The Wind Rises (2014)
We'll avoid choosing a moment from the latest Ghibli offering, and the last film from beloved director Hayao Miyazaki, to keep this as spoiler free as possible, but you can be sure of one thing - it's going to be stunning.
A fictionalised biopic of the aircraft designer Jiro Horikoshi, expect more classic Miyazaki flight scenes than you can shake a tailfeather at.
When you've seen it, you should totally tell us what your favourite moment was, in the comments below.
Demon Attack - Princess Mononoke (1997)
The Moment: Ashitaka's village is attacked by a vicious demon, leaving the citizens terrified and the poor Emishi prince fatally wounded from the demon's devastating curse.
Why It's Great: From its very opening there's no doubting that Princess Mononoke is less fuzzy family romp and more straight-up action.
The demon is suitably horrifying, and the moment it releases the giant boar it's been in possession of is stomach-turningly gory. Cartoons really aren't just for kids.
The Last Robot Guard - Laputa: Castle In The Sky (1986)
The Moment: Hiyazaki's first feature for the studio draws to a close with a long, lingering look at the floating island and the loyal robot guard who still tends to the gardens.
Why It's Great: Laputa's strange architecture was inspired by Miyazaki's 1984 visit to Wales, where he noticed the strong sense of community enforced by the devastating miners' strikes, saying that he was impressed by the "way they battled to save their way of life, just as the coal miners in Japan did.
Many people of my generation see the miners as a symbol; a dying breed of fighting men."
The God Warrior - Nausica of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
The Moment: When the dying Princess Lastelle of Pejite begs Nausicaä to destroy the cargo in the crashed Pejite airship, Nausicaä never imagines that they're carrying the embryo of a giant God Warrior, a gargantuan biomechanical insect creature with the ability to cause radiation poisoning. That's one bad bug.
Why It's Great : Until this point, God Warriors have been little more than a looming threat for the Valley of the Wind, but getting a close-up view of one of these badboys makes for fascinating viewing.
Its disintegration is truly disgusting, as the prematurely-birthed Warrior begins to ooze flesh from its skeleton. Shudder.
The First Sighting - Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
The Moment: It appears as if there's nothing onscreen but thick fog and silence, until in the distance the creaks, groans and hisses begin.
Howl's incredibly intricate (not to mention chaotic-looking) home lurches out from the mist in a scene that could be straight out of a painting.
Why It's Great: Howl's castle might be the film's greatest triumph - shabby, messy and almost toad-like in its movements, it still manages to seem like the most welcoming walking castle we've ever seen.
Returning The Forest Spirit's Head - Princess Mononoke (1997)
The Moment: After having his head chopped off by warrior princess Lady Eboshi, the Forest Spirit runs riot through the woods, unable to control his power, and the moment Ashitaka and San manage to reunite him with his severed noggin always inspires loud cheers all round.
Why It's Great: Often considered to be the original Avatar (with far less weird blue dudes), the Forest Spirit's resurrection is a lesson in man vs. nature.
The scene is a colourful burst of pure magic as lurid beams of light rejuvinate the ailing God.
Writer's Block - whisper Of The Heart (1995)
The Moment : Having promised her beau that she'd dedicate her time without him solely to writing, Shizuku retreats into her room (and her own head) to polish off her tale of the Baron and his lost love Louise.
However, it isn't long before she realises that writing doesn't always come easy.
Why It's Great: Familiarity. Any author who's ever found themselves with a fast-approaching deadline and worrying lack of motivation can identify with the montage of Shizuki burying her head in stacks of discarded paper.
The Airship Accident - Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)
The Moment: A listless and depressed Kiki is forced to rediscover her ailing powers as she spots local aviation nut Tombo in jeopardy around the wreckage of a crashed airship.
Why It's Great: It may only be very mild peril - we never really find ourselves that worried for Tombo - but it's exactly what Kiki needs to break through her slump and learn to tackle difficult situations.
Dragon Girl - Tales From Earthsea (2006)
The Moment: Greedy, vain antagonist and all-round dick Cob proves his dickishness once and for all as he fatally strangles Therru, the burn-scarred girl who falls for our anti-hero Arren.
That's after causing the world's balance to collapse thanks to his desperate need to find eternal life. Nice work.
Why It's Great: In a truly excellent twist, it's revealed that little Therru has been in possession of eternal life all along, and her recovery and consequent transformation into a dragon is suitably badass.
The Kodama - Princess Mononoke (1997)
The Moment: As the Forest Spirit returns to the trees for sunrise, the bobble-headed little tree demons gather to welcome him home.
Why It's Great: They may look spooky, but the kodama prove themselves to be completely harmless little creatures. In fact, we'd go as far as to say that there's definitely something comforting about their clicking noises.
Sassy Jiji - Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)
The Moment: One moment? Try the whole movie.
Kiki's black cat Jiji is a veritable fountain of sarcastic comments and quick comebacks.
Why It's Great: With such a sweet plot, it wouldn't take much for Kiki's Delivery Service to become overdone schmaltz, but Jiji's acerbic tongue keeps it just on the right side of funny.
Much of the credit has to be given to the American voice behind the cat - the late, great Phil Hartman.
Kiki's Arrival In Town - Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)
The Moment: Young witch Kiki heads out for her compulsory year away from home, and stumbles upon the port town of Koriko, a bustling hub of activity (not to mention the great beach location).
Why It's Great : It's a brilliant introduction to our heroine Kiki and her questionable broomstick-flying skills as the bow-wearing witch struggles through the crowds on her uncontrollable stick.
Umi The Chef - From Up On Poppy Hill (2011)
The Moment: Umi prepares a hearty breakfast for her family in this Gor Miyazaki directed film.
Why It's Great: No animation house does food porn quite like Ghibli. Sixteen-year-old Umi may be more concerned with her flags and her new friends than with pursuing a career in hospitality, but we'd eat in her restaurant any day.
Just look at those eggs.
The Jungle - Nausica of the Valley of the Wind (1983)
The Moment: Princess Nausicaä is the only member of the Valley tribe brave enough to venture into the Fukai - a dense jungle filled with poisonous plantlife and thick, noxious spores.
Why It's Great: As Nausicaä sets herself down for a rest, we get a chance to take in the vast landscape created by the Ghibli animators, complete with the discarded shell of a ginormous bug. It's terrifying but somehow makes us want to explore further.
No-Face - Spirited Away (2001)
The Moment: After spending most of the movie lurking in corners uncomfortably, No-Face comes into his own in a big way, going on a rampage through the bathhouse and eating everything, and everyone, that gets in his way.
Why It's Great: Talk about character development.
In a few short scenes, No-Face goes from a timid chap to a greedy, arrogant murderer, but it quickly becomes apparent that he's exhibiting all the traits of the greedy and arrogant workers he's chomping.
He's a spirit who learns by example, and we can't help feeling that Miyazaki slipped another life lesson in there somewhere...
The Flight Of The Baron - Whisper Of The Heart (1995)
The Moment: Shizuku goes all fan-fiction crazy over the statue of Baron Humbert von Gikkingen and imagines herself soaring above the city with the dapper cat-man.
Why It's Great: We're all for any scene starring the Baron, and the moment where the tiny cat and his human companion launch themselves into the sky manages to take our breath away on every single viewing.
Something Above The Clouds - Tales From Earthsea (2006)
The Moment: The film on the whole might be disappointing, but it's opening scene is easily its best.
A ship battling through a violent storm stumbles across a rare and terrifying sight in the skies. That's right, folks, we've got ourselves a dragon fight.
Why It's Great: Two giant dragons fighting it out in a stormy sky above a thrashing sea. What's not to love?
Miyazaki's dragons are both beautiful and completely deadly, with blood dripping from their dazzling blue eyes.
Fireflies And Fruitdrops - Grave Of The Fireflies (1988)
The Moment: In a rare moment of joy in this utterly bleak movie, orphaned brother and sister duo Seita and Setsuko head into the garden to chase down fireflies.
Why It's Great: We've been sure of their fate since the opening scene, so it's nice to forget the heartache that's coming and watch these siblings sharing a secret fruit together drop amongst the glowing bugs.
The Night Walker - Princess Mononoke (1997)
The Moment: Slowly bleeding to death from the gaping bullet wound in his gut, things aren't looking great for Ashitaka, but thanks to wolf-girl San's quick thinking, he receives a nighttime visit from the all-healing Forest Spirit.
Why It's Great: Easily one of Ghibli's most startling beautiful sequences, the scene is perhaps most memorable for its silence.
Miyazaki lets the visuals do the talking, as the Spirit transforms from its incandescent Night Walker form.
Hotel Bar Crooning - Porco Rosso (1992)
The Moment: As renegade pilot Porco Rosso returns to the Hotel Adriano after defeating a crew of airborne pirates, the pig's longtime friend Gina gives one hell of a performance of classic French ditty 'Le Temps des Cerises'.
Why It's Great: American actress Susan Egan's deep voice perfectly complements the long, lingering shots of Rosso's plane heading across the ocean at sunset, and the animation is so intricately created that you'll be checking your own face to make sure you aren't wearing 3D glasses.
The Train Station - Grave Of The Fireflies (1988)
The Moment: There's no messing around here.
The film's opening narration tells us of Seita's fate, and we join our protagonist as he succumbs to starvation.
Why It's Great: It's hard to shake the image of the fragile boy, completely ignored as he loses his battle smack bang in the middle of a crowded train station.
Midnight Ritual - My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
The Moment: A few days after planting seeds gifted to them by Totoro himself, Mei and Satsuki wake to see the big furball and his two magic buddies performing what seems to be a ceremonial dance around the patch of soil.
Why It's Great: Whereas most of us would scream the house down after spotting giant bunnies prancing around the garden at midnight, Satsuki and Mei don't think twice, and gallop straight over to join in with the rite. It isn't long before they're rewarded with one hell of a shoot...
The Crow - The Secret World Of Arrietty (2010)
The Moment: Determined to save her family from having to relocate, Arrietty sets out to confront nosy teenager Sho and persuade him to keep their existence secret.
Unluckily for her, she's spotted by a particularly grouchy crow who mistakes her for his dinner.
Why It's Great: It's loud, it's confusing, it's violent, and it's totally bloody brilliant as Arrietty hangs on for dear life as the crow tries to free itself from the window netting.
Irontown Attack - Princess Mononoke (1997)
The Moment: Dripping in fur and with blood still not quite washed from her face, spirit princess San launches a fierce attack on Irontown and her pursuer Lady Eboshi.
Why It's Great: There's no way around it - San is one cool heroine.
She blazes through the town in a frenzy of rage, determined to exact her revenge on the woman who brings trouble to the animal world. We know nothing about San and why she's so angry, but we know we want to see more of her.
Cat Parade - The Cat Returns (2002)
The Moment: Turns out cats aren't great at giving thank you presents.
After Haru inadvertently saves the life of Cat Prince Lune, she's bombarded with gifts of catnip and dead mice. Nice. It all culminates in the moggies putting on a special cat parade and walking down the street on their back legs.
Why It's Great: There are few scenes more trippy in the whole of the Ghibli catalogue, and we love it. Just remembering the chorus of scratchy yowls is enough to set us off in fits of giggles.
My Neighbors The Yamadas
The Moment: Ghibli took a very different approach with this harmless comedy film following the day-to-day activites of the Yamada family.
Why It's Great: It might lack the gravitas of other Ghibli movies, but The Yamada s is nevertheless a charming and sweet movie.
Instead of following a continuous plot, the story features a series of short films recounting the escapes of the family, and this was the first movie from the studio to be painted solely on computers.
"No Cuts"
The Moment: After Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind was heavily edited for the US release, Miramax co-chairman Harvey Weinstein suggested following the same system for Princess Mononoke , in order to make it more user-friendly for American audiences.
Ghibli, however, didn't agree.
Why It's Great: Rather than taking the easy way out and calling a lawyer in to deal with the conflict, it's rumoured that a Studio Ghibli producer sent over the simple message "no cuts" attached to a Samurai sword.
That's the kind of business deal we could get on board with.
Testicle Parachutes - Pom Poko (1994)
The Moment: When their homes on the outskirts of Tokyo is threatened by developers wanting to use the land, the tanuki (Japanese raccoon dogs - think Rocket Raccoon with a talent for shapeshifting) decide it's time to fight back, and launch an attack on the humans.
Why It's Great: Do the tanuki rely on weapons? Oh no, they've got weapons tucked underneath their undercrackers.
That's right, watch out for the many, many uses for testicles these little critters find.
It's hard to keep a straight face when they manage to use their prominent balls as parachutes.
Granmamare - Ponyo (2008)
The Moment: Ponyo describes her mother as "big and beautiful, but she can be very scary!", which seems an apt description of pretty much any mother.
However, Ponyo really wasn't kidding around, as we finally get to meet her mum and realise that she's the enormous, glowing Goddess of Mercy.
Why It's Great: There was no actress better suited to voicing this all-powerful sea goddess than the perfectly husky Cate Blanchett, and her booming alto gives Mama Ponyo just the right amount of gravitas.
It's also a visually stunning sequence, as we see the fall-out of Ponyo's magical spillage - the moon is literally falling out of its orbit, and something mysterious has gathered hundreds of boats in one place.
Night Flight - Nausica of the Valley of the Wind (1983)
The Moment: "There's a good storm brewing, Princess, and I'm afraid something's not quite right".
Princess Nausicaä's attempts to guide an airship to safety through a blistering storm are futile, as the bug-coated machine crashes into a mountain.
Why It's Great: Director Miyazaki is famed for his stunning flying sequences, and the nighttime setting only makes this one more thrilling, as the huge airship is only recognisable by its blinking lights.
Bedtime Stories - Porco Rosso (1992)
The Moment: Our piggie pilot and his fiesty friend Fio share a tender moment on a beach, where Fio almost catches a glimpse of the real Marco, or as he once was, Marco Pagot.
Why It's Great: Porco's quick response to Fio's questioning about why he was turned into a porker:
"All middle-aged men are pigs".
The Robot Rises - Laputa: Castle In The Sky (1986)
The Moment: Poor Sheeta thinks that reciting an old poem will help calm her down after falling out of an airship and being kidnapped by the secret service, but she only goes and unwittingly activates a dormant Laputan robot in the process.
It's just one thing after another.
Why It's Great: Forget the de-icing of Megatron - we'll take this lanky Laputan anyday.
The dismantled robot manages to make walking with only one foot seem regal.
A New Kitchen - The Secret World Of Arrietty (2010)
The Moment: An almighty tremble can only mean one thing to a pocket-sized family - humans.
Lonely teen Sho gives the borrower family kitchen a well-needed (if not slightly surprising) makeover as he rips out their wall and replaces it with the oh-so-fancy dollhouse kitchen.
Why It's Great: The decision to never show the audience any more of Sho than his hand was a brilliant - it makes you feel like you too are a tiny borrower, and suddenly that hand feels a wee bit threatening...
Rice Ball Dreams - Grave Of The Fireflies (1988)
The Moment: Tissues at the ready. Seita returns to his young sister Setsuko armed with food, only to find her weak and delirious through malnutrition.
Why It's Great: Based on Akiyuki Nosaka's semi-autobiographical novel of the same name, it's great because it's honest. Ghibli may make movies targeted towards younger viewers, but they pride themselves on never patronising their audience.
For Setsuko to make a miraculous recovery might be easier to watch, but it wouldn't be real and show the struggles faced by youngsters during the war.
Man Fight - Laputa: Castle In The Sky (1986)
The Moment: It's muscleman vs. muscleman as a helpfully distracting fight breaks out between a caring villager and one of air-pirate Dola's brooding henchmen.
Why It's Great: "Make your shirt explode!"
It all comes down to male ego - if one brute can flex his muscles so violently that his shirt rips off, then so can the other. Even their moustaches are bulging.
The Boiler-Man - Spirited Away (2001)
The Moment: Our heroine Chihiro's realises she's not in Kansas anymore as she meets spidery boiler-man Kamaji and his army of really rather adorable coal sprites.
Why It's Great : The crafty coal sprites bring a welcome burst of comic relief for the frightened Chihiro as they attempt to commit mass suicide and guilt-trip the girl into doing their jobs.
The Opening Credits - Laputa: Castle In The Sky (1986)
The Moment: After an action-packed opening sequence which culminates in our young protagonist plummeting through the night sky, the movie takes a breather with a quietly powerful set of credits.
Why It's Great : The graphics are a world away from the brightly-coloured, brassy scenes we're used to these days, as tableau after tableau depicts intricate art, drawn to look like it was carved from wood.
Ramen Dinner - Ponyo (2008)
The Moment: Accidentally releasing ten tonnes of magic into the ocean, fleeing your over-protective sorcerer father and surviving a tsunami-like storm makes for one very tired and hungry fish-girl.
Sosuke's mother rustles a comforting dinner of ramen noodles, complete with surprise egg and ham (Ponyo's favourite). Cue excited screams all round.
Why It's Great: Never has onscreen food looked so glorious. The steam rising off the bowl is so vivid you can almost smell it.
Check out the many, many online guides to recreating this delectable dish at homel.
Moving House - Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
The Moment: "We've got a lot of work to do - we're moving!"
In an effort to stay hidden from Madame Suliman, Howl preps his castle for a shift in location.
Why It's Great: When you think moving house, you think rental vans and cardboard boxes, right? Wrong.
Howl and Calcifer work together to transform the castle's shabby kitchen into Sophie's old townhouse.
The manic montage of rooms resizing and walls morphing is classic magic, and wouldn't seem out of place in a Harry Potter book.
Jam Session - Whisper Of The Heart (1995)
The Moment: Resident dreamboat and wannabe violin-maker Seiji gives aspiring writer Shizuku an impromptu violin recital in his workshop.
Why It's Great: In a scene that could only happen in an animated movie, Shizuku stretches those vocal chords and joins in for a rousing performance of... Take Me Home Country Roads ? Fair enough.
It gets even better when Seiji's grandfather Nishi and his elderly buddies bring in the percussion.
River Spirit Bath - Spirited Away (2001)
The Moment: Sen gets her first customer in the bathhouse, and he's a goodun'. As the lowliest worker in the building, the ever-generous boss Yubaba leaves Sen in charge of cleaning up a particularly pungent stink spirit.
Why It's Great: It's Sen's first real test since arriving in the spirit world, and she gets stuck right in, wading through the rancid shit sludge emanating from his royal stinkiness.
Naturally, her perseverance pays off (and Miyazaki gets to slip in a quick eco-friendly message) as it turns out that the sludgy monster is actually a river spirit who has been clogged up by us nasty humans.
Finding Totoro - My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
The Moment: With her teeny pink pinafore and spiked-up pigtails, little Mei isn't exactly how you'd picture a brave adventurer, but nevertheless, this little lady happily follows two bunny-eared magical creatures into an enchanted forest and meets the huge, snoozing Totoro.
Why It's Great: Whether he's giant rabbit or giant cat or something in between we don't know, but Totoro is straight up fairytale brilliance.
We'd do exactly what Mei does, and clamber up on to that big furry tummy for a cuddle and a nap.
The Bus Stop - My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
The Moment: Who knew that waiting for a bus in the rain could be so magical?
Sisters Mei and Satsuki decide to go greet their dad at the bus stop, and they're soon joined by big ole fuzzball Totoro, waiting for his own special form of transport.
Why It's Great: Suspenseful and funny at the same time, this scene shows us Totoro's own childlike side as he discovers that rain doesn't always have to be a mood dampener.
Director Miyazaki spoke of the dazzling effect that this scene had on a group of children watching the movie, describing how they "were tense, maybe even scared, but...for as long as the moment lasted, they were lost in it".
Dad's Kitchen Adventure - The Secret World Of Arrietty (2010)
The Moment: Arrietty's dad Pod (voiced in the English adaptation by the perfectly gruff Mark Strong) shows off his best borrower skills as he launches himself across the giant human kitchen with ease.
Why It's Great: Pod manouevres the kitchen like a pro, and guaranteed you'll find yourself gasping with delight along with Arrietty as she watches him transform from harmless dad to entrepid explorer (not to mention acrobat).
Ponyo and Sosuke's Boat Trip - Ponyo (2008)
The Moment: Thanks to Ponyo's not-quite-so-human magical powers, the two kiddies aren't imprisoned in the house after the storm.
The little redhead transforms Sosuke's toy boat into a vehicle fit for exploring, and they set off to see what's become of the town.
Why It's Great: For a director seemingly obsessed with all things arial, Miyazaki sure can offer up a stunning water-world.
Sosuke's port hometown is now completely submerged, but rather than feeling like a terrifying living nightmare, the crystal clear waters and giant magical fish swimming between the treetops makes for a hypnotising scene.
Meeting Baron Humbert von Gikkingen - The Cat Returns (2002)
The Moment: Ditsy school girl Haru heads to the Cat Bureau (as you do) to try and escape her engagement to the Prince of Cats, and bumps into a familiar face - the same Baron from Whisper Of The Hear t .
Why It's Great: He's one dapper puss, sporting a crisp, white three piece suit, complete with bowler hat and cane, and cut glass English accent (courtesy of Cary Elwes).
Haru even ends up confessing a schoolgirl crush. That's a damn charming cat.
The Catbus - My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
The Moment: When Mei runs away, there's only person (or rather one huge, furry thing) who Satsuki can turn to for help, and Totoro brings out the big guns for his missing friend. Aka, the catbus.
Why It's Great: We're internet craze fiends, so the idea of a bus/cat hybrid alone is enough to get us excited (seriously, can you imagine how amazing a doge bus would be?).
Miyazaki's cat-mobile takes Satsuki on one magical mystery tour and manages to provide comfort for the distressed girl. That is one luxurious belly.
Journey Into Childhood - Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
The Moment: After the total collapse of the wandering, steampunk castle, Sophie thinks she's lost Howl for good, until the enchanted ring he gave her points her towards his heart and takes her on a journey in to his past.
Why It's Great: We finally find out what's been binding fire demon Calcifer and Howl together for all these years, and it's certainly no curse.
A teenage Howl took pity on the dying star Calcifer, and offered up his own heart in order to save him, keeping himself locked in mental adolescence in the process. Sob.
The Train Journey - Spirited Away (2001)
The Moment: Sen and her odd gaggle of travel companions blag a one way ticket out of the bathhouse and set out on a train journey to visit witch Yubaba's sister Zeniba.
Why It's Great: Arguably one of the most memorable scenes from the entire Ghibli catalogue, Sen's train ride perfectly captures Miyazaki's love for "ma", a Japanese word meaning "emptiness" as we grab a rare moment of calm in this otherwise chaotic movie.
The animators were clearly in their element, creating scenery that's almost melancholy in its beauty. Kudos once again to composer Joe Hisaishi whose tinkling piano music is the perfect icing on top of this quiet scene.
Ponyo's Great Escape - Ponyo (2008)
The Moment: What an opener.
This one scene sets the tone for this gut-bustingly delightful underwater fantasy, as we join sorcerer Fujimoto (voiced by Liam Neeson in the English dub) as he presides over his watery kingdom and spy his rebellious fish-daughter Brunhilde making her escape unnoticed.
Why It's Great: With a luscious swell of strings and a rippling harp (all courtesy of regular Ghibli composer Joe Hisaishi's truly stunning score) you're instantly transported into this beautiful and magical world.
Brunhilde's trip to the surface is a piece of real animation genius, as the ambitious little goldfish kisses her many, many tiny sisters goodbye and catches a lift from a passing jellyfish.
