Studio Ghibli was founded in 1985 by the famous Hayao Miyazaki along with Isao Takahata. However, Nausicaa del Valle del Viento was prior to this event, it became a success and allowed the starting signal for the Japanese animation studio that has left us so many works of art, one of the best in the world and with classic titles that we can now see again. Although there are many, and all available on Netflix, these five Studio Ghibli movies are essential if you don’t know where to start.
Princess Mononoke
If you haven’t seen any Ghibli movie in your life, Start with Princess Mononoke it could be a good idea. One of the great classics and a brilliant story. Young Ashitaka has been attacked by a beast and is searching for a cure that only the Spirit of the Forest can give him. Ashitaka fights against the demon that is, little by little, taking his life but when he gets closer to Atara, he finds a situation where the gods of the forest seek to preserve nature and a group of humans wants to destroy it to get weapons. A clash between humans and nature in a fighting movie in which San, the princess of the forest also participates. Princess Mononoke. A film in which Miyazaki (as always) bets on empower female characters and with a clear moral: you have to take care of nature.
Year: 1997
Duration: Two hours and 14 minutes
Theme: Adventure
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Watch Princess Mononoke on Netflix
Howl’s Moving Castle
One of the last to arrive is also one of the best Ghibli movies of all time. Sophie Hatter is the daughter of a hat with an ordinary life in which she does little more than spend time in her family’s workshop. But her life changes when a witch curses and bewitches her, turning her into an old woman. For try to get back to normal and regain her youthful appearance, Sophie must accompany Howl in his moving castle until the spell is undone. She will have to accompany Howl, Markl and the adorable Calcifer, demon of fire and source of energy for the traveling house. One of the last films directed by Hayao Miyazaki (later Ponyo and other titles would arrive…) and one of the best Ghibli films. A story of fantasy, of love, of friendship but also of adventure and fantasy.
Year: 2004
Duration: One hour and 59 minutes
Theme: Drama / Romance
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Age: Not recommended for children under 7 years
Watch Howl’s Moving Castle on Netflix
Spirited Away
Chihiro is a ten-year-old girl who discovers an abandoned amusement park on her way to her new house with her parents. When it starts to get dark, everything becomes completely different and unreal. Her parents have ceased to be her parents and have been turned into pigs for eating food that is not theirs. It is all full of fantastic creatures and there are only gods. Chihiro feels alone and scared at a disturbing scenario and full of details but he will get used to it and he will start working to “sneak in between them”. Also there he will meet Haku and Yubaba. A mythical title, one of the films most praised of Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki, an essential available on Netflix from March 1, 2020 and for the whole family. Disturbing, fantastic, exciting, sentimental and that won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film in 2002.
Year: 2001
Duration: Two hours and five minutes
Theme: Adventure / Drama
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Age: For all audiences
Watch Spirited Away on Netflix
Nausicaa of Valley of the Wind
The planet recovers after an apocalyptic nuclear war but humans do not live in the best conditions: a forest contaminated with gases or giant insects whom humans see as dangerous enemies. In the Valley of the Wind they have a prophecy that a savior will arrive “dressed in blue who will walk on a field to unite the ties with the Earth and guide the people to purified lands.” It will be Nausicaa, the princess of the Valley of the Wind, pilot and warrior, who helps peace reign and everything returns to normal. Once again, Miyazaki opts for a powerful female character and for the defense of nature. Nausicaa was the beginning of everything, a film that it was born before the foundation of Studio Ghibli itself but whose box office success led to many more arriving.
Year: 1984
Duration: One hour and 54 minutes
Theme: Adventure / Fantasy
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Age: For ages 7+
Watch Nausicaa in the Valley of the Wind on Netflix
The fireflies’s grave
Grave of the Fireflies is one of the best Studio Ghibli movies on Netflix and also one of the most emotional you’ll ever see. It is the story of two orphaned children in Japan during World War II. Two children trying to survive while escaping from the war and fighting not to starve. A title that shows the consequences of the war and that will make us cry during its hour and a half duration. Grave of the Fireflies, directed by Isao Tahata, It is one of the essentials that you must see. Although sad, the story also shows us (as in other Ghibli stories) life from a child’s point of view and, above all, the loneliness from that child’s point of view of the two protagonists.
Year: 1988
Duration: One hour and 28 minutes
Theme: History / Emotional
Director: Isao Takahata
Age: For ages 13+
Watch Grave of the Fireflies on Netflix
