To celebrate this week’s release of My Neighbour Totoro and Castle of Cagliostro on Blu-ray in stunning high-definition for the first time, we’ve picked out our favourite characters from Studio Ghibli.
> Buy My Neighbour Totoro on Blu-ray on Amazon.
> Buy Castle Of Cagliostro on Blu-ray on Amazon.
5. Brunhilde in Ponyo
What a journey for little Ponyo! Starting off as fish, Brunhilde (to give her, her proper, given name) escapes the family home (her dad voiced by Liam “Wolf Puncher” Neeson) and finds herself meeting a young boy, Sōsuke. Whereupon, due to taking in some of his blood (it’s all perfectly innocent!), she becomes human.
The highlight of her journey comes as she returns to her young male friend, with legs; running over the ocean as it swells in a fantastical and beautifully realised storm. Ponyo is a very powerful, very young female force (typical of Miyazaki) and her headstrongness is only matched by her love for ham!
4. Jiji in Kiki’s Delivery Service
Everyone loves a cute kitty, right? Well, the cat in question here, belonging to thirteen year old witch Kiki, may look totes adorbz but his loquacious and sarcastic nature may will disabuse you of that notion. This is wholly down to the superb voice talents of the much-missed Phil Hartman (The Simpsons) who shines in the role.
As a side-note, in the original Japanese version, Jiji is a much more helpful and cute cat, acting in the most humble of fashions in comparison to his American counterpart. But it’s this very spiky nature that makes the little blighter such darn good fun.
3. Calcifer in Howl’s Moving Castle
Personally hand animated by Miyazaki himself, Calcifer is just one of the many, many highlights from the director’s brilliant 2004 film. In the international version, Billy Crystal takes vocal duties of the fire demon at the heart of the titular castle and is perfectly suited to the rambunctious and mischievous nature of the magical creature.
A simple fire, powering Howl’s transport, he likes nothing better than to chomp down on some bacon and eggs – making for quite the bizarre visual imagery.
2. No Face in Spirited Away
Speaking of bizarre, this guy is most definitely Miyazaki’s most horror-like character. Sweeping in, ghost-like, to the bath house in the OSCAR winning film, No Face quickly becomes a hungry behemoth, eating everything in his way whilst also splurging gold to anyone and everyone.
A temperamental character (mainly mental), the masked spirit is a fascinating monster; going from curious and creepy oddity to a disgusting villain to a sympathetic and lonely chap, unable to express himself. A truly remarkable cinematic creation.
1. Totoro in My Neighbour Totoro
The phrase “larger than life” seems perfectly made for one of cinema’s most fascinating and loveable characters, Totoro. This huge cute beast makes no discernible dialogue but, boy oh boy, understanding is not what he (she/it) is about. Totoro jumps and roars throughout the 1988 classic, lauded by such titles as Empire, the New York Times and Sight & Sound, beguiling in every scene he inhabits with his huge Cheshire Cat-like grin.
Of course, Totoro has found life outwit his original movie, popping up in Toy Story 3 and fronting merchandise from cuddly toys to the onesie.
Who’s your favourite Studio Ghibli character? Let us know below…
> Buy My Neighbour Totoro on Blu-ray on Amazon.
> Buy Castle Of Cagliostro on Blu-ray on Amazon.
Watch the trailer for Studio Ghibl’s Arriety…