Studio Ghibli: My Escape from Reality
Let me start this piece by asking some questions. Why do you watch movies? Is it to be entertained, or to distract yourself for two hours? Or maybe, if you’re like me, it’s an escape. A chance to step away from reality and be in a different world. This year I have found myself escaping to one world in particular. A world filled with mythical creatures, sweeping musical scores, strong female characters, tales of family and love, epic battles, and snapshots of everyday life. That world is the world of Studio Ghibli.
If you have never heard of Studio Ghibli, I’ll give you a quick rundown. Studio Ghibli, first founded on June 15th, 1985, is one of the most acclaimed animation studios of all time. Started by Hayao Miyazaki, Toshio Suzuki, and the late Isao Takahata in Japan, the studio has created some of the most beloved and critically praised films of all time. Many critics refer to this studio, in particular to director Miyazaki, as “the Walt Disney of Japan”, something I feel is due to the fact that both are popular among various age groups. Disney even produced the English language dubs for a majority of these films from 1996 until 2011.
Since then, Studio Ghibli has only grown more in popularity, thanks to DVD re-releases, special limited screenings in cinemas, and even their entire catalog of feature films being made available on various streaming platforms around the world. It warmed my heart last spring, when I went onto Twitter and saw that so many people were excited to finally have an easy access to these films. My very first encounter with Studio Ghibli actually happened about 12 years ago.
When I was in elementary school, we would learn a new language each trimester. Those languages were Spanish, French, and Japanese. Once we reached 5th grade, we would choose which language we wanted to focus on in middle school. During my 3rd grade Japanese class, our teacher came in one day and told us we would spend the next few classes watching a movie called My Neighbor Totoro. I feel it’s important to note that we watched this movie in Japanese…with no subtitles.
It didn’t matter that we were a bunch of children watching a movie in a language we couldn’t really understand, we all simply adored this movie. My Neighbor Totoro follows two sisters and their father as they move into a new house in the countryside. They soon discover that the house is also home to a bunch of forest spirits, a fact that makes the girls very excited. Most of the movie is just seeing the everyday lives of this family and their interactions with the forest spirits.
But what I particularly loved about this film was the blend between everyday life and magic. One scene you see the girls visiting their mother in the hospital, the next they are helping the spirits grow a giant tree in their garden. It’s just those little moments like that that somehow made this film seem so magical. My class loved this movie so much that we re-watched it the next two years and would sing along to the main theme song as best as we could.
On a sunny day in 2018, I was walking through one of my absolute favorite places, Barnes & Noble. As I walked through the music and movies section, browsing the many displays, I noticed something that made me very excited. Many of the Studio Ghibli movies were there on DVD, and I immediately knew what I had to do. I selected my two DVDs of choice, Howls Moving Castle and Princess Mononoke, and went to purchase them. As soon as I got home, I opened Howls Moving Castle and immediately placed it in my DVD player. I was excited to see one of the studios most popular films and it did not disappoint.
It wasn’t until the next year, however, that I finally decided to watch more of these modern classics. But this time I wasn’t alone. During our first date my boyfriend and I were having a conversation on Japanese anime, and I asked if he had seen anything from Studio Ghibli. He hadn’t but was very curious about a certain movie called Spirited Away. Thus, began our typical once a month date night tradition. We would go to our local movie and music store and choose from the wide variety of the studio’s filmography. Then we’d head home and watch the movie, while we would eat pizza and snuggle.
We still have a few more films to get through before we have seen all 23 of the studios’ filmography, but we have seen the most popular ones. These films have become a special thing for us. We love the animation, the music, the stories, everything about them. Most people I know seem to dismiss anime because they view it as childish or over-the-top, but I’m glad to have someone in my life that I can share this special thing with.
I’ve tried my hardest to pin-point what exactly it is about these movies that I loved so much, and why I always felt the need to re-watch them. There are many reasons as to why these films have become some of my favorites. One reason is the music. The musical scores from these movies are some of the most gorgeous and lush scores you will ever hear. The lush sound of the strings and the charming piano melodies lead to an enchanting experience. Even the musical scores that aren’t big and grand, whether influenced by folk, jazz, or traditional Japanese music, add so much to the story. Music can add so much to a scene, and the scores in these movies always help set the mood and feel of each scene.
You truly feel as though you’ve entered a different world when watching these films. Doesn’t matter if the story takes place in a European city, a post-apocalyptic world, the world of the spirits, or a modern-day Japanese town, you feel immersed in this setting. You take in the lush landscapes, the architecture, the fields filled with flowers and crops, the bright blue ocean water, and you are instantly pulled away from the world you are currently in. I always enter into these worlds and instantly feel calm.
By far one of the best things about Studio Ghibli is the characters themselves. Why? Because they feel like real people and are relatable. You know how in a lot of movies nowadays the children are too perfect and sweet, and they always seem to give the adults life changing advice? Well in Studio Ghibli movies, they actually act like kids. They cry, they get scared, they can be bratty, but they also grow from their mistakes and learn along the way. I think it’s easy for anyone to find at least one character in these movies that they can relate to.
For me, I discovered myself in the character of Shizuku from Whisper of the Heart. Shizuku is a middle school girl who rather spend her days reading than focusing on her studies. She ends up starting a friendship and romance with a boy named Seiji who wants to be a violin maker, and even has plans to do so. As I watched Shizuku complain about how she doesn’t know what she wants to do with her life, it clicked.
This is something I myself have faced as I entered my adult life. It became even clearer to me once Shizuku decided she was going to be a writer and would spend hours and hours writing her first novel. Her eventual breakdown over how her story isn’t great and how she’ll never be good enough, hit me right in my heart. I myself aspire to be a writer, and I have even questioned if I could do it, but the encouraging words she receives from her friends and family also gave me the encouragement to keep going after my dreams.
There are many other characters with struggles that I can relate to. Some examples are, Sophie’s lack of confidence with her appearance in “Howl’s Moving Castle”, Anna’s battle with feeling like an outsider in “When Marnie Was There”, and Kiki’s struggle to live on her own in “Kiki’s Delivery Service”. Some even remind me of the other people in my life. The first one that comes to mind is Tombo from Kiki’s Delivery Service because he gets so excited and passionate about aircraft the safe way my boyfriend does.
I always feel inspired to be a better person after watching these movies, and that’s mainly due to these characters. I want to be brave like Arrietty from The Secret World of Arrietty, excited about the little things in life like Ponyo in Ponyo, and strong like Nausicaa from Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. There are so many colorful and vibrant characters in the studio’s filmography that it’s very easy to find someone you feel connected too.
All of these things added up, you think I would have a better understanding as to why I love Studio Ghibli so much. But I still couldn’t find a clear answer. These films are considered by many to be modern classics, and it’s easy to agree once you watch one for yourself. They tell stories that show the battle between man and nature, the struggle to survive during a war-torn country, that romanticize the little things in life, and in the end, love conquers all. Everything about them leads to a beautiful experience. But for me, they have become a sense of comfort.
This past year, I started to re-watch these movies more than usual. Now that’s nothing new for me, I always like to revisit my favorites every now and then, but I started to gravitate towards Studio Ghibli more. It did seem obvious at first, because these movies always made me feel calm and relaxed. But there was something more about them that struck a chord with me. I finally started to put the pieces of this puzzle together one week in July.
My boyfriend came to spend a week with me while my parents were on vacation, and we spent a lot of our days watching movies. On a rainy day, we ended up re-watching Kiki’s Delivery Service and From Up on Poppy Hill. These movies are both very different, but they have similarities. Both feature a female lead, who comes of age in a small seaside town, and we see the struggles they face along the way. These movies not only made me appreciate the little things in life, but they made me want to escape to the coastal towns that these people lived in.
And this wanting of escapism became more obvious when we re-watched Howl’s Moving Castle. I’ve mentioned this movie a lot, mostly because it’s one of my favorites and easily the one I revisit the most. This movie has everything, magic, war, romance, delightful characters, a rich musical score, gorgeous scenery, and I just wanted to be there. I wanted to live in the moving castle with Sophie and Howl, I wanted to travel to different parts of the world by simply turning a knob on the door, I wanted to be in a place where all of the hatred and violence end’s and everything is alright in the end.
Now, whenever I watch one of these films, I use them as a moment to step away from reality and take a breather. When watching a movie from Studio Ghibli, I am instantly entranced into a new world. If I’m looking for some comfort, I’ll escape to a house in Japan that is also occupied by tiny little people in the floorboards. Or maybe I’ll go to a quiet seaside town. Maybe I’ll wander through an enchanted forest or fly through the sky on an airship. It doesn’t matter how many times I visit these places because I will always react to them like it is my first viewing.
Hayao Miyazaki once said, “Yet, even amidst the hatred and carnage, life is still worth living. It is possible for wonderful encounters and beautiful things to exist.” In a way, Studio Ghibli films remind me that. And I think that’s why I have found myself stepping back and watching these movies whenever things get a little tough. They give me the courage I need to achieve my dreams and enjoy all of the beautiful things that life has to offer. Also, they make me thankful for all that I have. So, the next time you need an escape, I recommend taking a trip to the dreamy and magical world of Studio Ghibli for a little breath of fresh air. It’s an experience you will truly never forget. And I for one, am truly grateful for every adventure these films have taken me on.
