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Curated category

Animated films set in Japan

  • My Neighbor TotoroMy Neighbor Totoro, a 1988 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, opens on a family driving to an old house in the…
  • Spirited AwaySpirited Away opens on a ten-year-old girl named Chihiro Ogino riding in her parents' imported Audi, sulking about moving to a new neighborhood.
  • The Cat ReturnsIn 1995, Studio Ghibli released a film titled Whisper of the Heart. That project introduced Baron, a cat figurine who came to life within a fantasy sequence.
  • The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (film)In 1960, Isao Takahata prepared a potential adaptation of The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter for Toei Animation. That project never came to fruition.
  • Princess MononokePrincess Mononoke arrived in Japanese cinemas on the 12th of July, 1997, and within days the newspapers had a name for what was happening: the "Mononoke…
  • Only Yesterday (1991 film)Hotaru Okamoto published the manga Omoide Poro Poro in 1982, establishing a quiet story about a young girl named Taeko. Yuko Tone drew the illustrations that…
  • Pom PokoIn the Tama Hills, a group of tanuki drummed their bellies to create a sound like Pom Poko. This rhythm came from a 1919 poem by Ujō Noguchi that became a…
  • PonyoPonyo begins with a goldfish-like creature trapped inside a glass jar, drifting toward shore on the back of a jellyfish.
  • Whisper of the HeartWhisper of the Heart is a 1995 Japanese animated film that begins with a small, almost invisible mystery: a girl notices that every library book she picks up…
  • Ghost in the Shell (1995 film)Mamoru Oshii originally wanted to direct Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade after he finished Patlabor 2: The Movie in 1993. He proposed the project to Bandai Visual…
  • ArriettyArrietty is a 2010 Japanese animated fantasy film from Studio Ghibli, and it carries with it a question that has haunted filmmakers for decades: how do you…
  • The Wind RisesHayao Miyazaki began conceiving the story of The Wind Rises in 2008, marking his first feature film since Ponyo. He published a manga series based on this…
  • Your NameMakoto Shinkai stood in the fishing village of Yuriage on the 14th of July 2011. The ground beneath his feet still trembled from the massive earthquake that…
  • My Neighbors the YamadasIsao Takahata directed My Neighbors the Yamadas in 1999 for Studio Ghibli. The project began as an adaptation of Hisaichi Ishii's Nono-chan manga series.