There are many things to appreciate about films from one of the top animation studios in the world Studio Ghibli. Fans can unanimously agree that one of the most striking qualities of their movies are their gorgeous, hand-painted backgrounds that immerse viewers into an amazingly imaginative fantasy landscapes.
A lot of that can be attributed to Kazuo Oga, who has worked as the background artist and background director of some of the Studio’s most beloved films.
For this ranking through Goo Rankings and DoCoMo, 16,030 people were surveyed over the span of the month and asked “which Ghibli movie they wouldn’t mind getting lost in.” One of those films stole the hearts of many by a landslide!
| Ghibli Film | Votes | |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | The Wind Rises | 85 |
| 13 | Only Yesterday | 114 |
| 12 | From Up on Poppy Hill | 126 |
| 11 | Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea | 191 |
| 9 | Porco Rosso | 330 |
| 9 | Princess Mononoke | 330 |
| 8 | Whisper of the Heart | 460 |
| 7 | The Cat Returns | 623 |
| 6 | The Borrower Arrietty | 632 |
| 5 | Howl’s Moving Castle | 798 |
| 4 | Laputa: Castle in the Sky | 1773 |
| 3 |
Spirited Away
|
2106 |
| 2 |
Kiki’s Delivery Service
|
2368 |
| 1 |
My Neighbor Totoro
|
5815 |
Spirited Away opens with an abandoned theme park from the 90s, but as night breaks, the main character Chihiro finds that she had crossed over to the Spirit Realm which houses Yubaba’s grandiose Japanese-style Bathhouse as well as Zeniba’s quaint Cottage. The Spirit Realm is directly linked to the Human World, but noticebly less polluted in exchange for its lack of technology. It’s not very safe for a Human there though…
Miyazaki’s trip to Sweden in the 70’s left a strong impression on his work. Kiki’s Delivery Service takes place in an imaginary European country inspired by Napoli, Lisbon, Stockholm, San Francisco and Paris. One side of the city is like the shores of the Mediterranean sea, but the other features architecture found on the coast of the Baltic sea. Set in an alternate universe, having a resident witch in every town is commonplace and it would be normal to go to your local witch for medicine.
Set in 1955 Japan, the backgrounds of My Neighbor Totoro depict a dense, spirit-filled fantasy forest revealed to be called the “Tsukamori Forest”. It’s inspired by the Tokorozawa area in the Saitama Prefecture where Miyazaki lives (because “it’s cheap and just outside the Tokyo Metropolitan area”). Comments from the participants talked about enjoying this film every summer and wishing they could be apart of it and sit on Totoro’s tummy.
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