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If you would like to comment on this story or anything else you have seen on BBC Culture, head over to our Facebook page or message us on Twitter. Love film? Join BBC Culture Film Club on Facebook, a community for film fanatics all over the world. And at the other end of the spectrum is The Castle of Cagliostro, a crime caper that was very pre-Ghibli with its 1979 release, but is notable for being Miyazaki’s directorial debut, and is available on DVD. It’s a bit soapy in parts, but worth a look. Ocean Waves (1993) was made for TV, and was a way for the studio to try out some of its younger animators, with the intention to make a romantic story to appeal to young people. There are two films that are not really considered part of the Studio Ghibli canon proper, yet are definitely worth your time, especially after you’ve exhausted the main movies. If you want to be an absolute completist… But with more than 20 movies, all very different, to choose from when Netflix opens the Ghibli gates, where should you start? Japan, of course, is famous for its animated movies, or anime, but Ghibli (the name means ‘desert wind’ in Libyan, chosen by Miyazaki to signify that the venture was going to blow through the existing industry) is in a league of its own, and its gorgeous painted visions set the template for many more movies that came after its initial releases. If you have seen any of the films put out by the studio, founded in 1985 by Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, it would either have been in the cinema, on DVD or via their occasional appearance on TV, but the Netflix deal is certain to open them up to a whole new audience. (Although they won’t be available in the US, Canada and Japan, HBO Max will be showing them at some point.) There are two types of people – those who have never heard of Studio Ghibli, and those who love the movies with all their heart. A love story, a coming-of-age tale & a deep journey into one's own past, When Marnie Was There may or may not benefit from multiple viewings but for now, it has to settle for an underwhelming experience in my book.For the first time, the animated output of Japan’s Studio Ghibli is being made available on a streaming service, with Netflix beginning to serve up 21 of the movies in batches from 1 February. On an overall scale, When Marnie Was There isn't as magical as Studio Ghibli's finest films but its take on friendship & isolation nonetheless manages to cast a spell of its own in bits n pieces which makes its story captivating for a while. Marnie herself exhibits an aura of mystery around her that not only allures Anna but us viewers as well. The film can be viewed as a coming-of-age drama that follows the journey of Anna from a lonely & anxious girl at the beginning of the film to a more confident person later in the story. However, it's the beautiful relationship between Anna & Marnie that leaves the biggest mark.
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The Japanese voice cast is only as fitting as the studio's previous works. Also, the background score brims with tracks that infuse a soothing feel into the narrative. However, there isn't any issue with the pacing for its 103 minutes of runtime never becomes tedious at any given moment. Editing tries to juggle various elements of story at once & doesn't always succeed. The technical aspects are expertly carried out for each frame of it is sumptuously animated & vividly photographed from start to finish. And although his latest is no doubt an ambitious work, its pay-off won't be rewarding enough emotionally unless the viewers try to connect the dots all by themselves by doing a little digging of their own.
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Nicely directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, When Marnie Was There is his sophomore effort following his debut feature, The Secret World of Arrietty, which remains my favourite Studio Ghibli film to be not directed by Miyazaki. As their new relationship blossoms over the next few days & both get to know each other better, it is unraveled that Anna is more closely related to Marnie than expected. Based on the novel of the same name, When Marnie Was There follows Anna a 12-year old girl who takes a trip to a countryside town for health reasons and discovers an abandoned mansion where she finds an unlikely friend in Marnie a blond girl. The last film to be produced under the Studio Ghibli banner before the acclaimed animation studio decided to take a break from filmmaking following the retirement of Hayao Miyazaki, When Marnie Was There is an elegantly crafted & gorgeously animated tale that intertwines dreams with reality as well as past with present, only to end up getting entangled in its own web.