I own one of his films; "Princess Mononoke". I'm thinking about using the '2 for $34' deal at Best Buy next week and picking up "Howl's Moving Castle" along with either "Whisper of the Heart" or "My Neighbor Totoro".

Which is the better film? My kids are very into Disney feature animation, and I want to introduce them to something different. I have an 8yr old daughter and a 5yr old son. I don't want to end up with something at the level of say "Barney" as I fear Totoro may be (and forgive my ignorance if I'm way off).

Opinions appreciated, thanks

If you're just getting into his stuff, I would go with either Totoro or Spirited Away.

Totoro is similar to old school Disney, when it still had imagination. I'd personally pick it over just about any other Miyazaki flick.

I can't bring to mind anything from Miyazaki that's even close to "Barney" levels. Everything I've seen from him is truly magical.

There's no part in a Ghibli film that panders to kids as if they were idiots. Every one of his films has a charm and sense of wonder that can engulf anyone. I really couldn't recommend any one movie over another, though, as they're all so different (yet unmistakably Ghibli). It just depends on what type of flick you're in the mood for or think your kids would enjoy. If you want some adventure, Castle in the Sky, Porco Rosso, Nausicaa, and Spirited Away will all give you something with the same type of energy as Mononoke. However if you want something that's just fun with wit and personality, Kiki's Delivery Service, Totoro, or Whisper of the Heart might be the better choice. The Isao Takahata (Yamadas, Pom Poko) films might be a little experimental, though, i'd say to stick with Miyazaki for now. But, honestly any one will be a worthy addition to your collection, and if your kids don't love it, you probably will just the same!

If you liked Mononoke...get every title available. If there ever was a definition of "must own" his films are in it.

I'll be picking up Howl's Moving Castle along with My Neighbor Tororo. I've yet to see the former but I've seen the latter and it's a wonderful film. I guarantee you'll like it.

Hell, if you don't like it I'll buy your copy. Seriously.

Panda! Go Panda! is a collection of 2 titles that Miyazaki made back in the 70s... They are a very charming set of tales about a little girl who adopts a panda and his son... I love this show, my nieces (8 & 13) love this show, and my 72 year-old mom loves this show...

You might also enjoy Porco Rosso and Nausicaa.

I'd recommend Kiki's Delivery Service for your kid. She'll love it!

No more votes for Spirited Away? I thought it was the best recent Ghibli film.

Everyone's probably dodging votes for it because it's the obvious, most mainstream choice. I haven't seen a lot of his work either, but ...

Spirited Away
Princess Mononoke, but not for the kids

Spirited Away is probably my favorite Miyazaki (which is a really hard choice), but, if the goal is to get Miyazaki for kids, I would place it third behind My Neighbor Totoro (1st) and Kiki's Delivery Service (2nd), mainly because they are both great and slightly more child oriented than other Miyazaki films (not as many "scary" things).

MNT is truly a wonderful film . . . it is imaginative, adventurous, and has a very attractive feeling of "innocence" to it (it's very hard to put into words, but I'd imagine that those who have seen it, know what I'm talking about).

K'sDS is possibly the best of Miyazaki's films for pre-teen girls. Like MNT, it is adventurous and imaginative, but it is also a really excellent film for inspiring young girls to be confident in themselves and what they can do.

I personally thought Whisper of the Heart was an excellent film - superior to Howl's Moving Castle

My Neighbor Totoro, while being oriented to kids, is surprisingly sad. I didn't see that coming when I first saw it.

"Totoro" is just perfect for an 8 and 5 year old! Others that would work great for that age are "Kiki's DS" and "Castle in the Sky". The "message" and melodrama Miyazaki might be better appreciated when they're a little older. And if you want to cause some serious trauma, show them Ghibli's "Grave of the Fireflies". I read that one person showed it to their youngster, just knowing it was a highly acclaimed Ghibli movie and their child cried for hours afterward.

i have yet to see whisper of the heart. on that note totoro is my favorite miyazaki film. it's told through the eyes of a child and it very beautiful and poetic which adults will love. the kids will love it for teh fact that they have big cat like creatures making noise and a cat bus.

but yeah, i'm a huge miyazaki fan. i own all his regions 1 and am adding all 3 tomorrow. alot of his stuff is adult themed stuff made into cartoons. my fave ghibli's in order

totoro
grave of the fireflies
nausicaa and the valley of the wind
howl's moving castle
castle in the sky
princess mononoke
pom poko
porco rosso
spirted away
the cat returns
kiki's delivery service
my neighbors the yamadas

still need to see whisper of the heart. but yeah, all the movies are great and must own's imo. great for all ages.

Other than Princess Mononoke, which is by far my favorite of his films, I enjoyed Castle in the Sky and Spirited Away - although Spirited Away took me several viewings to actually like the film. A few of the other ones mentioned I haven't seen yet, and is something I hope to remedy soon.

here's my preference order:

nausicaa and the valley of the wind
spirted away
My Neighbor totoro
whisper of the heart
kiki's delivery service
grave of the firefly
porco rosso (French language dub)
castle in the sky
princess mononoke
Only Yesterday
my neighbors the yamadas
pom poko
howl's moving castle
the cat returns

I guess this place is as good a place as any to post this gripe I have.

First off, My Neighbor Totoro is, in my opinion, one of the best children movies ever made, and I didn't see it until I was around 17 years old. The wonder in this film can embrace any child's imagination, and what I love most about the film is there aren't any villains. While it has its sad moments, I don't see anything in the film that would terrify your kids.

Now on to my gripe. My nieces saw My Neighbor Totoro when they were about 4 and 2 years old. They absolutely loved the movie and looked forward to coming to my mom's house so they could see it again. However, when my sister-in-law watched the movie, she was disturbed by a certain scene. In the movie, the father of the two main girls bathes with them, as it is Japanese custom to bathe with your children. The mother usually bathes with the girls and the father with the boys, but given the circumstances in the film, the father had to take the mother's position.

However, when my sister-in-law saw this, she thought it to be incestuous and has forbidden her girls from watching the movie. Given, they had asked her why the father was in the bath with his two daughters, but I guess she didn't know herself and wasn't able to explain. Instead, the girls now have it in their minds that what the father did was wrong and digusting. And this pisses me off beyond belief. If they had not seen the movie and she kept them from watching it from the get-go, I wouldn't agree at all with it, but I would have some understanding. But to take something that little kids actually enjoy away from them and then to convince them that what they saw was immoral is inexcusable in my opinion.

I was going to say . . . absolutely no way I would ever show a kid Grave Of The Fireflies.

That being said, it's one of my all-time favorites,

From the ones I've seen:


Nausicaä
Spirited Away
Panda! Go Panda!
The Castle of Cagliostro
Princess Mononoke

It's not that Princess is bad, it's just that it's the same story as Nausicaa (almost). As far as for kids?

Panda! Go Panda!
Spirited Away

are the only two I'd recommend for the very young (7 or under). The other ones have some slow parts.

Interesting you should mention this scene, in this book



the first American studio, not Disney, balked about the scene and almost had it removed from the video release because of fears a similiar reactions. Thankfully, at the instance of Miyazaki and his remark that not all parents should concieve the father in the movie to harbour incestious feelings towards his daughter, the scene was left in. In most cases, it's the parents that have the most problem with this scene, not children.

I could post the excerpt from the book, but that will have to wait until I get home and word for word transcribe it here to this thread.

Avoid Spirited Away unless you know a good crack dealer that can hook you up. Plot makes no real sense and they just seem to go through random stuff. Your kids will be confused over it. Go with Kiki and Castle of Caglisostro (Miyazaki directed it) for the best of his stuff.