4 ms·

yes, spirited away is hands down the best ghibli film, for that ability to grab your spirit and transform it alongside chihiro's (the young protagonist). it's p

yes, spirited away is hands down the best ghibli film, for that ability to grab your spirit and transform it alongside chihiro's (the young protagonist). it's probably one of my top 5 or top 10 films of all time. i liked mononoke, but it felt heavy-handed in comparison, so it doesn't rate as highly in my book. it would have rated way worse had disney gotten its way with it. edit: totoro would be #2, kaguya and grave of the fireflies would be tied for #3/4, then howl's moving castle at #5, then ponyo, mononoke, and kiki's delivery service would be among the remaining top 10 spots for me.

Eric_WVGG 4y ago
> spirited away is hands down the best ghibli film next to Mononoke and Nausicaä, sure
- nvahalik 4y ago
  I actually meant to say Mononoke, but Spirited Away is one I have watched with my kids—and I'm about to introduce Mononoke to my oldest.
grogenaut 4y ago
I'd put grave #1, but I'd also only watch it again if I really wanted to make someone cry by showing it to them the first time. Brutal and poignant.
- clairity 4y ago
  to be clear, even though i ranked them, my bar for a good film is whether i'd watch it again or not, and all the ghibli films i've seen, except perhaps arrietty (i haven't seen earwig or earthsea, but the consensus seems to be against those as well), are well worth watching again and again. grave of the fireflies is heartwrenching for sure, and absolutely worth watching again (when you have tissues and a loved one to hug nearby).
pvaldes 4y ago
Spirited away has a shiny fairground visuals but really dark undercurrents. Not my favorite even if technically is great. Mononoke is deliberately gross and confusing in some moments. Not for small children. Ponyo or Totoro would rank much higher for me. Ponyo is really smart in many aspects. The Tomb of fireflies is a terrible and depressing black hole, but maybe a necessary experience. Porco rosso is the opposite, light and very enjoyable. In any case this article is related clearly with the fact that Mononoke is again broadcasted in the movie theaters just this week.
pcdoodle 4y ago
I'm always confused by the people that liked spirited away. To each their own. Here's my list: 1. Nausicaa (Valley of the wind) 2. Luputa (Castle in the sky) 3. Mononokee 4. Porco Rosso (Awesome aviation themed adventure).
- clairity 4y ago
  spirited away is amazing because of the chihiro's journey through the fantastical world of the kami, where she has to contend with not only her own present but generations past and all their virtue and vice. it's about the ever-present struggle to place oneself in a world built upon tradition and deference. this is a common theme in east asian tv and film, but miyazaki explores it in such an enveloping and actually rather gentle way, filled with symbolism and mysticism. the film's representation of coming of age seems to be external (overcoming spirits), but it's all about the girl's coming to terms with herself in relation to her parents and everyone who came before them. it's a blip in her life externally but internally, everything has changed. chihiro transforms in that little blip. i haven't seen nausicaä yet, but all the ghibli films are great (except perhaps arrietty, as noted in a nearby comment). porco rosso was fun and more action oriented than most ghibli films. it's been a while since i've seen castle in the sky but it sits storywise between mononoke and howl's moving castle in my head.
  - pcdoodle 4y ago
    Interesting perspective. I'll watch it again sometime. You must watch nausicaa, it'll blow your hair back.
    - pvaldes 4y ago
      Here is a simpler and less prosaic perspective to you: A spoiled young girl must enter as a slave worker in a bath/massage club to repay their parents debt. She must work hard doing difficult and dirt chores while trying to find a way out. He cleans the body of a client plagued from a nasty contamination, and as reward receives a small gift that could help her to be free. Meanwhile, she treats nicely a shy client and allow him in the building. The client soon gets obsessed with the girl and starts spending a lot of gold to pass more and more time with her. Yep, is a film for children. When the rich weirdo realizes is being blocked and distracted by the greedy staff, he has a tantrum, turns in a violent monster and starts destroying the place and eating alive anybody that stands in the path to her. The girl flees, but finally decides to return to help him, the monster is appeased, they travel together and the character is finally rehabilitated far away from the bathhouse. After a last chore, finally the girl befriends the madamme and is allowed to go and quit the bathhouse in good terms, see their parents again and keep with their former life. She is ordered to never tell anybody, never look back and forget all about the sordid place. Happy end. Moral of the history: the solution to child abuse is hide it, never tell to anybody and pretend that nothing happened. Powerful message for children, yep.

Eric_WVGG 4y ago

> spirited away is hands down the best ghibli film next to Mononoke and Nausicaä, sure

nvahalik 4y ago
I actually meant to say Mononoke, but Spirited Away is one I have watched with my kids—and I'm about to introduce Mononoke to my oldest.

grogenaut 4y ago

I'd put grave #1, but I'd also only watch it again if I really wanted to make someone cry by showing it to them the first time. Brutal and poignant.

clairity 4y ago
to be clear, even though i ranked them, my bar for a good film is whether i'd watch it again or not, and all the ghibli films i've seen, except perhaps arrietty (i haven't seen earwig or earthsea, but the consensus seems to be against those as well), are well worth watching again and again. grave of the fireflies is heartwrenching for sure, and absolutely worth watching again (when you have tissues and a loved one to hug nearby).

pvaldes 4y ago

Spirited away has a shiny fairground visuals but really dark undercurrents. Not my favorite even if technically is great. Mononoke is deliberately gross and confusing in some moments. Not for small children. Ponyo or Totoro would rank much higher for me. Ponyo is really smart in many aspects. The Tomb of fireflies is a terrible and depressing black hole, but maybe a necessary experience. Porco rosso is the opposite, light and very enjoyable. In any case this article is related clearly with the fact that Mononoke is again broadcasted in the movie theaters just this week.

pcdoodle 4y ago

I'm always confused by the people that liked spirited away. To each their own. Here's my list: 1. Nausicaa (Valley of the wind) 2. Luputa (Castle in the sky) 3. Mononokee 4. Porco Rosso (Awesome aviation themed adventure).

clairity 4y ago
spirited away is amazing because of the chihiro's journey through the fantastical world of the kami, where she has to contend with not only her own present but generations past and all their virtue and vice. it's about the ever-present struggle to place oneself in a world built upon tradition and deference. this is a common theme in east asian tv and film, but miyazaki explores it in such an enveloping and actually rather gentle way, filled with symbolism and mysticism. the film's representation of coming of age seems to be external (overcoming spirits), but it's all about the girl's coming to terms with herself in relation to her parents and everyone who came before them. it's a blip in her life externally but internally, everything has changed. chihiro transforms in that little blip. i haven't seen nausicaä yet, but all the ghibli films are great (except perhaps arrietty, as noted in a nearby comment). porco rosso was fun and more action oriented than most ghibli films. it's been a while since i've seen castle in the sky but it sits storywise between mononoke and howl's moving castle in my head.
- pcdoodle 4y ago
  Interesting perspective. I'll watch it again sometime. You must watch nausicaa, it'll blow your hair back.
  - pvaldes 4y ago
    Here is a simpler and less prosaic perspective to you: A spoiled young girl must enter as a slave worker in a bath/massage club to repay their parents debt. She must work hard doing difficult and dirt chores while trying to find a way out. He cleans the body of a client plagued from a nasty contamination, and as reward receives a small gift that could help her to be free. Meanwhile, she treats nicely a shy client and allow him in the building. The client soon gets obsessed with the girl and starts spending a lot of gold to pass more and more time with her. Yep, is a film for children. When the rich weirdo realizes is being blocked and distracted by the greedy staff, he has a tantrum, turns in a violent monster and starts destroying the place and eating alive anybody that stands in the path to her. The girl flees, but finally decides to return to help him, the monster is appeased, they travel together and the character is finally rehabilitated far away from the bathhouse. After a last chore, finally the girl befriends the madamme and is allowed to go and quit the bathhouse in good terms, see their parents again and keep with their former life. She is ordered to never tell anybody, never look back and forget all about the sordid place. Happy end. Moral of the history: the solution to child abuse is hide it, never tell to anybody and pretend that nothing happened. Powerful message for children, yep.