๐Miyazaki
Studio Ghibli was founded in June 1985 by Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata and Toshio Suzuki in Koganei, a quiet suburb of Tokyo. They had already made one feature together (Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, 1984) and decided they needed their own studio to keep working their way. Four decades later Ghibli is regarded by critics, filmmakers and audiences as the greatest animation studio in the world - a claim that is sometimes contested by Pixar fans but never seriously by anyone who has actually watched the catalogue back to back. Hayao Miyazaki, now in his eighties, has directed eleven feature films himself: Nausicaa (1984), Castle in the Sky (1986), My Neighbour Totoro (1988), Kiki's Delivery Service (1989), Porco Rosso (1992), Princess Mononoke (1997), Spirited Away (2001), Howl's Moving Castle (2004), Ponyo (2008), The Wind Rises (2013), and The Boy and the Heron (2023). Spirited Away won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature in 2003, beating Pixar at its peak. The Boy and the Heron repeated the feat twenty years later in 2024, making Miyazaki the only filmmaker to win the category twice in that bracket. Isao Takahata directed the studio's other towering works - Grave of the Fireflies (1988), Only Yesterday (1991), Pom Poko (1994), The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013, also Oscar-nominated). Each Ghibli film is hand-drawn down to small details that audiences notice on the tenth rewatch - the food sequences in Howl's Moving Castle, the bath house steam in Spirited Away, the wind across the field in Totoro. The studio's aesthetic, ethics and storytelling are so distinctive that 'Ghibli-core' is now a recognised style category online. moomz hosts non-stop Miyazaki polls because the catalogue is small, finite, and absolutely worth ranking in detail.
The Ghibli filmography ranked
Studio Ghibli has produced 24 feature films, and most fans have a strong opinion on the order. Critical consensus puts Spirited Away (2001) at the top - it is the highest-grossing Japanese film ever in domestic release at the time, it won the Oscar, and it is widely taught in film classes. Princess Mononoke (1997) and My Neighbour Totoro (1988) are the other two films most often called masterpieces. Howl's Moving Castle (2004) has the most passionate fan defenders. Castle in the Sky (1986) is the most underrated. Kiki's Delivery Service (1989) is the universal comfort watch. Grave of the Fireflies (1988) is the one Ghibli film everyone agrees they cannot watch a second time without crying. Only Yesterday (1991) is the studio's most adult work and the one most often rediscovered later. The Boy and the Heron (2023) is the most divisive recent release - some call it Miyazaki's most autobiographical, others find it inscrutable. Asking 'best Ghibli' on moomz reliably produces a four-way race between Spirited Away, Totoro, Mononoke and Howl, with the rest of the catalogue picking up serious minorities.
Miyazaki's worldview and why his films age so well
Miyazaki's work shares a few consistent obsessions: respect for nature versus industrial cruelty, the moral seriousness of children, flight as freedom, pacifism even in war stories, and women as protagonists treated with depth no Hollywood studio has matched. Princess Mononoke is the clearest articulation of his environmentalism - the film refuses to give the audience an easy villain, treating the iron forge town's workers and the forest gods as both worth defending. Spirited Away examines greed and identity through Chihiro's slow refusal to be consumed by the bath house economy. The Wind Rises is the most personal, a film about an aircraft engineer whose designs are used for war, asking whether beautiful work is morally redeemable. These are heavy themes carried on a soft hand-drawn surface, which is the trick of Miyazaki's filmmaking. The films age so well because the themes are timeless - climate anxiety, growing up, the cost of work, the dignity of small kindnesses. moomz polls on Ghibli films tend to attract older voters and younger voters in equal numbers, which almost never happens in pop culture.
The Ghibli aesthetic and the global influence
Ghibli's visual style - watercolour skies, lush foliage, soft round character designs, food drawn in obsessive detail - has become a recognisable global aesthetic. The 'Ghiblified' AI image trend of 2025 (where people fed photos to image generators trained on the studio's look) became a viral moment and a Miyazaki-himself-rejected one - he has been blunt about not wanting AI to imitate his work. The studio's influence on other animation is enormous: Pixar director John Lasseter has openly cited Miyazaki as a key influence, Wes Anderson has cited Totoro as a reference point, K-drama animators draw from the Ghibli playbook, and almost every modern animated children's film owes something to the Miyazaki rule that you can let a scene breathe without action. Ghibli Park opened in Aichi, Japan, in 2022, drawing pilgrims from around the world. The studio also resisted streaming until 2020 when HBO Max in the US and Netflix internationally finally licensed the catalogue, which produced a Gen Z rediscovery wave overnight. Ranking Ghibli films, choosing your favourite character, debating whether the Catbus is the best Ghibli vehicle - these polls live forever on moomz.
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Frequently asked
Q.What is the best Studio Ghibli film?+
Spirited Away is the consensus critical pick - it won the Oscar in 2003 and is regularly named among the greatest animated films ever. My Neighbour Totoro and Princess Mononoke are the other two films most often crowned. Howl's Moving Castle has the largest cult following. moomz polls usually land in a four-way split between those titles.
Q.In what order should I watch Studio Ghibli?+
Start with My Neighbour Totoro (easiest entry), then Kiki's Delivery Service or Castle in the Sky, then Spirited Away, then Princess Mononoke when you want the weight. Save Grave of the Fireflies for when you are emotionally ready - it is devastating. The Boy and the Heron is best appreciated after you have seen Miyazaki's earlier work.
Q.Is Miyazaki retiring?+
He has announced retirement multiple times since the late 1990s and unretired each time. The Boy and the Heron in 2023 was widely treated as his final film, but Studio Ghibli confirmed in 2024 he is already working on something else. The honest answer is: he will retire when he stops drawing, and not before.
Q.Where can I stream Ghibli films?+
Netflix has the catalogue in most countries outside the US, Canada and Japan. HBO Max (now Max) has it in the US. Australia uses Netflix. Streaming licensing shifts every few years, so check before you commit. Physical Blu-ray collectors editions from GKIDS and Universal are the long-term safe option.