15 Essential Films You Might've Missed From This Decade (So Far)

14. Children Who Chase Lost Voices

With both Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata about ready to hand in the crown as the pre-eminent directors of great animation via their company, Studio Ghibli, it's easy to become depressed and view their retirement as the beginning of the end of great anime. Fortunately, if Children Who Chase Lost Voices is anything to go by, Makato Shinkai appears to be ready to pick up the baton and carry on where they left off - his glorious animated fantasy bears more than a passing resemblance to the Miyazaki greats Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away, both in its sumptuously detailed visual style and tale of a child venturing into a mythical realm. Shinkai is better known for his tone-poem animations such as 5cm Per Second and Garden Of Words, but Children Who Chase Lost Voices demonstrates a sense of the epic, filled with unbridled wonder.