Every Studio Ghibli Movie Ranked From Worst To Best

Castle In The Sky embodies everything that's good and beautiful about Studio Ghibli films. It is gloriously fantastical, heart-warming and uplifting, and for good reason it has been likened to Star Wars, not least for its brilliant visuals but for the humanist spin and the exhilarating action scenes.

Laputa is the first official Studio Ghibli film and it started with a hell of a bang: it is Miyazaki's first real hit, balancing spectacle and emotion with some of the most impressive set-pieces seen in the medium. There's an almost Amblin-like feel to the story as two youngsters defy government stooges to seek out the notorious lost flying city of Laputa: it's certainly cut from the same family-oriented blockbuster cloth.

And inevitably, even with the spirit of adventure pushed to the fore-front, there's something more complex beneath: the opening was inspired by the 1980s British miner's strike after all, and there's a rich emotional tapestry at play. Yet still, this is arguably the studio's most purely entertaining film, though it's not the most artistically impressive.