If you want to watch movies considered aesthetic, dreamy, and beautiful artistry, I recommend the Ghibli Studio movies. Studio Ghibli is known for the high quality of its film-making and classical soundtracks. It helps the audience empathize with the film better. Here are 3 Studio Ghibli movies that I highly recommend.
1. Spirited Away (2001)
It is a story about Chihiro, who tries to save her parents with her friend named Haku. It’s an adventure with Haku by changing her identity to Sen. There is no boundary of creativeness through the movie. It shows the high quality of art and helps audiences immerse themselves in the mythical story. Experts said, “Spirited Away shattered preconceived notions about the art form, and also the film created a connection between Japanese culture that resonated deeply with audiences around the world.”
As proof of this film quality, it won “Best Feature Film” at the 2002 Berlin International Film Festival and won the 2002 Academy award for a best-animated feature film. Also, it ranked 2nd for highest-grossing anime films worldwide.
The OST of Spirited Away called “Always With Me” is very popular with its melodic and calm sounds. It is originally a song sung by Youmi Kimura, but the piano version of the song is more popular as it has a beautiful melody.
2. Howl’s Moving Castle
It is about a love story between an 18-year-old girl named Sophie, cursed by a witch into an old woman’s body, and a magician named Howl. Through the adventure, Sophie learned how to love being herself and taught audiences moral lessons. This movie also has a well-known popular OST called “Merry Go Round Of Life.” This lyrical song makes the audience immerse themselves in the film. It is one of the most commercially successful Japanese films in history. “Howl’s Moving Castle is not only a kid’s animation. It is a film for any age that can pull heartstrings and teach essential life lessons.
3. Kiki’s Delivery Service
It is about Kiki, a young witch who has flying ability. She moves to a new town, and the film shows her adventure with her loved ones. Anime director Miyazaki said this movie portrays a gulf between independence and reliance on teenage Japanese girls. It also teaches you lessons that failure is the inevitable part of the creative process and shows the importance of having fun in life.
The movie review site called “common sense media” says, “Kiki’s Delivery Service is an ideal film for the entire family. Unlike some of his other movies that feature some potentially frightening characters or disturbing scenes, this film is a sweet coming-of-age adventure.”
A classic soundtrack of Kiki’s Delivery Service called “A town with an ocean view” is famous for its melodic and mystical sounds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4LrW5f4dyc
Other than these movies, Ghibli films are well known for their soundtrack. As celebrating the 25th anniversary of Studio Ghibli, Joe Hisaishi and his orchestra performed famous soundtracks of Ghibli films. It is wonderful, so I highly recommend you to listen to it.
Ghibli movies aren’t just for kids, and they can resonate with all ages of people and teach all ages of people life lessons. I would say Disney is a movie that gives you a chance to see the future in the fantasy world as a child, and Ghibli is a movie that gives you a chance to be in warm old memories as a grown-up. So I hope you enjoy your winter with warm Ghibli films.