From the people I've met where I'm from (United States) it seems like most of the people I know who know anything about Miyazaki's films hail Spirited Away above the rest. It seems to be the one movie of his that reaches audiences that don't typically watch Japanese films.
I love all of Miyazaki's films, but Kiki's Delivery Service was by far my favorite. I can watch it over and over!
Me too! It's my absolute favorite. I love how everyone has their own unique way of "flying".
I watched it with my dad last year and we both ended up just about bawling. Hee, Dad lost it as soon as Kiki took off from her parents place, which is hilarious since I've been out on my own for years.
I love Spirited Away, and I can see it's a better movie, but Kiki's just the one that I can watch over and over and it always feels like I'm seeing it for the first time.
I totally agree! I love Spirited Away, but it's not a film I can watch over and over again. With Kiki, I can pop in the DVD and watch it any time.
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I think the reason Spirited Away gets to American audiences most is because of it's so ethereal and exotic, it seems very charming to western audiences who probably don't see a whole lot of that in animation. Plus, it's a lot more of what is expected from a movie; a problem that needs to be solved, rather than a situation that focuses more on character arcs.
I saw Kiki last night and loved it! It was marvelous. <3 Can't say I have a favorite when it comes to Studio Ghibli films, though.
It is a favorite of mine.
If I were to list his films I suppose my top three would be Laputa, Kiki'S Deliviery Service and Naussica in no order.
I guess I tend to prefer his earlier works. And I love Kiki's Delivery Service. Maybe because I can empathize with her situation and everytime I watch it I very much want her to do well.
I do enjoy Spirted Away too and I at one time called it a favorite ( the second Ghibli I watched [first being Kiki's, when I was very young I had the VHS and loved it then)
I think Mononoke also reaches an audience in the States, and most American Miyazaki fans I know cite it as their favorite. Personally, it's a tossup between Mononoke and Spirited Away for me. I think Spirited Away has the best characters in any Miyazaki film, and I'm particularly fond of Kaonashi, without whom that movie probably would not be contending for the top spot. But, Kiki definitely did have compelling characters, too.
Mononoke Hime is so mature and shows the sorrow of war better than any war film I've ever seen. Miyazaki is generally a master of showing everyday struggles and the courage necessary to overcome them, and, in my opinion, is generally less successful at tackling large-scale problems, with the exception of Mononoke.
I just saw Kiki for the first time last night, and I enjoyed it a lot, but I do feel it has less to say than those other films, and on a scene-for-scene level I found it comparatively uneven, which is also how I felt about his other earlier films.
Spirited Away was too much spectacle for my tastes. I tend to enjoy Miyazaki's older work more where the mundane and the magical co-exist side-by-side and reinforce one-another.
This is definitely one of my top three Miyazaki films, alongside My Neighbor Totoro and Princess Mononoke. Criminally underrated.
I too think Spirited Away is a tad-overrated. It's visually very beautiful, but the plot seems to be all over the place... which works to an extent (since everything's magical), but the romantic-subplot seemed a little cheesy to me... and the ending could have been better. As my mom says whenever we watch one of his films. "What's up with the pigs?" :P
I haven't seen Kiki yet, but I hope to do so really soon. My favorite Miyazaki is Nausicaa, but I also just love Porco Rosso.
Abso-bloody-lutely! I love KDS at least 42 times better than Spirited Away which imo, is way overrated.
shareThey are very close to me, I still feel liked Spirited Away is Miyazaki's ultimate masterpiece.
However, the tone of this movie is my favorite out of all his movies, you just feel so good when you watch this simple little tale.