The Chief, Coat, and Me went to go see Ponyo a couple of weeks ago. And the conversation inevitably came around to how Ponyo compared to the other studio Ghibli films. So in traditional internet style, I present my list of best.
**Warning some spoilers do occur!**
Starting with the best.
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Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind: First of the films to be made, it still has the staying power of any great film. It is one of the few films I crave on a lazy afternoon. |
| Howl’s Moving Castle: Although not an accurate depiction from the book it was taken from, Howl’s is beautiful in story and art. ( If you like the move pick up original book. ) |  |
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Spirited Away: Being my first Ghibli film to see in the theater may have scued it’s ranking. |
| Castle in the Sky: Simple story, done well. |  |
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Porco Rosso: Touching although Kiddie at times. I wish they made more films in that plane based world. |
| Princess Mononoke: Heavy handed with it’s message, but great art and imaginative story. |  |
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Kiki’s Delivery Service: Magic as an everyday occurrence, mixed with young love. This is the chick flic of the collection. |
| Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea: Is full of kiddie nonsense and an end song that could be considered a sign of the apocalypse. Still there is a part of me that enjoys that Japanese strangeness. |  |
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Tales from Earthsea:It’s a good story, but not memorable. And it took the Chief three times to get through it(she fell asleep twice!). despite that, she gives it the thumbs up. |
| My Neighbor Totoro: The story seemed to move very little. And this is one of the best examples of “Myazaki Parents” (although Ponyo takes it to a new level). |  |
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The Cat Returns: Kiddie and fun, It lacked the art style that made the others so good. |
| Pom Poko: Having the same reduced art style as The Cat Returns, Pom Poko throughs in not so subtle message’s. Not to mention a few shape shifting nut sac tricks. This is one of their strangest films . |  |
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My Neighbors the Yamadas: Isn’t a bad little Slice of life film. But like most of the movies at this end of this list, it gets boring. I found myself forcing my way to the end. |
| Whisper of the Heart: The ending to this film doesn’t feel proper. And I haven’t run across anyone who has thought it was. That combined with a painfully slow storyline puts it towards the bottom. |  |
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Grave of the Fireflies: The most depressing of all the list. Grave of the fireflies will make you think of watching The Passion for a pick-me-up. |
If you think I’m crazy in my opinions, speak up! I’m always open to being proven wrong / proving you wrong.
-Dr. W
* Myazaki Parents: Parents who are confronted with unusual and supernatural circumstances, and act as if nothing is strange. They rarely if ever get mad. And believe everything their children tell them.
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