Every Studio Ghibli Movie Ranked Worst To Best
16. Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
Ghibli's biggest and most recognisable hit after Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle is the studio's most technically impressive work, so rich with detail and colour it's almost overwhelming.
Reportedly made in response to the Iraq War, as well as his own feelings about being a child of WWII, Miyazaki's epic fantasy touches on several key Ghibli motifs, from pacifism to mortality, and uses them to create a harrowing portrait of war's cost.
Filled with some of the most awe-inspiring scenes of the studio's long career, Howl's Moving Castle is admittedly quite messy in parts, packed a bit too full, but its visual beauty and compassionate worldview still act as the perfect hook.
Miyazaki has been more graceful with his favourite themes than this, but there's no denying Howl's Moving Castle as a technical masterclass.