As most of us are confined inside our homes, we can’t help but feel agitated and anxious about the situation that we are currently in.
We start to dread over the countless changes in our lives as we try to embrace the new normal.
So whether you’re feeling under the weather, stressing about work and household chores, or have been anxious with all the news that can be seen on TV and on the internet, there’s nothing that a good movie can’t fix to help you relax and tame your tension.
Studio Ghibli films, in particular, can help you with that.
For 35 years since its founding, Studio Ghibli, the brainchild of the renowned Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, has been gifting viewers around the globe with a wide display of immersive worlds, guaranteed to whisk you away from choking tension and isolation.
Here are some Studio Ghibli Films you can watch during the quarantine
The Secret World of Arrietty
This movie revolves around the story of a borrower named Arrietty. Borrowers are four-inch-tall people living secretly in another family’s house. Supposed to keep their existence a secret, Arrietty’s life took quite a turn as a full-sized boy managed to see her during one of her ventures. It’s a film that takes us to the perspective of the realm of the tiny people and as the story progresses, viewers are welcomed with a tale of friendship as the two main characters – the ailing Shawn and the headstrong Arrietty plays out in the typically unhurried pace of most Studio Ghibli joints.
Ponyo
The film is known for its artwork and animation that is simultaneously stunning in its beauty and endearing in its simplicity. Ponyo is a gratifying tale about a little goldfish princess who befriends a boy, as she starts to show the desire for becoming human. The princess’s father, who harbors some hatred toward the human race for pollution, tries to bring Ponyo back to the ocean, but her desire to be human is too strong. The story reminds its viewers of the dangers of disrupting the balance between humans and nature, with a little bit of magic. The boy names the princess Ponyo and thus ensues an adventure filled with fun, heartwarming, and important moments that leave everyone feeling light.
Howl’s Moving Castle
Loosely based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Diana Wynne Jones, “Howl’s Moving Castle” is a fantasy treat full of eccentric magicians, unbreakable curses, the power of true love and an ornery, sentient fireplace named Calcifer.
It is the love story of a young hatter named Sophie after she is turned into an old woman by a witch’s curse. She encounters a wizard named Howl who is willing to help her lift the curse. As the story unfolds, it’s hard not to be delighted by Howl’s showmanship and protagonist Sophie’s initiative. Not to mention that the animation is an overwhelming sensory experience of places you’d rather be than wherever you are.
Spirited Away
Anime fans across the world will testify that Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away is the best animation film of all time.
In a nutshell, the film follows a little girl, Chihiro, on a journey to free her parents. She has to navigate the spirit world she gets trapped in by working in a bathhouse run by an overlord called Yu-baaba. Then she meets a boy named Haku who explains that the land is actually a bathhouse for spirits and supernatural beings. She must work in the said land to free both herself and her parents.
The movie is scary and sometimes nauseating, but its greatest strength lies in its narrative and overall storytelling. It was able to deliver sensitive spiritual and emotional messages that eventually made Spirited Away the highest-grossing film in Japanese history.
My Neighbor Totoro
Hayao Miyazaki’s 1988 animated wonderment, My Neighbor Totoro may be the purest and sweetest of its many classics.
When sisters Satsuki and Mei move to the countryside with their father to be close to their sick mother, they stumble into a magical world beyond their wildest expectations. From hitching a ride on the iconic Catbus to befriending some bounding forest spirits, the sisters discover there’s a lot more to the countryside than meets the eye.