Watch all of Hayao Miyazaki's films

I loved this movie. I just watched it last week and I could already go for watching it again. But I’ll resist because I’m reading the book at the moment, which is very good so far!

And with this, I’ve finally completed this goal. I don’t know why it took me so long!

It’s been awhile since I’ve watched a movie toward this goal! The Secret World of Arrietty is Miyazaki’s take on The Borrowers and it is beautiful and creative and everything Miyazaki. It’s a cute movie. Not my favorite of his, but still good!

This is the most recent Miyazaki film. As with all the others I’m simply in awe (even though this is my second time seeing it). Apparently this movie has a record amount of images (170,000). It was also inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid.” Re-watching it knowing that I could definitely see that, but its a story all of its own.

This one is great for younger kids. It still has a lot of the environmental elements like Nausicaä and Princess Mononoke, but without the violence.

_{A friend of mine posted this video of a Taekwondo fight and I was amused to hear the Ponyo theme song playing during the break. Sadly, she had never seen or heard of Ponyo and did not understand my amusement. :(}

Um, what is there not to love about Totoro?? Especially after a hectic day at work _{(final day to set up before the annual book sale. It was insanity!)}.

I think that this is the only Miyazaki movie that has siblings. It kind of breaks the mold of the others that I talked about in relation to Castle in the Sky (strong-willed girl meets boy, then overcomes issue). The main focus of this movie is the relationship between two sisters and how they deal with their mom being ill. It’s very heart warming (and heart breaking at times).

Totoro also makes a cameo appearance in Toy Story 3 which I found really exciting when I first saw it. :)

Oh and I love Catbus! :)

This was the first official Studio Ghibli film. Apparently the name of the floating city Laputa is actually taken from Gulliver’s Travels (it’s been quite a few years since I read it and it was for a class so it was rush through it to complete the assignment and then promptly forget it).

There’s definitely a pattern to Miyazaki’s film. Strong female character needs to overcome difficulty and meets boy along the way, but strangely I don’t find myself becoming bored with it.

It was interesting to watch this one after having recently re-watched Nausicaä because the Fox-squirrels make an appearance! I really hope that one day I’ll be able to make it to the Studio Ghibli Museum!

Still not a favorite. I don’t know why, but I can’t ever seem to get into it as much as the other ones. It has a very good message, that in order to achieve things you need to believe in yourself, and the animation is wonderful, but it’s not one that I would recommend as a showcase for what a Miyazaki film is.

A strong environmental piece. It’s crazy to think that this movie originally came out ~27 years ago and we’re still dealing with similar ideas touched upon in the film. Granted 27 years isn’t that long ago and we have made some progress in taking better care of the earth… we still have a long way to go.

I think one of the reasons I enjoy these films so much is because the female leads are all so strong and independent. If I ever have kids I hope that these become their favorite movies to watch.

I always finish this movie feeling so inspired! It’s the only Miyazaki movie that I actually own.

This is by far my favorite. I absolutely adore the Susuwatari and Haku. The artwork and the music are stunning. I think I’ve seen this about twice as many times as Princess Mononoke. There’s just something about it that makes me never get tired of seeing it!

I thought it was about time to refocus on this goal again, so during my day away from 43T, I decided to watch the movie that led me to Miyazaki. It’s by far his most political and violent movie. Even though I’ve seen this one multiple times, I was still in awe by it.

My favorite scene is definitely when we’re first introduced to the Kodama. :)

I did a little more research into the actual movie and I learned that Mononoke is actually a Japanese term for a spirit or monster. It gives the name of the movie a much different feel.

Finished Kiki’s Delivery Service yesterday. Cute movie. ^_ Really good for little kids.

Tonight I’m between My Neighbor Totoro or Spirited Away. I think I’m leaning towards Totoro though.