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Every Studio Ghibli Film, Ranked
The animation powerhouse behind some of the best films ever made is back with The Boy and the Heron.
While the story of the likable Umi and Shun works well enough as teen drama with a few interesting twists, what resonates is the concept of a young girl using the naval language of flags to, in the end, try to communicate with an entire lost generation of fathers killed in combat. Based on a manga by Miyazaki and directed by the master, this is the story of Marco Pagot, who was cursed and became a “Red Pig.” Porco Rosso is one of Ghibli’s most memorable characters, a classic adventure-movie archetype that could have been played by Humphrey Bogart back in the day. Made in 1991 but not released Stateside until 2016, Only Yesterday is a delicate gem, a moving piece of dramatic work by Takahata that lacks some of the fantasy elements that often define Ghibli for casual viewers but is one of the best examples in the catalogue of the studio’s deep, unfailing humanism.
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