sophie loses her self- conscious nature and becomes a resolute go-getter. Her story of self love as the heroine of her own story is a tale for all young women to see. Howl in turn, finally grows up from his selfish nature when he sees the kindness in Sophie's heart. Their love story is one of the ages, made of film moments that speak to the human soul with touching affection and a true sense of peace. (The garden scene y'all. The garden scene.) In the end, they sacrifice all but reap it ten fold in the finale. As Sophie replies at the end of the film, "A heart is a heavy burden." But the burden is absolutely worth it if the end of our stories are like hers and Howl's.
1. Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)
(Starring Kirsten Dunst, Phil Hartman, Matthew Lawrence, & Debbie Reynolds)
Another children's book turned movie, Kiki's is a story about a spunky, 13 year old witch and her talking cat Jiji who undergo the journey into adulthood with a magical flair. As with many Ghibli films, the hero is a female-Ghibli creator Miyazaki and assured feminist has stated:
Maybe more then any other heroine, Kiki is her own woman at such a young age. Through her adventure we see her find her own sense of self, new home, create a job perfectly suited to her strengths, and learn to accept her differences among an often rude, homogeneous society. At the climax of the film when she loses her witchy ability to fly, it is solely the fault of her self-doubts about her self confidence. Only when she believes in herself and understands that it's an adult trait to be vulnerable does she grow up. And as she grows up, so do we.
