5 top films in Studio Ghibli’s first 40 years, from Spirited Away to Princess Mononoke

Hayao Miyazaki co-founded Studio Ghibli in 1985. From Spirited Away to My Neighbour Totoro, we recall five of his most popular films

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A still from Studio Ghibli animated film Spirited Away, which won an Oscar and is one the best it has produced in its 40-year existence. Photo: Studio Ghibli

Published: 4:15am, 10 Jun 2025

Japan’s Oscar-winning anime house Studio Ghibli turns 40 this month. Here are the studio’s top five films that have delighted fans over the decades:

1. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

Studio Ghibli was founded in 1985, but this post-apocalyptic story featuring a young, independent princess curious about giant insects is considered its first film.

It was based on a comic-strip series that Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki wrote for a magazine targeted at anime fans.

Set 1,000 years after a war that destroyed human civilisation, the story takes place in a valley protected from toxic air emitted by poisonous forests.

Miyazaki won critical acclaim and a cult following for the film about Nausicaä, who discovers the forests’ secrets after getting embroiled in conflicts between countries trying to revive a lethal “giant warrior”.

2. My Neighbour Totoro

This beloved Ghibli classic is set in the 1950s Japanese countryside where two young sisters with a sick mother move from the city.

They encounter the cuddly yet mysterious forest spirit Totoro and Catbus, a 12-legged grinning cat with a hollow body in the form of a bus – two characters who have become the Studio Ghibli mascots.

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