When Marnie Was There (2014)
Directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi
Upon being sent to live with relatives in the countryside due to an illness, an emotionally distant adolescent girl becomes obsessed with an abandoned mansion and infatuated with a girl who lives there - a girl who may or may not be real.
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5 films that influenced When Marnie Was There
What critics say influenced When Marnie Was There
While the anime art style and visual storytelling that endeared Ghibli to millions is still present, and arguably its strongest yet in terms of consistency, When Marnie Was There is a minor entry compared to the likes of Spirited Away, or even last year’s The Tale of the Princess Kaguya.
Essentially the Japanese Disney (but arguably more elegant in its storytelling and artistry), Studio Ghibli produced the Academy Award-winning Spirited Away, among many others.
Hayao Miyazaki (“Spirited Away”) is the biggest and most prolific member of the studio, who are shuttering, though maybe not for eternity.
Ever since its creation 30 years ago, Studio Ghibli has been making magic out of the moving image, so much so that it’s not a stretch to claim that today—due to the foundation laid by directors Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away) and Isao Takahata (Grave of the Fireflies)—it’s become one of the most beloved animation studios in the world.
A far cry from the fanciful set-pieces of Spirited Away, this tale still flirts with the fantastical – even the Gothic – with its story of a troubled adolescent becoming obsessed with an abandoned mansion and the similarly aged girl who lives there; a girl who may be a spirit from decades past.
No, it’s not as big or elaborate or fantasticated as Hayao Miyazaki’s best known films like Spirited Away (2001) or Howl’s Moving Castle (2004).
As the men bounce from topic to topic, One Night in Miami can feel a bit pre-programmed, like a fictionalized Black history lesson along the lines of Hidden Figures.
The Wind Rises made for a satisfying farewell to Ghibli’s resident mastermind Hayao Miyazaki, and When Marnie Was There makes for a similarly apt tribute to the studio’s legacy.
By no means an essential addition to the Ghibli oeuvre, “Marnie” nevertheless represents yet another splendid escape from the increasingly strenuous glut of computer-animated offerings, this one designed to serve as family entertainment after the more adult-skewing likes of “The Wind Rises” and “The Tale of the Princess Kaguya” (and it’s notably the first produced without the involvement of either Miyazaki or Isao Takahata, who directed those two other films, respectively).
It isn’t even as expansive as Miyazaki’s last film, The Wind Rises (2013).
Studio founders Hayao Miyazaki (The Wind Rises) and Isao Takahata (The Tale of Princess Kaguya) took their bows in 2013, and so responsibility for the final ever Ghibli film falls on the shoulders of two-time director Hiromasa Yonebayashi (Arrietty).
Ghibli should probably have closed its doors after either Miyazaki’s “The Wind Rises” or co-founder Isao Takahata’s gorgeous, hand-drawn “Tale of the Princess Kaguya,” both of which are highly original works and very close to animation masterpieces.
Sure, the recent Hayao Miyazaki wonder, The Wind Rises, or Isao Takahata’s lovely, poetic Tale of the Princess Kaguya might have proved more significant swan songs, but this dreamy, gentle extrapolation of author Joan G. Robinson’s decidedly English ghost story reinforces some of the smaller, subtler delights Ghibli specialized in over its long, glorious career.
Ever since its creation 30 years ago, Studio Ghibli has been making magic out of the moving image, so much so that it’s not a stretch to claim that today—due to the foundation laid by directors Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away) and Isao Takahata (Grave of the Fireflies)—it’s become one of the most beloved animation studios in the world.
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Like "Arrietty," "Marnie" was suggested to Yonebayashi by Studio Ghibli's eminence grise Hayao Miyazaki , and like Miyazaki's "Howl's Moving Castle," it is based on a novel by a British fantasy writer, in this case Joan G. Robinson.
No, it’s not as big or elaborate or fantasticated as Hayao Miyazaki’s best known films like Spirited Away (2001) or Howl’s Moving Castle (2004).
Miyazaki, the legendary animator behind the classics Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, and Howl's Moving Castle, announced his retirement last year.