All Studio Ghibli Movies In Order of Release Date (Including The Boy and the Heron)

Summary

• Studio Ghibli films blend fantastical elements with deeper themes like environmentalism and war.
• The studio is famous for award-winning movies like Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, and The Tale of Princess Kaguya.
• Some less-known but equally powerful movies, like Grave of the Fireflies, showcase Ghibli’s versatile storytelling range.

Everyone with even a casual awareness of anime knows Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki’s animation studio responsible for some of the greatest anime films in the last 40 years. Ghibli is often compared to Disney, in that many of their films are very family-friendly, and lighter, softer affairs overall than many other well-known anime movies. That’s not exclusively true, as will soon become apparent, but the studio has had a long life in the industry, producing many different kinds of fantastical stories that are now considered beloved classics.

Studio Ghibli got their start in 1985, although many of the key players, like Miyazaki, were already working together even a bit before that. Ghibli films are some of the only anime movies to get respect when it comes to awards, with Spirited Away even earning the studio an Oscar for best animated feature. Ghibli’s work has received high praise from fans and critics from the very beginning, though, and that will become clear in this list.

1 Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki

Nausicaä was directed and written by Hayao Miyazaki, but it was technically just before Studio Ghibli was founded in 1985. Nausicaä was released and distributed by Ghibli, though, so it definitely counts. Nausicaä tells the tale of the eponymous Nausicaä, a princess of the Valley of the Wind who strives for a way for humans and creatures to coexist in the post-apocalyptic world in which the story is set. When a long-lost weapon reappears in her territory, Nausicaä must stop the militaristic forces from reclaiming it, lest the tragedy that destroyed the world happen again.

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2 Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986)

Directed By: Hayao Miyazaki

Another film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, Castle in the Sky is the first film by Studio Ghibli proper. The story is about young Sheeta, the owner of a mysterious crystal that certain people are after, and Pazu, a boy who hopes to fulfill his father’s dream of finding the mythical floating island of Laputa. Sheeta and Pazu must search for Laputa and make their way to the island before these opposing groups do, and use the crystal to lay claim to the island themselves.

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3 Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

Directed by: Isao Takahata

Grave of the Fireflies is a lesser-known Ghibli film directed by Isao Takahata, but that has more to do with it being very different from their other work than a problem with its quality.

Due to a licensing deal, Grave of the Fireflies is the only Ghibli movie unavailable for streaming on Max.

Possibly one of the saddest movies of all time, Grave of the Fireflies tells the story of orphaned siblings struggling to survive in World War 2-era Japan. Having lost everything but each other, the pair get through one misfortune after another as the war slowly winds down. The film has a softer visual style, with less noticeable outlining, giving it an almost painting-like quality that adds a degree of beauty to the stark and heart-wrenching tale.

4 My Neighbor Totoro (1988)

Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki

Miyazaki’s next film with Ghibli was the famed My Neighbor Totoro, which tells the story of two young girls and their relationship with the forest spirit that lives nearby, Totoro. Totoro took off in popularity and remains one of Ghibli’s most well-known films to this day, with Totoro eventually becoming the mascot for the entire Studio Ghibli. It sets the stage for many of the Ghibli films that follow with its fantastical elements and lighter and softer tone, making it a must-see anime film, even if only for its influence on later works.

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5 Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)

Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki

Another film by Miyazaki, Kiki’s Delivery Service recounts the tale of Kiki, a young witch heading off to make her way in the world with little more than a flying broomstick and a cat familiar. Finding a new town to call home, Kiki starts up a service for delivering packages using her flying capabilities, eventually making her a beloved figure around town. It’s very much a coming-of-age story, dealing with one’s first attempts to strike out and live on their own, away from their parents, and what it truly means to be independent.

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6 Only Yesterday (1991)

Directed by Isao Takahata

The second film by Isao Takahata, Only Yesterday is a lesser known movie in the Ghibli catalog, despite having near-perfect review scores. For some reason, the film remained untranslated to English until 2016, when Western fans finally got their chance to see this “forbidden” Ghibli film. Only Yesterday follows Taeko Okajima, an adult woman taking a break from city life to experience life in the countryside. It’s a more adult film, in the sense that it deals with themes like work and finding love, and the sense of nostalgia that comes with growing older.

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7 Porco Rosso (1992)

Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki

Miyazaki’s fifth film on this list is Porco Rosso, a bit of a strange one. Porco Rosso is about an Italian fighter pilot after World War 1, who takes to the skies on his own initiative to defeat the dastardly air pirates who pillage from planes. Oh, and the fighter pilot is also cursed to look like a pig, naturally. It’s considered by some to be the most underrated of all Ghibli’s films, and clearly shows a lot of loving detail when it comes to depicting these early aircraft. Porco Rosso has long had sequel rumors, but the film seems unlikely to ever happen.

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8 Ocean Waves (1993)

Directed by: Tomomi Mochizuki

Ocean Waves is a romance/coming-of-age drama that was originally meant to be a project specifically for the younger generation of creatives at Studio Ghibli. It was a television film rather than a theatrical one, which makes it difficult to compare to other Ghibli films. The movie’s plot revolves around a love triangle that emerges among friends and the new transfer student, and all the drama that entails. Like Only Yesterday, Ocean Waves wasn’t released in English until 2016, but it ultimately didn’t fair well in reviews or at the box office.

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9 Pom Poko (1994)

Directed by: Isao Takahata

Isao Takahata’s third Ghibli film is Pom Poko, a fantasy film with heavy themes of environmentalism. The film focuses on Tanuki, or raccoon dogs, real animals which were thought to be magical creatures in Japan’s past. When the Tanuki’s land is threatened by urban development, they begin to resist, using their magic powers to interfere with construction. The film is less well-known abroad in part because of the… anatomical features of traditional depictions of Tanuki, which threatened to give it a rating unsuitable for its target audience.

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10 Whisper of the Heart (1995)

Directed by: Yoshifumi Kondo

While this film was written by Hayao Miyazaki, it was actually directed by Yoshifumi Kondo, his only film for Ghibli due to his untimely passing. The film is a romance about young Shizuku and a boy named Seiji. It focuses heavily on writing and what it means to be a writer, with Shizuku writing her own story within the film. An odd fact about the film is that the John Denver song “Take Me Home, Country Roads” plays a pivotal role in the film’s plot, which made it rather difficult to localize due to rights issues surrounding the song.

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11 Princess Mononoke (1997)

Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki

One of Studio Ghibli’s best-known films written and directed by Miyazaki, Princess Mononoke is known for its strong environmentalist message. The film mostly follows a young prince, Ashitaka, as he embarks on a quest to cure himself of a curse that will one day kill him. On the way, he meets San, the eponymous princess, who was literally raised by wolves and has come to despise humankind for their reckless ways, destroying the natural world around them.

The translated English script for the film was famously written by Neil Gaiman, and the movie’s success helped increase Ghibli’s reputation abroad.

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12 My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999)

Directed by: Isao Takahata

My Neighbors the Yamadas is a slice-of-life comedy directed by Isao Takahata, and at first glance looks nothing like what one would imagine as a Ghibli film. The movie uses a simplistic style inspired by comic panels, and the story is told as small, loosely connected vignettes. While the film was well received by most critics, it didn’t see much box office success compared to other Ghibli films, and had a particularly rough time as a follow-up to Princess Mononoke.

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13 Spirited Away (2001)

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki

Perhaps the most well-known Ghibli movie among the general populace, Spirited Away was again written and directed by Miyazaki. Spirited Away tells of Chihiro, a young girl on a vacation trip whose parents wander off into a magic realm, where they’re turned into pigs by an evil witch named Yubaba. Chihiro must find a way to escape this magical land and turn her parents back into humans in the process, or risk having them eaten.

It was at one point the highest-grossing film in Japan, and it won dozens of awards, securing Ghibli as a powerhouse studio in the world of animation that even Disney needed to pay attention to.

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14 The Cat Returns (2002)

Directed by: Hiroyuki Morita

The Cat Returns was directed by a new face to Ghibli’s director chair: Hiroyuki Morita. The Cat Returns is actually a spin-off of Whisper of the Heart, focusing on a minor character from that film, such that it’s unnecessary to watch the first film to understand it. It starts off with young protagonist Haru saving a cat from being hit by a truck, and this cat turns out to be a cat prince. Haru then gets whisked away to the Cat Kingdom for a wedding to the prince, and must find a way to get home.

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15 Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)

Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki

Directed and written, once again, by Hayao Miyazaki, Howl’s Moving Castle is based on a book of the same name. The story follows Sophie, a young girl who is cursed to appear 90 years old by an evil witch. In searching for a way to break this curse, Sophie comes into the service of the wizard Howl, and learns about his situation, being asked to use his skills to fight in a war. The film obviously has some very strong anti-war themes, but also deals with concepts such as aging.

Howl’s Moving Castle was originally supposed to be directed by acclaimed director Mamoru Hasoda before he left Studio Ghibli.

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16 Tales from Earthsea (2006)

Directed by: Goro Miyazaki

Tales from Earthsea is an unusual movie in the Ghibli filmography for a number of reasons. It was based on Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea series, as well as a manga by Miyazaki himself, making it a rare Ghibli film adapting two sources, both Eastern and Western. The film itself was directed by Hayao Miyazaki’s son, Goro Miyazaki, making it his debut film. Unfortunately, most reviews for the film are rather negative, although it is often praised for its beautiful animation.

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17 Ponyo (2008)

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki

Ponyo is another family-friendly animated film by Hayao Miyazaki, about a goldfish named Ponyo who leaves the ocean on a quest to become a human. Loosely based on The Little Mermaid, Ponyo gains magic that can help her to become a human, but its use can have devastating consequences on the ocean at large. The film was pretty well received by audiences and critics alike, with much attention paid to the quality of the animation work in the film.

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18 The Secret World of Arrietty (2010)

Directed by: Hiromasa Yonebayashi

Arrietty is adapted from the book The Borrowers, about a family of tiny people who “borrow” objects from the ordinary-sized humans who live around them. Arrietty is one of the Borrowers, and is sent on her first mission to obtain certain items, only to be spotted by a boy named Sho. The film was written by Hayao Miyazaki and directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, making Arrietty his directorial debut. The film was very well received, and particularly noted for its beautiful and detailed aesthetic style, which was an excellent fit for its whimsical premise.

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19 From Up on Poppy Hill (2011)

Directed by: Goro Miyazaki

From Up on Poppy Hill was Goro Miyazaki’s second film, adapted from a Japanese novel, Kokuriko-zaka Kara. Set in the 1960s, the film follows a high school girl, Umi Matsuzaki, who attends a boarding school. The film follows the classic plot of two teens working to save a clubhouse building with special meaning to them that’s set to be demolished soon. The story was criticized for being a bit predictable as a result, but the film was overall well-received by critics, once again noting the beautiful Ghibli art style at work.

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20 The Wind Rises (2013)

Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki

Another film by Hayao Miyazaki, long believed to be his last, The Wind Rises is a rare animated historical biopic, telling the life story of Jiro Horikoshi, who developed key planes used by Japan in World War 2. The film was very well reviewed for its content and presentation, although the choice of subject matter was somewhat controversial outside of Japan, and the film did face accusations of whitewashing darker parts of the story.

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