Every Studio Ghibli Movie Ranked From Worst To Best

My Neighbour Totoro is pretty much Studio Ghibli's most child-friendly movie, which has achieved so much mainstream infiltration that the titular character- unofficially Ghibli's mascot - made it into Toy Story 3 for a cameo.

It's most interesting to watch Totoro in the original double-bill it was released as, with Grave Of The Fireflies - if only to soften some of the devastation of the latter.

Totoro is a beautifully contemplative film and the model for much of Miyazaki's work: the master preferring quiet moments of reflection alongside his fantastical elements rather than over-stuffing for effect. It's another post-war story (of course) and another that deals with an attempt to unify and strengthen the family unit as well as selling the ideal of reflection. There are times when it calls for appreciation of life, basking in the simple beauty of nature, and then in smash more ludicrous elements like the infamous Catbus.

It's almost like watching an animated Terrence Malick, with the director provocatively refusing to separate the real from the surreal, and t feels like another irresistibly personal story were invited to intrude on.