Enjoy this comprehensive guide to the 24 movies released by the beloved animation studio across four decades.

How to watch every Studio Ghibli movie in order

Enjoy this comprehensive guide to the 24 movies released by the beloved animation studio across four decades.

By Declan Gallagher

April 27, 2026 8:00 a.m. ET

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Ghibli contains multitudes: Cuddly 'My Neighbor Totoro,' horrifying 'Grave of the Fireflies,' surreal 'Spirited Away'. Credit:

studio ghibli (3)

Studio Ghibli possesses one of modern cinema’s most beloved bodies of work. Over the last four decades, the company’s films have shaped global animation and inspired generations of artists and audiences.

Founded in 1985 by Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, and Toshio Suzuki, the studio built its legacy on hand-crafted worlds where fantasy and reality blend seamlessly. From *My Neighbor Totoro* and *Spirited Away* to *Princess Mononoke* and *The Tale of the Princess Kaguya*, each film carries a distinct voice while sharing a trademark devotion to empathy and imagination.

As their influence continues to ripple through animation, filmmaking, and pop culture, these stories are a reminder that the most extraordinary adventures often begin in ordinary places.

** has put together a handy watch guide for every Studio Ghibli movie in order of release. For clarity’s sake, we’ve included Miyazaki’s 1984 *Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind*, which has retroactively been folded into the Ghibli brand, and left out the French co-production *The Red Turtle*.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

Nausicaa glides across her valley in Hayao Miyazaki's second feature.

In a post-apocalyptic civilization, the remnants of the natural world have been overrun by a poisoned jungle known as the Sea of Decay. Cloistered within it is the teenage princess of the eponymous valley, Nausicaä, who has the ability to communicate with the gigantic insects that populate the region. Alongside her newfound mentor, the warrior Lord Yupa, Nausicaä tries to restore prosperity to a broken planet.

This was Hayao Miyazaki’s second directorial feature, and established a penchant for ecological messaging that has run through his body of work.

Where to watch *Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind*: HBO Max

Castle in the Sky (1986)

A robot offers Sheeta and Pazu a flower in 'Castle in the Sky'. Studio Ghibli

Studio Ghibli's official launchpad, *Castle in the Sky* proved to be an awe-inspiring start to a lasting legacy.

An orphaned girl named Sheeta is on the run. After escaping her abduction by a mysterious government agent, she joins forces with fellow orphan Pazu to journey to the mythical floating city of Laputa.

Along the way the two get chased by (and eventually team up with) air pirates. Naturally, personal secrets about our two adolescent heroes gradually get unveiled — like what exactly is the deal with that crystal pendant around Sheeta’s neck?

Where to watch *Castle in the Sky*: HBO Max

Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

Seita taking care of his kid sister Setsuko in 'Grave of the Fireflies'.

This uncommonly (and notoriously) harrowing animated feature follows Seita, a teen boy who’s tasked with looking after his younger sister, Setsuko, after a bombing during WWII leaves them orphaned.

Contrary to the fantasy that has defined much of Studio Ghibli’s work over the years, *Grave of the Fireflies* is a harsh social-realist drama that doesn’t skimp on the horrors of war.

Where to watch *Grave of the Fireflies*: Netflix

My Neighbor Totoro (1988)

Siri, how would you sum up perfect joy in one image?.

Hayao Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli

Miyazaki’s seminal postwar epic of friendship and familial bonds centers around sisters Satsuki and Mei, who move to a country house with their father and mother, who is suffering from a serious illness.

The countryside that surrounds them is filled with mystery and magic — in particular a friendly spirit figure, which they name Totoro, who becomes the girls’ cuddly companion.

Where to watch *My Neighbor Totoro*: HBO Max

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Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)

Kiki may or may not have a crush on Tombo in 'Kiki's Delivery Service'. Studio Ghibli

Kiki has reached a rite of passage for any young witch: At age 13, she must fly the coop — on her broomstick, of course — and spend a year away from home. Along with her cat, Jiji, she settles in a quaint seaside town and begins a courier service.

Miyazaki’s film is wise enough to know that growing up is hard — and that goes double for a novice witch. Kiki struggles to get a grip on her faculties as she encounters the possibilities of romance and independence for the first time in an earnest coming-of-age tale that's elevated by a dash of magic.

Where to watch *Kiki’s Delivery Service*: HBO Max

Only Yesterday (1991)

Taeko harvesting safflowers while thinking about her childhood in 'Only Yesterday'.

Isao Takahata’s lovely, melancholic drama concerns Taeko, a single woman in the big city circa the early 1980s.

While on a train trip to the countryside to help some extended relatives on their saffron farm, she begins reflecting on her childhood — the relationship between who she was at 10 and who she is now.

Subtle and character-focused, *Only Yesterday* is a deeply felt examination of life’s many roads.

Where to watch *Only Yesterday*: HBO Max

Porco Rosso (1992)

A thumbs-up: The universal symbol for "I'm about to go give those nefarious pirates the business".

Perhaps the least-discussed and most insane of Miyazaki’s directorial efforts, *Porco Rosso* is an action-packed, kaleidoscopic tale of the eponymous Italian WWI flying ace-turned-bounty hunter... who just so happens to be cursed with the face of a pig.

Underneath that distinctive snout and cool trench coat, he’s got the heart of an old-fashioned romantic scoundrel. His love interest is the sexy Hotel Adriano owner Gina; his business interest is the aerial pirates targeting tourists and even children. He approaches both endeavors with equal gusto.

Where to watch *Porco Rosso*: HBO Max

Ocean Waves (1993)

Yukata and Toku, best pals who want the same girl, in 'Ocean Waves'. Everett Collection

One of Ghibli’s more obscure efforts is this low-key teenage love triangle.

Taku Morisaki glimpses a face from his past and thinks back on a pivotal series of events from his high school years. It involved, naturally, his best friend and the girl they both fell for. Tomomi Mochizuki's muted, affecting drama is a gentle but honest look at the emotional tolls of youthful romance.

Where to watch *Ocean Waves*: HBO Max

Pom Poko (1994)

This is a tanuki. You will want one for a pet but you cannot have one.

When the home of the mythical tanuki is threatened by encroaching development, they summon their considerable powers (shapeshifting and otherwise) to fight back and retain their land.

Takahata's extremely entertaining and loopy adventure is wrapped in a palatable and insistent ecological message that’s very on-brand for Studio Ghibli — and more potent now than ever.

Where to watch *Pom Poko*: HBO Max

Whisper of the Heart (1995)

Not every day you see a cat in a top hat and cane, but this is Ghibli, after all. His name is The Baron, of course. Everett Collection

Aspiring writer Shizuku discovers a possible kindred spirit, albeit a mysterious one, in the form of a boy who seems to frequent the same book store — and has conspicuously similar taste.

Director Yoshifumi Kondō’s sumptuous romantic comedy is a pivotal cinematic example of adolescent coming-of-age and first love, but it also operates a pleasant, low-stakes slice of life.

Where to watch *Whisper of the Heart*: HBO Max

Princess Mononoke (1997)

San, a.k.a. Princess Mononoke: Warrior first, fashion icon second.

In this mythical, gore-infused epic, Ashitaka is infected by a bite from a demonic animal. He travels across the land seeking a cure but winds up in the middle of a conflict between gods, spirits, and townsfolk — all essentially a stand-in for the existential struggle between mankind and nature.

The key battle is between Iron Town leader Lady Eboshi and the wolf goddess Moro, alongside her adoptive daughter San (a.k.a. Princess Mononoke).

This is one of Miyazaki’s fiercest works, eschewing the cuddly warmth of *Totoro* in favor of something violent and genuinely frightening. For young anime fans who fancy something edgier, this is a terrific gateway pic.

Where to watch *Princess Mononoke*: HBO Max

My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999)

Trust us, you know someone like every member of the Yamada family. Studio Ghibli

Takahata's small (but not slight) anime would fit nicely alongside the low-key domestic fables of Mike Leigh and Hirokazu Kore-eda. The film’s episodic structure allows us to spend time with each member of the eponymous family in various everyday circumstances.

*My Neighbors the Yamadas *epitomizes the aphorism, “The personal is universal.” The story is highly specific to its culture, but this family will be recognizable to all viewers.

Where to watch *My Neighbors the Yamadas*: HBO Max

Spirited Away (2001)

Chihiro and Haku try to navigate out of a nightmarish realm in 'Spirited Away'. Studio Ghibli

One of the most celebrated Ghibli fantasies, *Spirited Away* follows Chihiro, who wanders into a disused amusement park with her parents during a vacation. But this is no ordinary park. Mom and Dad are transformed into pigs by an evil witch. Pretty much everything in this nightmarish netherworld has been distorted. Chihiro sticks around, gets herself a job, and tries to find a way to get her parents (and herself) free.

Miyazaki’s iconic fable is one of the most brazenly weird films ever made for kids, but its focus on character is just as sharp as Ghibli’s more restrained domestic stories.

Where to watch *Spirited Away*: HBO Max

The Cat Returns (2002)

TFW you're a princess but also you're turning into a cat.

When Haru saves a cat from being run over by a car, she finds that the wayward feline is, in fact, a prince. His father, the Cat King, rewards her bravery by offering his son’s hand in marriage. But as she slowly begins turning into a cat herself, Haru realizes that life inside the kingdom is not what she imagined.

Conceptually, *The Cat Returns* is a bit like *Tusk* or *The Substance*, but softened and run through the Ghibli filter. Still, it’s one of the craziest movies on this list. At times, Hiroyuki Morita’s feature feels more like a Disney film, albeit a particularly perverse one.

Where to watch *The Cat Returns*: HBO Max

Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)

Sophie, enshrouded by the protective embrace of Howl's feathers in 'Howl's Moving Castle'.

Studio Ghibli/Ntv/Tokuma

Miyazaki directed this visually sumptuous fantasy about a lonely shopgirl, Sophie, whose life is enlivened when she meets the great wizard Howl.

Things turn sour thanks to the wicked Witch of the Waste, who has it out for Howl and curses Sophie with rapidly advancing age. Reversing the curse to return the poor girl to her natural form requires… well, a whole movie’s worth of increasingly bizarre adventures.

*Howl’s Moving Castle* continued a trend started by *Spirited Away*, moving beyond explicitly kid-friendly stories into more adult territory. This is one of the studio’s best-looking and most powerful movies.

Where to watch *Howl’s Moving Castle*: HBO Max

Tales from Earthsea (2006)

Prince Arren in 'Tales from Earthsea'. Studio Ghibli

Gorō Miyazaki, the director’s son and architect of the Ghibli amusement park, helmed this low-key epic based loosely on legendary novelist Ursula K. Le Guin’s *Earthsea *series.

The film revolves around an older wizard, Sparrowhawk, who aligns himself with a young prince as he attempts to save his home from a spiritual force bent on wreaking havoc across the land.

It’s not the most acclaimed of the studio’s catalog, but there’s a real charm in the simplicity of its images and story.

Where to watch *Tales from Earthsea*: HBO Max

Ponyo (2008)

Goldfish princess defies gravity in 'Ponyo'.

Just try getting the theme song to this rewatchable coming-of-age tale out of your head.

Ponyo, a mythical goldfish and princess of an underwater kingdom, encounters a human boy, Sōsuke, during a (forbidden) excursion to the water’s surface. The two develop a close relationship, but when Ponyo’s father forces her to return to the ocean, the young fish develops a plan to return to her human friend and live forever on land.

*Ponyo *is like a more innocent version of *The Little Mermaid*, with the added benefit of Miyazaki’s grand imagination.

Where to watch *Ponyo*: HBO Max

The Secret World of Arrietty (2010)

Yes, this is actual scale. Normal-sized leaves, miniature-sized Arrietty.

Teensy-tiny Arrietty lives a quiet life in the corner of a rambling suburban mansion with her mom and dad. When she develops a relationship with one of the home’s human inhabitants, it threatens to disrupt her carefully obscured existence.

Similar in structure and theme to *Ponyo*, *Arrietty* — directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi based on Mary Norton’s beloved *The Borrowers *book series — is sweet and good-natured, and uses its "miniature family in a normal-sized house” conceit to great effect in sequences that play like jazzy, small-scale capers.

Where to watch *The Secret World of Arrietty*: HBO Max

From Up on Poppy Hill (2011)

Umi and Shun deal with feelings and family history in 'From Up on Poppy Hill'. Studio Ghibli

In 1963 Yokohama, the year before the Tokyo Olympics in a country still living in the wake of WWII, high schoolers Umi and Shun find refuge in one another.

Practically speaking, there’s the matter of the “Latin Quarter,” where they and a great many others find their purpose. It houses the school paper and various other beloved student clubs, but is under threat of demolition.

Beyond school grounds, our two protagonists have family histories and mysteries that still haunt them — and which complicate their burgeoning flirtation.

Where to watch *From Up on Poppy Hill*: HBO Max

The Wind Rises (2013)

Nahoko, the love of our our conflicted protagonist's life, in 'The Wind Rises'. Studio Ghibli

This wasn’t officially Miyazaki’s final film (it never is), but it would have been a perfect swan song.

A mature wartime drama that sets itself apart from his more fantastical and child-optimized stories, *The Wind Rises *is a sobering reflection of the moral quandaries that have made his films so richly rewarding.

It’s a loose biopic of aviation engineer Jiro Horikoshi, here depicted as an idealist who has always dreamed of building planes for their sheer sublime majesty, only for fate to intervene as his glorious creations get used as weapons of war. The film lives inside the conflict between dreams and realities, innocence and blood.

Where to watch *The Wind Rises*: HBO Max

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013)

The eponymous Princess Kaguya, Isao Takahata's visually distinct swan song. Studio Ghibli

In his final film, Takahata turns an ancient folk tale into a gorgeous, epic-length fantasy. A tiny girl grows out of a plant into a beautiful, highly desirable princess, but she’s unprepared for the status her new life brings. She attracts five suitors, all of whom are sent on impossible-to-complete missions in a bid to prove their love for her.

*Princess Kaguya *is rooted in both old traditions and modern ideas, and its greatness is in the self-aware tension between those two. True to Ghibli form, the film is concerned less with painting simplistic heroes and villains and more with what the conflict itself reveals about human belief, behavior, and ritual.

Where to watch *The Tale of Princess Kaguya*: HBO Max

When Marnie Was There (2014)

Anna, in disguise as a flower girl (apparently a lucrative business), in 'When Marnie Was There'. © 2014 GNDHDDTK

Hiromasa Yonebayashi’s heartbreaking feature is closer to a psychological thriller than a traditional character drama. Twelve-year-old Anna is already struggling with significant mental health issues, bordering on genuine depression, when an asthmatic attack makes a bad situation even worse. She’s sent to the clean, brisk air of a seaside town to recover.

Anna eventually meets a mysterious girl, Marnie, in a nearby mansion. The more they get to know each other, the more surreal and dreamlike the film gets. Marnie’s true nature — who or what she really is — is a question that hovers over everything.

Where to watch *When Marnie Was There*: HBO Max

Earwig and the Witch (2020)

Earwig, the first (last?) CG-animated Studio Ghibli heroine. GKIDS Films

Orphaned witch Earwig is adopted by two sinister foster parents, Bella Yaga (a witch) and Mandrake (a demon). They proceed to enslave her in a life of servitude. Of course, no plucky Ghibli heroine will take that kind of treatment lying down, and Earwig is no exception — so she begins harnessing her ability to create spells.

*Earwig and the Witch* is notorious for being the first CG-animated movie in the famously hand-drawn Studio Ghibli canon. It has gone down as one of the studio’s only misfires.

Where to watch *Earwig and the Witch*: HBO Max

The Boy and the Heron (2023)

'The Boy and the Heron' protagonist Mahito, partially based on Hayao Miyazaki himself.

Miyazaki came out of retirement (again) to helm this extraordinary 1940s-set adventure about Mahito, a young boy who joins up with a wily heron to travel into a mythical realm in search of his mother, who died not long ago in a hospital fire.

Like so many of Studio Ghibli’s best titles, *The Boy and the Heron *tackles thorny ethical dilemmas head-on. Miyazaki uses his fantasy worlds to complicate memory, emotion, and morality in ways that feel not just wise but well-earned in their wisdom.

This is both an exciting coming-of-age tale and a shrewd examination of power.

Where to watch *The Boy and the Heron*: HBO Max

Studio Ghibli movies in order of release:

- *Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind* (1984)

- *Castle in the Sky* (1986)

- *Grave of the Fireflies* (1988)

- *My Neighbor Totoro* (1988)

- *Kiki’s Delivery Service *(1989)

- *Only Yesterday* (1991)

- *Porco Rosso* (1992)

- *Ocean Waves* (1993)

- *Pom Poko *(1994)

- *Whisper of the Heart *(1995)

- *Princess Mononoke* (1997)

- *My Neighbors the Yamadas *(1999)

- *Spirited Away* (2001)

- *The Cat Returns *(2002)

- *Howl’s Moving Castle* (2004)

- *Tales from Earthsea* (2006)

- *Ponyo *(2008)

- *The Secret World of Arrietty* (2010)

- *From Up on Poppy Hill* (2011)

- *The Wind Rises *(2013)

- *The Tale of Princess Kaguya* (2013)

- *When Marnie Was There *(2014)

- *Earwig and the Witch* (2020)

- *The Boy and the Heron* (2023)

- Animated Movies

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Animated”