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Top 10 Studio Ghibli Films.

misskitten

Hello Sweetie!
Joined
Jun 18, 2011
Location
Norway
Well, to begin with, I would have to point out which of the Ghibli movies I have seen and which I haven't yet seen - it's only fair as I have no idea where I would place these movies on the list.

So movies I have seen:
- Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
- Laputa: Castle in the Sky
- Grave of the Fireflies
- My Neighbor Totoro
- Kiki's Delivery Service
- Only Yesterday
- Porco Rosso
- Ocean Waves
- Pom Poko
- Whisper of the Heart
- Princess Mononoke
- Spirited Away
- The Cat Returns
- Howl's Moving Castle
- Tales from Earthsea
- Ponyo

Movies I haven't seen yet:
- Neighbors the Yamadas
- Arrietty
- From Up on Poppy Hill

As for which I would name as my top ten...
1. Grave of the Fireflies - such a heartbreaking story (war, orphaned children, starvation...), depicted in a really beautiful way, this movie simply stands out - (sad, but beautiful AMV for the movie)
2. Kiki's Delivery Service
3. Laputa: Castle in the Sky
4. Howl's Moving Castle
5. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
6. My Neighbor Totoro
7. Ponyo
8. Spirited Away
9. Whisper of the Heart
10. Princess Mononoke
 
Joined
Aug 7, 2011
1. Spirited Away
2. Laputa: Castle in the Sky
3. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
4. My Neighbor Totoro
5. Kiki's Delivery Service
6. Howl's Moving Castle
7. Grave of the Fireflies
8. Porco Rosso
9. Ponyo
10. Princess Mononoke


The order of that list doesn't mean much honestly. I sort of lump all Studio Ghibli films together to some extent and I never end up watching just 1 when I'm in the mood for some Ghibli.
 
Joined
Feb 23, 2011
Oh, but they're all so good. I could never place them in any order, but I guess there are some that I like a bit more than others, and here they are...
  1. Grave of the Fireflies : a riveting tale of sorrow, based on a true story. It depicts the harsh reality of World War II and its many facets from a child's perspective. And the chills begin...
  2. Howl's Moving Castle
  3. Kiki's Delivery Service
  4. Laputa: Castle in the Sky
  5. Princess Mononoke
  6. Spirited Away
  7. My Neighbor Totoro
  8. Ponyo
  9. Tales from Earthsea
  10. Whisper of the Heart

Don't get me wrong, the others are amazing... However, they failed to make the list (for reasons unknown [noparse];)[/noparse])...
 

Locke

Hegemon
Site Staff
Joined
Nov 24, 2009
Location
Redmond, Washington
Grave of the Fireflies, really? That one's terrible! ;~;

I watched all of these this summer.
1. Howl's Moving Castle
2. Whisper of the Heart
3. My Neighbor Totoro
4. Princess Mononoke
5. Spirited Away - great potential, but the pacing threw me off, culminating in a sort of anticlimax at the end.
6. Arrietty
7. Laputa: Castle in the Sky
8. Porco Rosso
9. Ponyo - did anyone else think of Majora's Mask? The moon? Lulu?
10. The Cat Returns

Nausicaa would be up there, around #5, if it was a Ghibli film.

Didn't like:
  • Grave of the Fireflies - yeah, great, high quality film, but I still hate it because it's so depressing! (I assume we're going by opinions in this thread?)
  • Kiki's Delivery Service

Haven't seen yet:
  • Only Yesterday
  • Ocean Waves
  • Pom Poko
  • My Neighbors the Yamadas
  • Tales from Earthsea
  • From Up on Poppy Hill
 

misskitten

Hello Sweetie!
Joined
Jun 18, 2011
Location
Norway
lol, not liking sad movies, is definitely your prerogative, Locke :) There's no denying that Grave of the Fireflies is really depressing, but how can a movie about two orphaned children during the second world war be anything but? I love it because it's a powerful story told in a very powerful way, it's not completely depressing all the time, having the sweet and even optimistic moments - like when they are playing on the beach, watching the Fireflies with awe, when they buy food with their own money and take care of themselves in the beginning - it just couldn't stay optmistic because the setting wouldn't let it last. It's great that Ghibli shows such great variation, from the adorableness of Totoro and Ponyo to the more serious issues of Princess Mononoke and Grave of the Fireflies.

And I would certainly call Nausicäa a Ghibli movie - it is part of the collection and is the reason the studio was founded, after all ;)
 
Joined
Jun 16, 2011
Location
A parallel timeline
As a huge fan of Studio Ghibli, this was a difficult choice, but here they are:
10) Whisper of the Heart
9) Howl's Moving Castle
8) Ponyo
7) Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
6) Laputa Castle in the Sky
5) Spirited Away
4) Grave of the Fireflies
3) Kiki's Delivery Service
2) My Neighbor Totoro
1) Princess Mononoke
 
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theoathtoorder

“Zinga-dingding!”
Joined
May 10, 2012
1. My Neighbor Totoro
2. Princess Mononoke
3. Spirited Away
4. Grave of the Fireflies
5. Nausiccaa of the Valley of the Wind
6. Castle in the Sky
7. Howl's Moving Castle
8. Kiki's Delivery Service
9. Tales from Earthsea
10. Secret World of Arietty

Pom Poko and Ponyo are next :)
Cat Returns is also good. Wasn't too crazy about My Neighbors the Yamadas.
 

Sir Quaffler

May we meet again
1. Laputa: Castle in the Sky. This is my absolute favorite animated film and is one of my all-time favorite movies overall, right behind the Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Dark Knight series. As well, this movie has made a tremendous impact on movies and the entertainment media in general. So many tropes, cliches, and other classic ideas base it off what happens in this movie. Floating islands? Laputa. Young but courageous male hero? Patzu. Girl with mysterious powers and descendant of some ancient dead race? Sheeta. Spunky pirates/outlaws and their theiving ways but ultimately good hearts? Dola Gang. Proper-speaking henchman who usurp their leaders and take control of some monstrous power? Muska. And the story is one of my absolute favorites. Probably part of the reason why I like Skyward Sword so much, there's so much from this movie that's in the game...
2. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Winds. My favorite example of a strong female lead. Post-apocolyptic stories always intrigue me, I loved the flying machines in this movie (and Laputa's too for that matter), and the heavy-handed environmental message was told in a very moving way.
3. Grave of the Fireflies. This movie tears me up inside and is the most depressing thing I've ever seen. A testament to how emotionally impacting this movie is.
4 and 5. Tie between Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle. Both are fantastical films and both feature amazing characters. They both go way out there in concepts and it shows in the wonderfully told story. I just can't pick one over the other.
6. The Secret World of Arietty. I absolutely loved the concept of this movie, and they executed it very well. I really like Arietty's character.
7. Tales of Earthsea. I liked the more mature tone of this movie, and while sometimes I didn't quite know what was going on (that tends to happen in Miyazaki films) I still liked how they did it.
8. Ponyo. This movie is absolutely adorable. No other reason.
9. Kiki's Delivery Service. Again, loved the aircraft theme-ing.
10. Obligatory shout-out to My Neighbor Totoro.

The rest were pretty good as well. I'd like to say the same for Princess Mononoke, but I keep falling asleep to it, don't know why.
 
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I don't even think i've seen ten... i'll just list what i've seen

1. Ponyo
2. My Neighbour Totoro
3. Princess Mononoke
4. Arietty
5. Howl's Moving Castle
6. Whisper of the Heart
7. Kiki's delivery service
8. The Cat Returns
 
Joined
Aug 12, 2012
Location
CA, USA
There are many that I have not seen, I have a hard time finding them other than on the internet... But this is my list of what I've seen:

1) My Neighbor Totoro
2) Howl's Moving Castle
3) Spirited Away
4) Castle in the Sky

I guess I've only seen 4, lol. I REALLY want to see Princess Mononoke, and Kiki's Delivery Service.
 
Joined
Jun 16, 2012
Not sure if I've even seen 10, haha.

1. Spirited Away
2. Princess Mononoke
3. Ponyo
4. Laputa: Castle in the Sky
5. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
6. Howl's Moving Castle
7. From Up On Poppy Hill
8. Whisper of the Heart
9. Grave of the Fireflies

I think that's all I've seen. If I have seen more, I obviously don't remember it.
 

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