Studio Ghibli is known for creating stories that span the gamut of human emotion. From historical films to fantasies, each tragedy or hardship a character goes through feels real to the viewer. Childhood pain and joy are depicted in ways that show children that they're not alone and remind adults of what it felt like to be little.
Ghibli movies, as fantastical as they can be, often have heavy themes that explore the cost of industry on nature and the atrocities of war. Seeing noble characters endure pain they don't deserve and watching as characters leave childhood behind can be just as heartbreaking as it can be cathartic.
10 Sophie's Feelings Finally Rise To The Surface
Howl's Moving Castle
In the first act of Howl's Moving Castle, Howl has a complete meltdown when Sophie cleans his bathroom and mixes up his hair products. Clutching red hair that was once blond, Howl bemoans his fate and mourns the loss of his beauty, uttering, "I see no point in living if I can't be beautiful."
Though the scene is comically melodramatic, it highlights a real insecurity in the wizard. Sophie has a degree of that same insecurity, and later Sophie throws her head back and cries in the rain, saying that she never once felt beautiful. The shattered look on her face after she'd weathered through so much with the old curse really tugs at viewers' heartstrings.
9 Taeko Bids Farewell To Childhood
Only Yesterday
Sometimes, a character's heart breaks and becomes reforged in a way that makes them stronger. Taeko experiences that when she moves from one period of her life to another at the end of Only Yesterday, gracefully parting with some things from childhood to make room for herself as a more self-actualized adult.
The last scene of Only Yesterday's magical realism elements symbolizes an abstract, nuanced feeling. Riding on the bus, Taeko sees her younger self and her childhood friends. It symbolizes Taeko carrying them with her as she travels on to new vistas.
8 The Forest Before The Humans Came
Pom Poko
Pom Poko is one of the lesser-known Studio Ghibli films. It's about a society of raccoon dog creatures called tanukis. The tanukis rebel against encroaching humans who are destroying their natural home. The tanukis try many ways to scare off the human invaders, to no avail.
The raccoon dogs' last attempt is to cast an illusion on the humans, showing them what the land used to look like before they deforested it. The illusion is one final attempt to shake off the invaders and, ultimately, a final goodbye to their home before the tanukis assimilate in with the humans.
7 Haku & Chihiro Have Met Before
Spirited Away
Haku and Chihiro's connection is bittersweet in Spirited Away. Haku tells Chihiro that he can't remember his name, but he remembers her, though she's only just stepped into the spirit world. When Chihiro remembers falling into the Kohaku River, she helps Haku remember his name. This breaks Haku's servitude to Yubaba.
It's revealed that Chihiro and Haku have a history; he was the river god that saved her from drowning when she was younger. The sad part is that the river Haku watched over has long since been covered up by apartment buildings.
6 A Laputian Robot Sustains Great Damage Protecting Sheeta
Castle In The Sky
When Sheeta is abducted in Castle in the Sky, her crystal activates a Laputian robot that comes to her rescue. Trapped on a high turret, Sheeta flinches from the robot as it scales the walls. The robot climbs to her level to place an almost genteel hand on its chest as if introducing itself, activating her crystal.
The robot gets shot by Muska's men and falls backward in a heart-tugging crash, then revives to drive off the men and scoop the fainted Sheeta in its hand, cradling her. Seeing the robot get blasted by gunfire as it tries to protect Sheeta down to its very last moments is both endearing and saddening.
5 Sho Doesn't See Arrietty After His Operation
The Secret World Of Arrietty
Sho is a young boy staying at his mother's house with his aunt in The Secret World of Arrietty. He gets acquainted with the small Borrower girl, Arrietty, and even saves her from a crow. Sho and Arrietty's friendship could be a danger to the Borrower family, which spurs them to move away.
Sho's future is uncertain because he's about to get a risky operation done to help with his heart condition. Thankfully, the operation is successful for Sho, and he survives, but he never again sees or speaks with Arrietty. However, he's happy when he hears about small objects going missing around the house — no doubt from the Borrower family.
4 Lord Okkoto Dies Despite San's Efforts To Help
Princess Mononoke
In Princess Mononoke, San and the boar god, Lord Okkoto, are on the same side. They want to protect the forest from Lady Eboshi's ruthless industry. It was a boar, Nago, who was first corrupted by the iron bullets in the movie.
The blind and ancient Lord Okkoto wants to make a final stand to defend the forest and avenge Nago. He believes his boar warriors have come back to his side, but San can see that they're only Eboshi's men hiding in skins. San does everything she can to plead with the devastated, noble Okkoto to get him away from the fake boars, but in the end, she cannot save him. She does, however, help complete Lord Okkoto's aim of restoring the forest.
3 Mei Cries, Holding Corn She Picked For Her Mother
My Neighbor Totoro
My Neighbor Totoro is one of Studio Ghibli's most lighthearted movies. It's about two girls and their father who move to a house near a gentle forest spirit. Though Mei and Satsuki's father is a caring, emotionally aware parent, the girls are going through a difficult time as their mother is in the hospital with a serious illness.
The sisters are remarkably stalwart and optimistic as they hope for her recovery. But when Satsuki gets a call from the hospital that makes her worry, she snaps at Mei. Mei walks away crying, clutching an ear of corn that she picked for her mother. It's a moment where the audience can really sit with the lost feeling of being small, tired, and scared.
2 Nausicaä Makes A Sacrifice
Nausicaä Of The Valley Of The Wind
Nausicaä is a princess who wants to bridge the connection between humans and nature in Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. She's a clear-sighted girl who never wavers from doing what's right, including saving a baby Ohmu insect, even at great cost to her own self.
When Nausicaä dies in the process of saving the valley, everyone mourns Nausicaä's loss. Children and grandmothers cry in disbelief, and Nausicaä's loyal fox-squirrel companion lays in the crook of her arm as if waiting for her to stir. Moved by her sacrifice, the Ohmu revived her.
1 Setsuko Picks Flowers
Grave Of The Fireflies
Grave of the Fireflies details the lives of two children at the end of World War II, showing a reality that no child should ever have to experience. Despite Seita's best efforts, his little sister, Setsuko, does not survive. Just after she passes, a montage of her past unfolds, showing how Setsuko carved out a tiny idyll of childhood in the bomb shelter, making toys of whatever she could find.
Grave of the Fireflies is an important portrayal of history and the evils of war. The montage scene serves to highlight the life and childlike wonder Setsuko had because though it was short, it was no less important.