Castle in the Sky Summary:
Hayao Miyazaki's fantasy adventure Castle in the Sky begins with a chase scene through a flying ship, where all the passengers are after the young girl, Sheeta (voice of Anna Paquin). Going overboard to avoid capture, Sheeta is rescued by her powerful crystal necklace which floats her down to safety. She's recovered by Pazu (voice of James Van Der Beek), a young resourceful boy who works in a small mining town. Sharing a common desire to see Laputa, the castle in the sky, Pazu and Sheeta team up to outrun the pirates and the military. Led by hard-bitten matriarch Dola (voice of Cloris Leachman), the pirates are a rowdy yet dimwitted group of brothers who are after Laputa's treasure. Led by the greedy yet civilized Muska (voice of Mark Hamill), the military is after Laputa's secret powers. Everyone races to get to the abandoned castle of Laputa, which has been overgrown with vines and plant life. Its only inhabitants are the animals and robots who protect a magical garden. As the different parties fight over who gets to control Laputa, it's up to Sheeta to use her ancient knowledge to save it from ultimate destruction. The English-language version also includes the voices of Mandy Patinkin and Andy Dick.

Kiki's Delivery Service Summary:
Veteran animator Hayao Miyazaki directs this buoyant children's adventure yarn about a young witch striking out on her own. At her mother's behest, 13-year-old Kiki sets out on a year-long apprenticeship with her black cat in tow. With a shaky command of her broom, she ends up in a charming little coastal town that looks like a cross between the French provincial and San Francisco. Unfortunately, the local hotels have a strict "no witches" policy and the police have taken a dim view of her recent aerial mischief making. She's saved from the street by a kindly baker's wife who offers her room and board in exchange for her delivering by broom the baker's wares. Soon she befriends a college-aged artist, an old woman who fusses over her, and a boy her same age who is nursing a massive crush. All is well until she wakes up one day and realizes that she can't make her broom levitate nor can she talk to her cat. What will Kiki do?

Spirited Away Summary:

Master animation director Hayao Miyazaki follows up on his record-breaking 1997 opus Princess Mononoke with this surreal -Alice in Wonderland-like tale about a lost little girl. The film opens with ten-year-old Chihiro riding along during a family outing as her father races through remote country roads. When they come upon a blocked tunnel, her parents decide to have a look around -- even though Chihiro finds the place very creepy. When they pass through the tunnel, they discover an abandoned amusement park. As Chihiro's bad vibes continue, her parents discover an empty eatery that smells of fresh food. After her mother and father help themselves to some tasty purloined morsels, they turn into giant pigs. Chihiro understandably freaks out and flees. She learns that this very weird place, where all sorts of bizarre gods and monsters reside, is a holiday resort for the supernatural after their exhausting tour of duty in the human world. Soon after befriending a boy named Haku, Chihiro learns the rules of the land: one, she must work , as laziness of any kind is not tolerated; and two, she must take on the new moniker of Sen. If she forgets her real name, Haku tells her, then she will never be permitted to leave.

Princess Mononoke Summary:
This $20 million animated adventure/fantasy quickly became the highest grossing Japanese film in Japanese film history (making 150 million in Japan during its first seven months). Set in the 14th century, the ecology-themed epic was directed by Hayao Miyazaki whose previous films were acquired by Disney for U.S. distribution plus other territories. Princess Mononoke depicts a mystical battle between Animal Gods of the forest and humans during Japan's Muromachi Period. Young Ashitaka receives a fatal infection after a demonic wild boar attacks his northern village. Seeking a cure, he sets out to locate the deer-like god Shishigami. Along the way, he sees the rape of the Earth by a mining village. The constant plundering by the village has brought the wrath of the Wolf God, Moro, who attacks the village along with San, a human who was raised by the wolf god. She communicates with the nature spirits -- which is why she is called Princess Mononoke ("spirits of things"). Ashitaka wants these opposing forces to co-exist, and he hopes to bring peace between San and the ironworks owner, Lady Eboshi. However, he is thwarted as higher powers, intent on killing the Shishigama, intrude, and a battle erupts over the future of all nature.

Whisper of the Heart Summary:

Written by animation master Hayao Miyazaki and directed by his protégé Yoshifumi Kondo, this film is a simple tale about a young girl who falls in love and learns to believe in herself. Suzuku Tsukishima is nearing the end of her final year of junior high. An avid bookworm, she devours books while quietly dreaming about becoming a writer. Though vivacious and outgoing with her best friend, she withdraws into herself when in the presence of her bossy older sister; her studious father, who is busy researching local history; and her mother, who is absorbed in the college courses she's taking. Then one day, she meets Seiji, a lad who has the ability to both irritate and charm her, often at the same time. He also harbors an unusual ambition: to build violins in Cremona, Italy. Around the same time, she meets a kindly old man who owns an antique shop; whom she later learns is Seiji's grandfather. One item in the store particularly catches her eye -- a strange statue of a cat with glittering eyes. Inspired by Seiji's utter determination to realize his own dream, she writes a story about the feline-shaped sculpture coming to life.

Grave of the Fireflies Summary:
Grave of the Fireflies opens on an evening in 1945, after Japan's surrender at the end of World War II; and in a train station, the young Seita dies alone. The rest of the movie tells us, in flashback, how things have come to this. Seita and Setsuko are two young Japanese children growing up in the waning days of World War II. Much to Seita's pride, their father is in the Japanese navy, and they live fairly content lives in Kobe despite rationing and the other privations of war. When their mother dies from burns suffered during an American fire-bombing raid, a distant aunt takes them in -- and conflict eventually forces the children to try to survive on their own. At first, Seita and his little sister enjoy their idyllic lives in the country, but harsh reality eventually settles in as Seita begins to understand the difficulties of taking care of a young child when both food and compassion are scarce.

Ocean Waves Summary:

The main character travels to his hometown for his high school reunion. During the trip, he recalls the memories of the days in high school. Friendship, subtle love, a trip to Tokyo and so on all came back to him as the film evolves.

Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea Summary:
Acclaimed anime master Hayao Miyazaki returns for his ninth animated feature with Ponyo on a Cliff, which deals with a friendship between a 5-year old boy and a goldfish princess that yearns to be human.

Tales From Earthsea Summary:
Animator Goro Miyazaki, son of the infamous Hayao Miyazaki ("The Walt Disney of Japan,") makes his directorial debut with the animated feature Tales from Earthsea (aka Gedo Senki). Miyazaki loosely adapted the work from the third and fourth volumes in bestselling sci-fi author Ursula K. Le Guin's infamous series of cult novels -- all set in Earthsea, a Tolkien-esque fantasy realm. Gedo Senki opens at a point when Earthsea is deteriorating rapidly, and the power of magic is waning -- tendencies signaled by the sudden, frightening reappearance of dragons in the land of humankind. Ged Sparrowhawk was once a lowly goat herder but is now known as Lord Archmage, the most powerful of all wizards. He soon meets Prince Arren of Enlad -- a teenage boy chased by a "shadow," the force that is tipping the world out of balance and driving innumerable people to the point of insanity.

The men team up and journey to Hort Town, the Earthsea capital city, where they find the entire community turned upside down -- craftsmen have abandoned their trades, slavery runs rampant, addicts clamor in the streets. They ultimately find refuge in the Priestess Tenar's palace, also occupied by the scarred orphan girl Therru. While the latter initially avoids Arren in fear of his "dark side," Arren bides his time in the nearby fields, being mentored by Ged on the balance of creation. Therru eventually opens up to Arren, but he grows increasingly disturbed by nightmares about being chased by the shadow, and his daytime fear of it grows absolutely overwhelming. Ged then discovers that the cause of the kingdom-wide "imbalance" is actually his old arch-nemesis, the wizard Cob, who has opened up the gateway between the living and the dead, and hopes to attain eternal life, meanwhile plotting to murder Ged in vengeance for an act he committed long ago.

In fear of his evil self, Arren absconds from Tenar's palace -- actively fleeing from the shadow -- but ultimately faints and turns up at the castle of Cob. The latter's minions give their guest "hazia," which causes him to lose his bearings and tell Cob his real name. Arren thus becomes enslaved to the wizard. Meanwhile, Ged and Therru turn up, and bring Arren back to full awareness. With their assistance, he is able to surmount the temptation of eternal life; he then does an about face, and, with the assistance of an enchanted sword, prepares to do battle with Cob.

Porco Rosso Summary:
Master animator Hayao Miyazaki directs this tale about a former World War I flying ace that is also a pig. Slouching toward middle age, Porco Rosso makes his living by flying about in his bright red bi-plane and fighting sky bandits who prey on cruise ships sailing the Adriatic. When he's not engaging in dogfights, this porcine pilot lives on a deserted island retreat. Porco Rosso was once a strapping young man, but after his entire squadron was wiped out, he was mysteriously transformed into a pig. Rosso is defeated in a dogfight against a dashing American rival, who has been hired by the dastardly bandits. With his plane damaged, he finds a repair hangar near Milan run by an aging mechanic named Piccolo, and his spunky granddaughter Fio. Initially skeptical of her mechanical prowess, Rosso is amazed when she and a legion of local women fix his plane. Soon, Porco Rosso is ready to battle his rival.