The Wonders of Studio Ghibli
I’m admittedly a late bloomer to the wonderful stories that are Studio Ghibli films. They are a rare breed of film; painstakingly crafted by hand with beautiful storytelling and dialogue woven throughout. My first film in the Studio Ghibli collection was Porco Rosso, a surprising film that felt whimsical, ludicrous, and emotional. I followed it up with Grave of the Fireflies, which is perhaps the single most emotional gut-punch of a film I’ve ever witnessed. Shortly after that, I watched Ponyo, which at the time was the newest member of the Ghibli family. Again, another heartwarming story that continued to surprise me. These were over a decade ago, and since then I’ve picked up the occasional film or two. It’s not that I had deliberately avoided them; I remember commercials on Cartoon Network for Kiki’s Delivery Service, Spirited Away, or Howl’s Moving Castle. Instead, it had simply been a genuine ignorance of films outside of the popular mainstream, sticking simply to the things I saw most often or whatever my family would introduce me to.
Once the door had been opened, however, I saw a world of stories that I had missed out on. Castle in the Sky was an adventure that took me places I hadn’t expected. Princess Mononoke was filled to the brim with rich culture and art. Spirited Away took me back to my childhood in ways I hadn’t expected, leaving me filled with optimism and a different perspective. Yet there were still many, many more films left to watch. I took it upon myself the other night to finally sit down and watch Kiki’s Delivery Service. The adoption center attendant, from where I had adopted my cat, had told me that my cat reminded her of the cat from this film. It felt long overdue and simultaneously just the right time to watch. By the end of the film, my eyes were watery and I had found its themes and storytelling to have resonated with me. The next night, I watched My Neighbor Totoro, believing it to be a simply lighthearted children’s film. Here I was again, deeply invested and feeling something more than simply enjoyment. There was something deeper within these films than stories for children.
Hayao Miyazaki in particular is responsible for a lot of these films. His eye for detail in the scenery, shown alongside this post, help to illustrate a world that feels real, in spite of it being composed of lines and ink. It is primarily his writing, however, that truly drives home the point I’ve found within these films. Most of his stories feature a young female protagonist, searching for meaning, acceptance, independence, or maturity in some way, shape, or form. The way he writes children feels accurate; the complexities of trying to understand an unfathomable world, the struggle between innocence and maturity, the growth we all face within our greatest challenges. These details all mesh together to create a fresh look at the wonders and struggles of adolescence and youth. Mixing in traditional folklore and cultural practices breathe life into the world around our characters, making their reality feel no different from ours.
There have been many stories over the course of my life to have influenced me. Most of my writing voice stems from the books I’ve read, the stories my eyes have scanned countless times and imprinted deep into my brain. Films and television have been just as influential to me. A screenplay is a novel or short story that prioritizes dialogue, leaving the parts normally reserved for imagination up to a larger creative team to bring to life. These stories are equally valid. Though the films of Studio Ghibli are still new to me, they are already beginning to influence the way I think about characters, emotion, and world-building.
Just some of the beautiful scenery in Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)
