I love these movies so much. Especially Totoro. It's just so refreshing to watch a children's movie where there isn't a traditional villain. Where the relationships between parent & child (and child & sibling) is a good one, where they trust each other.

Though I enjoyed Disney as a child, now as a parent, they drive me crazy. You know if this was a Disney film, there'd be an evil developer trying to tear down the woods where Totoro lived, and Mei's father wouldn't believe them about Totoro.

oh yes! Totoro has been one of my favorite movies ever since I saw it in the '90s - LOVE it, and so does my kid now. All his movies are great, but Totoro is still my favorite. It's one of the few movies I can watch over and over.

Anonymous wrote:Another good Ghibli film is The Cat Returns. Not sure where you can find it, I bought it online, and it's very funny. (And very Japanese!)

My Neighbors the Yamadas is also really good, and one that a lot of people haven't seen.

My Neighbors the Yamadas might be my favorite of all the films actually.

Yay! +1 for The Cat Returns

Another good Ghibli film is The Cat Returns. Not sure where you can find it, I bought it online, and it's very funny. (And very Japanese!)

My Neighbors the Yamadas is also really good, and one that a lot of people haven't seen.

My Neighbors the Yamadas might be my favorite of all the films actually.

Anonymous wrote:Oh yeah-- have you seen Spirited Away yet? Or Howl's Moving Castle?

Wish we could have seen the Secret World of Arriety but it came and went from the theaters in a blink, while the Lorax lingers on....

My three boys LOVE these films..Spirited Away and Ponyo are their favorites. Unfortunately, we thought Arriety was pretty bad, especially compared to their other films.

yes! my DH grew up watching totoro and we've introduced totoro and kiki to my DD. she is hooked. she watches them
every weekend in japanese, which is helping her language skills (we are a part japanese family). kiki is a lovely role model. now when DD acts up we ask her, "what would kiki do?". DD does pause and think...

we will introduce her to the other more mature themed films as she gets older. so yes, huge fans here!

I think AFI is showing them all this month

My kids watched ALL Miyazaki's movies. We watched Totoro only about 100 times. Have you watched Castle in the Sky? There is some shooting and chasing but still beautiful. My favorite is Howl's Moving Castle - beautiful story.

Grave of the Fireflies - is an amazing film. But it's something that you wouldn't want to watch the second time because of it's so painful. It's almost like the photo that just won the Pulitzer Prize.

I love Totoro!! Can't write more now, but check out Grave of the Fireflies for something totally different yet incredible as well. These two movies were released together in Japan.

Giant fan. I lived in Japan and went to the Studio Ghibli museum there (amazing place). I also got to ride in a catbus

Agree that Nausicaa is amazing, but probably not good for younger kids. I also really loved Porco Rosso (another one that's maybe better appreciated by an older set). Grave of Fireflies is devastating (good for grownups only, and only ones who can handle extreme sadness).

I remember loving Laputa: Castle in the Sky and it being good for little ones!

The only thing that irks me about the movies is how much worse the American voice acting is (even though it's by stars, it's usually just not up to par with the Japanese voice acting). I know, white people problems, right?

HUGE FAN! My kids love them all! Spirited Away is my favorite.

Nausicaa was pretty good too.

I saw Spirited Away. What about Nausica?

Oh yeah-- have you seen Spirited Away yet? Or Howl's Moving Castle?

Wish we could have seen the Secret World of Arriety but it came and went from the theaters in a blink, while the Lorax lingers on....