The 10 most underrated Studio Ghibli films
Princess Mononoke. Spirited Away. Howl’s Moving Castle. When it comes to ranking the best of Studio Ghibli’s films, Ghibli stans are generally in agreement about the creme of the crop. But what about the lesser known entries? The red-headed step children that history forgot? While not all of Ghibli’s films were destined for cinematic glory, the studio is has put out a number of unpolished gems – and even an unsung masterpiece or two. Here they are, 10 the most underrated Studio Ghibli films of all time.
10. Tales From Earthsea
Tales From Earthsea doesn’t deserve that outright slander that it gets. The film often sits at the very bottom of “Studio Ghibli Films Ranked Worst To Best” lists across the internet, and was regarded by Studio Ghibli itself as an embarrassment to the studio’s reputation. The film is a loose adaptation of Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea Cycle, a gem of a fantasy series that is also bombastically underrated. A frequent criticism of Tales From Earthsea is that the plot doesn’t make sense, and to be fair, it doesn’t. It begins with a young prince killing his kingly father for absolutely no discernible reason and then throws him into cahoots with a wandering wizard on a quest to stop an evil necromancer from doing… evil stuff? Forget the plot, when it comes to vibe the film is unparalleled in its beauty. Just let the disjointed story wash over you and enjoy the jaw dropping depictions of dragons soaring through the air. After all, The Boy and The Heron made literally zero sense and everyone loved it.
9. Pom Poko
Pom Poko doesn’t receive the love bestowed upon the equally whimsical My Neighbor Totoro, yet this tale of raccoon spirits that use their testicles to fly is arguably a better story – albeit one that is far more difficult (and embarrassing) to explain to young viewers. In keeping with Studio Ghibli’s “humans can’t help but screw up nature” theme, the plot concerns a group of tanuki whose woodland home is threatened by human development. In order to protect their home, the tanuki employ absolutely ludicrous strategies which include slapping cops around with their ballsacks and terrorizing the populace by taking the shape of a demon parade. Unlike Totoro, which is simply a cute story about some children hanging out with a decidedly more age appropriate raccoon monster guy, Pom Poko is a surprisingly powerful and tragic tale about the inevitability of environmental destruction.
8. Only Yesterday
Bathhouse-running witches, bloody boar gods, perambulating medieval architecture – when it comes to real life, Studio Ghibli isn’t afraid to not show it. While the studio made itself famous for its whimsical and terrifying departures from reality, some of its lesser known gems give an intimate glimpse into the mundane. Only Yesterday is the story of Taeko Okajima, a woman rambling across the idyllic countryside to find not a moving castle or a forest spirit, but herself. On her journey, she reminisces about her childhood, and how her earliest memories shaped her (for better and for worse) into the person that she is now. Only Yesterday is about the moment you realize that your youth is gone and adulthood is all that’s left – unless you can figure out a way to recall the past through memories and familiar places.
7. The Cat Returns
The Cat Returns is a bonafide ROMP. Absolute PEAK whimsy. While the finest of Ghibli’s films are set in fantasy worlds, but feature enough moments of harsh reality to feel grounded, The Cat Returns didn’t get the memo. The story begins by introducing us to Haru, a schoolgirl that fancies that she can talk to cats. One day, a cat she saves from getting hit by a truck talks back – by asking for her hand in marriage. After confusing her shocked response for a “yes”, the feline prince Lune whisks her away to the Cat Kingdom, where she slowly begins to transform into a homo felus cat-person herself. While it lacks the complex emotional depth of similar “spirited away” plot of… well, Spirited Away it’s an uproariously fun film, particularly for cat enthusiasts.
6. Whisper of the Heart
As it turns out, The Cat Returns is actually a spin-off/spiritual successor of Whisper of the Heart, and a featured feline from the former film makes a minor appearance in the latter. Like the best of Ghibli’s work, Whisper is a coming of age story about 14 year old bookworm Shizuku, who discovers that all the books she borrows from the library have been checked out by the same person: Seiji Amasawa. After following after a cat riding a train, she discovers an antique shop run by Seiji’s grandfather, inside of which is both Seiji himself and a cat statue that captures Shizuku’s imagination. The pair strike up a friendship based around their mutual love of stories, and Shizuku pens a tale about a certain cat baron that appears in The Cat Returns as a fully fleshed out character. While Ghibli’s films tend to shy away from outright love stories and favor more romantically ambiguous ending (looking at you Princess Mononoke) Whisper of the Heart, as the title suggests, cuts right to the tender center of Shizuku and Seiji’s budding relationship.
5. The Secret World of Arrietty
The Secret World of Arrietty is a surprisingly tragic love story wrapped up in a Stuart Little plot. It’s the story of a family of Borrowers, diminutive humans that survive by scavenging in the nooks and crannies of regular-sized human homes, borrowing what they need from their giant, unknowing roommates. Arrietty is a young borrower who, after breaking her dad’s number #1 rule “don’t let the humans see you” begins an unlikely friendship with a bedridden boy named Shō. While Shō is enamored by his pint-sized new pal, his aunt is less than enthused, and attempts to rid her house of the borrowers as one would any other pest. The tragedy here is that as Shō grows closer Arrietty, it becomes clear that both have budding romantic feelings for one another… which are doomed for well, obvious reasons. You just can’t date someone who can fit in the palm of your hand, no matter how much you love them.
4. Castle In The Sky
Castle In The Sky often sits in the middle tier of “best Studio Ghibli films” lists, which I believe is a crime against cinema. Castle In The Sky does EVERYTHING RIGHT. Two adolescent protagonists in love? Check. A legend of a floating castle said to contain unimaginable wealth? Check. A group of sky pirates competing against nefarious government agents for a shot at the gold? Check. When it comes to adventure and whimsy, few Ghibli films do it better. Everyone loves to talk up a certain wizard’s moving castle, but this castle SOARS THROUGH THE AIR. AND it’s populated by ROBOTS. Eat your heard out, Howl.
3. The Wind Rises
This movie hurts. Inspired by the real life story of Japanese aircraft engineer Jiro Horikoshi, The Wind Rises is the story of young Jiro as he follows his dreams to become an architect of flying machines. He finds work perfecting a fighter plane for the Japanese government, and while he’s ambivalent about designing a weapon of war, he can’t resist the job. At the same time, he begins a romance with a young woman named Nahoko, which is complicated by her tuberculosis diagnosis. It’s a tragic story of dreamers, and how reality so often fails to live up to our sky high hopes, and yet can be a pretty beautiful ride nonetheless.
2. Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind
While not as highly regarded as Princess Mononoke, Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind arguably does Mononoke‘s environmentalist plot better than the masterpiece itself. Set in a world that is slowly being claimed by a toxic desert, a young princess named Nausicaa ventures through the irradiated wilderness scavenging supplies for her people in the yet unpolluted Valley of the Wind. After a foreign invasion destroys the Valley’s uneasy peace, Nausicaa has to juggle two brewing wars, one man vs. man and one man vs. environment. As it turns out, the environment is the more important problem to solve, considering a horde of building sized bugs are ready to trample the world to dust unless Nausicaa can figure out a way to calm them down. While Mononoke‘s plot gets convoluted by immortality seeking emperors and warring states and love stories, Nausciaa is a simple tale about a princess doing her duty to both her people and the natural world of which she is a part.
1. The Tale of Princess Kaguya
The Tale of Princess Kaguya is SHAMEFULLY UNDERHYPED. It’s a retelling of one of Japan’s most enduring traditional fairytales – one where a bamboo cutter finds a mysterious and beautiful girl in the trunk of a bamboo shoot. As the little Kaguya grows, tales of her beauty attract the attentions of Japan’s most powerful, and she and her parents soon find their rustic existence upended as nobles compete for Kaguya’s hand. While the film spends 80% of its time as a whimsical coming of age story, the narrative subverts expectations when Kaguya’s true origin is revealed – with tragic, tearjerking results. I won’t spoil anything, but please, watch this movie with a box of tissues. It’s achingly beautiful, which is the exact opposite way your face will look as you ugly cry while watching.
(Featured Image: Studio Ghibli)
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