Studio Ghibli Movies Ranked: Find Out Where to Watch Them All

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Ghezal Amiri

Ghezal Amiri

JustWatch Editor

When discussing the greatest movie studios in the history of the industry, Studio Ghibli easily ranks among the best of the best. Use our guide to see where each Studio Ghibli movie is ranked and where you can stream them right now.

Founded by directors Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata with producer Toshio Suzuki in 1985, the titles found within the Studio Ghibli archive explore an incredible array of diverse ideas and rich allegories packaged in a breathtaking animated style suitable for any generation of viewer. From its initial conception and beyond, Studio Ghibli films transport viewers into the film’s respective universe with works crafted by the great Isao Takahata, Yoshifumi Kondō, Hiroyuki Morita, Gorō Miyazaki, Hiromasa Yonebayashi and the undeniable creative force whose titles have influenced storytellers for decades – Hayao Miyazaki.

Throughout the 1980s and ‘90s, the films by Miyazaki and Takahata dominated both the box office and immense acclaim from moviegoers alike. The pairing of the two as director and producer ushered in The Tale of the Princess Kaguya which all have a perfect 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Miyazaki is responsible for crafting films that transcend language barriers and art form. He allows his characters to be deeply flawed and his masterful utilization of metaphorical language is why he is considered a legend in his craft. Beginning with The Boy and the Heron in 2023, the seminal works helmed by Miyazaki cannot be overstated. The themes found in Studio Ghibli films – the implementation of grief, environmental sustainability and the innocence of adolescence as a means to explore what these characters experience – are universal concepts needed to be examined.

Among the ten highest-grossing Japanese films at the worldwide box office, three of them are Studio Ghibli titles with Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle and Ponyo. Four of the studio’s films have been nominated for Academy Awards - Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, The Wind Rises and The Boy and The Heron - with the latter winning the prestigious Best Animated Feature in 2024. Within the Japanese film industry, Studio Ghibli has won numerous awards including the Animage Grand Prix and the Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year.

Here is every Studio Ghibli movie ranked and where you can watch them.

  1. Spirited Away

    Spirited Away

    2001

    # 1

    A young girl, Chihiro, becomes trapped in a strange new world of spirits. When her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free her family.

  2. Grave of the Fireflies

    Grave of the Fireflies

    1988

    # 2

    In the final months of World War II, 14-year-old Seita and his sister Setsuko are orphaned when their mother is killed during an air raid in Kobe, Japan. After a falling out with their aunt, they move into an abandoned bomb shelter. With no surviving relatives and their emergency rations depleted, Seita and Setsuko struggle to survive.

  3. Only Yesterday

    Only Yesterday

    1991

    # 3

    In lyrical switches between the present and the past, Taeko contemplates the arc of her life, and wonders if she has been true to the dreams of her childhood self.

  4. The Tale of The Princess Kaguya

    # 4

    Found inside a shining stalk of bamboo by an old bamboo cutter and his wife, a tiny girl grows rapidly into an exquisite young lady. The mysterious young princess enthrals all who encounter her. But, ultimately, she must confront her fate.

  5. Kiki's Delivery Service

    # 5

    A young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she s herself by running an air courier service.

  6. Princess Mononoke

    Princess Mononoke

    1997

    # 6

    Ashitaka, a prince of the disappearing Emishi people, is cursed by a demonized boar god and must journey to the west to find a cure. Along the way, he encounters San, a young human woman fighting to protect the forest, and Lady Eboshi, who is trying to destroy it. Ashitaka must find a way to bring balance to this conflict.

  7. My Neighbor Totoro

    My Neighbor Totoro

    1988

    # 7

    Two sisters move to the country with their father in order to be closer to their hospitalized mother, and discover the surrounding trees are inhabited by Totoros, magical spirits of the forest. When the youngest runs away from home, the older sister seeks help from the spirits to find her.

  8. Ponyo

    Ponyo

    2008

    # 8

    When Sosuke, a young boy who lives on a clifftop overlooking the sea, rescues a stranded goldfish named Ponyo, he discovers more than he bargained for. Ponyo is a curious, energetic young creature who yearns to be human, but even as she causes chaos around the house, her father, a powerful sorcerer, schemes to return Ponyo to the sea.

  9. When Marnie Was There

    # 9

    Upon being sent to live with relatives in the countryside due to an illness, an emotionally distant adolescent girl becomes obsessed with an abandoned mansion and infatuated with a girl who lives there - a girl who may or may not be real.

  10. The Wind Rises

    The Wind Rises

    2013

    # 10

    A lifelong love of flight inspires Japanese aviation engineer Jiro Horikoshi, whose storied career includes the creation of the A-6M World War II fighter plane.

  11. Howl's Moving Castle

    Howl's Moving Castle

    2004

    # 11

    When an unconfident young woman is cursed with an old body by a spiteful witch, her only chance of breaking the spell lies with a self-indulgent yet insecure young wizard and his companions in his legged, walking castle.

  12. Castle in the Sky

    Castle in the Sky

    1986

    # 12

    A young boy and a girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.

  13. The Boy and the Heron

    # 13

    While the Second World War rages, the teenage Mahito, haunted by his mother's tragic death, is relocated from Tokyo to the serene rural home of his new stepmother Natsuko, a woman who bears a striking resemblance to the boy's mother. As he tries to adjust, this strange new world grows even stranger following the appearance of a persistent gray heron, who perplexes and bedevils Mahito, dubbing him the "long-awaited one."

  14. The Secret World of Arrietty

    # 14

    14-year-old Arrietty and the rest of the Clock family live in peaceful anonymity as they make their own home from items "borrowed" from the house's human inhabitants. However, life changes for the Clocks when a human boy discovers Arrietty.

  15. Porco Rosso

    Porco Rosso

    1992

    # 15

    In Italy in the 1930s, sky pirates in biplanes terrorize wealthy cruise ships as they sail the Adriatic Sea. The only pilot brave enough to stop the scourge is the mysterious Porco Rosso, a former World War I flying ace who was somehow turned into a pig during the war. As he prepares to battle the pirate crew's American ace, Porco Rosso enlists the help of spunky girl mechanic Fio Piccolo and his longtime friend Madame Gina.

  16. Whisper of the Heart

    Whisper of the Heart

    1995

    # 16

    Shizuku lives a simple life, dominated by her love for stories and writing. One day she notices that all the library books she has have been previously checked out by the same person: 'Seiji Amasawa'.

  17. From Up on Poppy Hill

    # 17

    Yokohama, 1963. Japan is picking itself up from the devastation of World War II and preparing to host the 1964 Olympics—and the mood is one of both optimism and conflict as the young generation struggles to throw off the shackles of a troubled past. Against this backdrop of hope and change, a friendship begins to blossom between high school students Umi and Shun—but a buried secret from their past emerges to cast a shadow on the future and pull them apart.

  18. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

    # 18

    After a global war, the seaside kingdom known as the Valley of the Wind remains one of the last strongholds on Earth untouched by a poisonous jungle and the powerful insects that guard it. Led by the courageous Princess Nausicaä, the people of the Valley engage in an epic struggle to restore the bond between humanity and Earth.

  19. Ocean Waves

    Ocean Waves

    1993

    # 19

    At Kichijōji Station, Tokyo, Taku Morisaki glimpses a familiar woman on the platform opposite boarding a train. Later, her photo falls from a shelf as he exits his apartment before flying to Kōchi Prefecture. Picking it up, he looks at it briefly before leaving. As the aeroplane takes off, he narrates the events that brought her into his life...

  20. Pom Poko

    Pom Poko

    1994

    # 20

    The Raccoons of the Tama Hills are being forced from their homes by the rapid development of houses and shopping malls. As it becomes harder to find food and shelter, they decide to band together and fight back. The Raccoons practice and perfect the ancient art of transformation until they are even able to appear as humans in hilarious circumstances.