The Complete Studio Ghibli 17 Movie Collection:

Laputa "Castle In The Sky" Hayao Miyazaki's CASTLE IN THE SKY is a rousing adventure that follows an orphan named Sheeta as she eludes the clutches of a secret agent named Muska while trying to discern her family's history. After her first escape from Muska, Sheeta meets up with a young boy named Pazu, whose father, a photographer, was disgraced after he took a picture of the legendary flying island of Laputa and had it dismissed as a hoax. When the two realize that a family heirloom Sheeta carries allows them to levitate, the two begin a search for the lost island, trailed by Muska, who is also searching for Laputa.

Grave of Fireflies In post-World War II Japan, a janitor finds a deathly ill boy lying beside a metal candy container. The janitor unwittingly tosses the possession into the night, beginning a most unusual tale of survival set amid the atrocities of war in the Animé GRAVE OF FIREFLIES. Brother and sister Seita and Setsuko, ages 14 and 4, flee their disheveled home and deceased parents to make their bid for a new life. Before American troops begin to occupy their country, the children resort to dwelling in an abandoned bomb shelter in the countryside. Though these siblings later get a sense of safety, they realize necessities such as food and water will not be easy to come by.

Whisper of the Heart During summer vacation, a schoolgirl named Shizuku, who longs to discover her true talents, observes an ordinary-looking cat riding by himself on the train. Intrigued, she decides to follow him. This chance encounter leads her to the mysterious Seiji, a boy who is determined to follow his dreams, and The Baron, a magical cat figurine who helps her listen to the whispers in her heart. Soon, Shizuku's exciting adventures carry her far beyond the boundaries of her imagination.

Princess Mononoke A beautifully realized tale of civilization versus nature, PRINCESS MONONOKE is a true epic by Japan's master animator Hayao Miyazaki. While protecting his village from a rampaging boar-god, the warrior Ashitaka (Billy Crudup) is cursed with a rapidly spreading scar that threatens to end his life. Seeking a cure and a reason for the animal-god's attack, he journeys into the sacred depths of the Great Forest Spirit's realm. On the edge of this once serene forest, however, the Tatara clan have begun to destroy the surrounding land to produce iron. In retaliation, San (Claire Danes), the adopted daughter of the wolf-god Moro (Gillian Anderson), has begun raiding the Tatara fortress to stop their encroachment. Soon Ashitaka is caught in the middle and must stop the war between the humans and the forest dwellers before they destroy each other. Miyazaki, who was personally responsible for 80,000 of the film's 144,000 hand drawings, uses the story's lush feudal setting as a character unto itself, filling the screen with vast mountainous landscapes and gorgeous wooded glens that recall his early film, NAUSICAÄ OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND. The film also features battle sequences that are reminiscent of the stunning live action warfare in Akira Kurosawa's RAN. The startlingly fluid movements of these mythological characters are detailed far beyond any other hand-animated production, easily making this one of the most spectacular animated films ever made.

My Neighbor Totoro Departing from the action-oriented plots of his previous films (NAUSICAÄ OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND and LAPUTA, CASTLE IN THE SKY), Japan's most beloved animator, Hayao Miyazaki, provides a slower-paced, stunningly realistic portrayal of life in the countryside. When their mother is hospitalized because of an unspecified illness, two young sisters spend a summer in the Japanese countryside with their father. The children's strange new environment turns out to be a natural wonderland filled with exotic real-life creatures and a trio of furry, woodland sprites who can only be seen by children. The film evokes both the terrors and wonders that children can experience unbeknownst to adults--a feeling the young Miyazaki knew only too well after his mother was hospitalized because of spinal tuberculosis. With homages to ALICE IN WONDERLAND and MARY POPPINS, the second film from Studio Ghibli delighted audiences and put the young animation studio on firm financial footing.

Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind Hayao Miyazaki's epic, environmentally conscious anime, takes viewers on a voyage through time and space to the magical and dreamlike Valley of the Wind, where good battles evil for the future of the human race. Faced with almost certain destruction of her planet's natural resources, the warrior Princess Nausicaa must rally her people against an evil queen's brutal army to bring a new life to her homeland. Reminiscent of works by J.R.R. Tolkien, this story of responsibility, coming of age, peace, and redemption has proven to be one of the legendary Miyazaki's most enduring works. As opposed to the earlier release of this film, titled WARRIORS OF THE WIND, this release stays true to Miyazaki's original work.

KiKi's Delivery Service Set in a time when airships still ruled the skies and World War II never happened, KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE is a coming-of-age tale that explores the difficulties of being a young witch. On her thirteenth birthday, budding witch Kiki is in a hurry to leave her family and establish her independence. With only her talking pet cat as a companion, Kiki is attracted to the bright lights of a beautiful port city, but finds that making friends is not easy. Using her skill at riding a broom to start an express delivery service, Kiki quickly discovers that she cannot take her unique abilities for granted. The film is based on the book MAJO NO TAKKYUBIN by Eiko Kadono, a Japanese writer of children's books; the title literally means "Witch's Special Express Delivery." Like Miyazaki's MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO, KIKI is languidly paced--the better to appreciate the level of detail of the film's animation. KIKI differs from the typical "witch" film, like THE CRAFT: Kiki's abilities serve not as a symbol for evil or for ultimate power, but for the talents that lie within the reach of every girl. The film was dubbed in English by several prominent actors, including Kirsten Dunst, Phil Hartman, Janeane Garofalo, and Debbie Reynolds.

Porco-Rosso From the renowned director of MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO and PRINCESS MONONOKE comes this period, fantasy anime about an Italian, ace WWI pilot who undergoes a transformation to become Porco Rosso, part man, part pig, after witnessing the deaths of other pilots in his last air battle. Under this spell, Porco Rosso survives by taking odd jobs, and finds himself in one comic situation after another as he romances women, rescues the innocent, and looks for a way out of the porcine spell.

The Cat Returns First-time director Hiroyuki Morita joins Ghibli's talented crew with THE CAT RETURNS (NEKO NO ONGAESHI). This follow-up to WHISPER OF THE HEART centers around young Haru, who rescues a cat from being run over. The cat is no ordinary feline, however--he is the Prince of the Cats, and for saving him Haru is brought into the Kingdom of Cats to be his bride. But her feline friends Muta and the Baron may have a plan to rescue her from this unusual fate. Like many of the Studio Ghibli films, THE CAT RETURNS is a modern day ALICE IN WONDERLAND, featuring a protagonist who takes a trip into a wondrous and strange fantasy setting.

Howl's Moving Castle Acclaimed Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki adapts British writer Diana Wynne Jones's popular fantasy tale for this animated feature, adding his own unique and celebrated dreamlike spin. A young hat-maker named Sophie (voiced by Emily Mortimer) is turned into an old woman by the dreaded Witch of the Waste (Lauren Bacall) when she attracts the notice of Howl (Christian Bale), a young wizard whom the witch desires for herself. As the old woman, (voiced by Jean Simmons), Sophie finds refuge as a cleaning lady in Howl's magical castle, an impressively realized mishmash of anthropomorphic shafts and gears, where she meets, among other wonders, a cantankerous fire demon named Calcifer (Billy Crystal). Howl's courage inspires her to seek a cure for her curse, and vice versa, and the two work together to prevent a major war as the castle roams the countryside on its mechanical legs. There's lots of magic afoot as well, including travel through barriers of space and time, and shape-shifting, requiring full viewer attention to keep track of who, where, and when, but this how dreams really are and the film engages on that same subconscious level. As with Miyazaki's previous work (SPIRITED AWAY, KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE), the emphasis here is on creating a beautiful alternate reality, where anything can happen, and every frame is a breathtaking work of art. See it on the big screen if the chance presents itself; the elaborate intricacies and patiently realized alternate realities of Miyazaki's work makes him a true treasure.

Tales from Earthsea Enter a dark, magical world of dragons and sorcery in Studio Ghibli's blockbuster animated epic Tales from Earthsea. Adapted from Ursula K. Le Guin's beloved children's fantasy book series, Tales from Earthsea marks the phenomenal directorial debut of Miyazaki Goro, the son of the legendary Miyazaki Hayao. Complex and compelling, Tales from Earthsea presents a sweeping, fantastical story about a young prince's journey through darkness and redemption.  A mysterious force is disturbing the natural balance in the land of Earthsea. Dragons are feuding, magic is dying, and the whole of humanity is falling into chaos. Haunted by inner demons, Prince Arren (voiced by Okada Junichi) stabs his father and runs away with the king's sword. He finds friendship and protection with kind-hearted master wizard Ged and a strange young girl named Therru. A shadow, however, continues to haunt Arren, drawing him to the evil sorcerer Cob whose quest for immortality is destroying the balance between the realm of the living and dead. To save Earthsea, Arren must stop Cob, but he himself is falling into darkness.

Spirited Away Directed by animation legend Hayao Miyazaki, SPIRITED AWAY is the tale of Chihiro (voiced by Daveigh Chase), a young girl who is taken down an unusual road by her parents while moving to a new home in an unfamiliar town. The curiosity of Chihiro's mother (Lauren Holly) and father (Michael Chiklis) leads the reluctant child into what appears to be an abandoned amusement park. Soon her parents are greedily feasting on various delights from an enticing food stand and are literally turned into pigs. The frightened and bewildered girl then encounters a young man named Haku (Jason Marsden), who explains what she must do to navigate this strange and magical realm. Finding employment in a bathhouse for spirits and other odd characters--including kimono-wearing frogs, lumbering tentacled monsters, and a mysterious apparition named No Face--Chihiro attempts to figure out how she can free her parents from the clutches of the resort's owner, a powerful witch named Yubaba (Suzanne Pleshette). In the process, she makes some very eccentric friends--and has to deal with some notoriously stinky customers. A surreal adventure reminiscent of Lewis Carroll's ALICE IN WONDERLAND, SPIRITED AWAY continues Miyazaki's streak of groundbreaking animated films that also includes PRINCESS MONONOKE and MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO. Succeeding MONONOKE as the most successful film in Japanese cinema history, this charming movie follows its own bizarre yet engaging logic as it reveals a cast of fascinating characters and jaw-dropping settings through stunningly beautiful hand-crafted animation. A movie experience like no other, SPIRITED AWAY is sure to enchant audiences of all ages, leaving viewers grinning with a giddy sense of wonderment.

Ponyo Five-year-old boy Sosuke lives on a cliff by the sea with his headstrong mother, Lisa. One day he rescues a curious-looking fish from the sea, and names her Ponyo. Sosuke vows to love and protect Ponyo forever, but little does he know, his new pet is no ordinary fish. Ponyo is actually the runaway daughter of an eccentric sea wizard who soon comes to retrieve her. Enchanted by her first taste of the world above water, Ponyo determinedly steals her father's potions to become a human girl, and happily returns to Sosuke on the tails of a terrific storm. Her little escapade, however, releases a great destabilizing magical force into the world. When Sosuke and Ponyo wake up the next morning, they find their town is completely submerged underwater.

My Neighbors the Yamadas From Studio Ghibli, perhaps the most respected of all Japanese animation studios, and director Isao Takahata (GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES) comes the aesthetically inventive MY NEIGHBORS THE YAMADAS (HOUHOKEKYO TONARI NO YAMADA-KUN). The Yamadas are a family living in the suburbs of Tokyo, and who are representative of the Japanese middle class, with largely realistic, if exaggerated, adventures. Based on a popular daily comic strip, the film utilizes a deceptively simple and stylized animation that recalls the basic nature of its source. Rather than having a plot that stretches across the entire film, instead there is a series of vignettes, some humorous and others serious, which also recall the compact narrative experience of a comic strip. MY NEIGHBORS THE YAMADAS continues the tradition of unique, refined anime from Studio Ghibli.

Pom Poko Director Isao Takahata (GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES) and the acclaimed Japanese animation studio Ghibli are the creative forces behind the environmental fable POM POKO (HEISEI TANUKI GASSEN POMPOKO). In the woods near a rapidly growing city, a group of tanuki (Japanese raccoons) live in relative peace, until the development of the town begins to intrude on their land. The tanuki are faced with a dilemma regarding the human beings, for their homes are being destroyed, but the tanuki also rely on the human community for scavenged food and goods. They decide to try using their powers of illusion and shapeshifting to scare the humans back to the central city and sabotage further building, but will their efforts come too little, too late? POM POKO uses the figure of the tanuki, an important animal in Japanese folklore and often attributed with the powers seen in the film, to comment on the nature of their society's geographic expansion and the subsequent impact on the natural world.

Arrietty A family of three tiny people – so called "borrowers" – live quietly in the house of human inhabitants taking what they need to survive. However, life changes for 14-year-old Arrietty and the rest of the Clock family when a human boy discovers her and they are forced to move…

From Up on Poppy Hill Set in Tokyo a few months before the 1964 Olympic Games, FROM UP ON POPPY HILL tells the story of Umi, a teenager whose father died during wartime, and who shoulders much of the responsibility for her family's business in addition to maintaining good grades at school. Her orphaned friend Shun lives in a mansion on the school grounds with dozens of other kids, and when their home is threatened with demolition, Umi and the others do their best to stop the dwelling from being destroyed. FROM UP ON POPPY HILL is the second feature by Goro Miyazaki, the son of acclaimed animator Hayao Miyazaki.…