I'd have to say Laputa. Your thoughts?

Note: "Films" can include the two Panda! Go Panda shorts, episodes of Lupin III which Miyazaki directed, Miyazaki-directed episodes of Sherlock Hound, Future Boy Conan, Sorairo no Tane, Nandarou, On Your Mark, and Whisper of the Heart, as well as all of Miyazaki's feature-length works from The Castle of Cagliostro to Howl's Moving Castle.

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Originally posted by Konan
I'd have to say Laputa. Your thoughts?

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Oh I'd love to hear your reasons behind your choice.

To me, Laputa is certainly not the best of Miyazaki, no matter how thrilling and exciting the movie is (and no matter how great the peer pressure is: Laputa is one of the most loved anime in my city ). Its major shortcomings are the cardboard characters and the cliched plot. Another problem is the inconsistency of Sheeta, which is like a mini Sophie who can wander between 10 years old and 18 years old. Still, it is indeed a very good movie on its own, leagues above the standard of the majority.

The Nausicaa movie used to be my least favourite Miyazaki feature movie. It is not that I mean it is bad. On the contrary, it is a brilliant anime. However, when compared to the other Miyazaki works, some aspects of the movie are simply not good enough. Technically, the 80s cell-phone-ish techno soundtrack is disappointing. The music also comes out abruptly in some places. Moreover the fluidity of the movements and the vibrancy of the background are not up to the Miyazaki standard. On the part of the story and the character, the movie has a clever plot, but falls flat at the end with the deus ex machina conclusion. And for Nausicaa herself, though she is a very strong and charismatic character, she is far too unrealistically perfect as a human being. To me, Nausicaa is more of a goddess high up in the sky that one should respect at a great distance, instead of a close friend and a lovable, believable character that one can attach himself/herself to. (that explains why I love Kiki )

After seeing Howl in April, the wizard is too eager to save the Valley princess and take up the last spot in my list instead. Undoubtedly there are tonnes of eye-candies in Howl that can freeze you in awe. Nevertheless, the way the plot unfolds (or is there a plot?) itself and the depth of the characters are certainly not on a par with other Miyazaki works. But well, I have only watched the movie once, and Miyazaki movies tend to become better and better with repeated viewings.

If non feature short films are also counted, Sora iro no Tane is certainly my least favourite. There is no element in it that is appealing enough, except being cute and short.

I have yet to see Sherlock Hound, but from what I have heard, people's comments to the Miyazaki episodes are very positive .

As Whisper was not directed by Miyazaki, I would not consider it as a Miyazaki work (even though he wrote the script and drew the storyboards, the director was Yoshifumi Kondou). If the movie was widely recognised as a part of the Miyazaki canon, I would certainly kick it to the far bottom of my list without one single nanosecond of hesitation.

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but ill have to think a sec.... (30mins later) nope thay all good

and ill also like to here ur reasons on Laputa being ur least fav

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While I can't say which one is my least favorite, I'll take Porco and Totoro over any other Miyazaki movie..any day.

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Originally posted by Jiji


If non feature short films are also counted, Sora iro no Tane is certainly my least favourite. There is no element in it that is appealing enough, except being cute and short.

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I disagree, it has a pretty obvious moral message. Watch it again.

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Well, I am not that a moralist (do I seem to be so? ), and the term "appealing" in my dictionary does not mean "moral." In terms of moral values, I would take any piece of Confucious work over any film of Miyazaki. Nevertheless moral values alone can never make a fantastic film. Miyazaki always stresses that he makes movies for public entertainment (to bring joy and hope to the children and the depressed), instead of preaching messages of depth and trying to have people converted to his ideologies.

Skycoloured seed in itself is pretty much an animated version of one of Aesop's Fables, or a straightforward tale (with lovable animals as characters) that teaches kids what ought to and what ought not to do. Though its moral teachings are respectable, frankly, I find little interest in movies of such kind.

Try to spend some time and watch On Your Mark. It is another short movie of Miyazaki, though not as short as Skycoloured seed. You can not only see the moral values, but also the entertainment values, the thought-provoking elements, the eye-popping effects, the intriguing plot, etc. All these stuff weave together to make On Your Mark one of the best 7 min anime. This is the type of short film that I would regard as appealing and unforgettable.

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Wow, Jiji, Howl's Moving Castle is your least favorite of Miyazaki's films? I actually find it to be one of his best. I guess it's all a matter of perception. My least favorite would have to be Nausicaa not really because of the animation (Snow White and the Seven Dwarves isn't greatly animated by today's standards but it has a great story and interesting characters) but because of the way the plotline unfolds. I think that if Miyazaki did a remake of that movie, today, it would be very different. However, Nausicaa has some great characters while Cagliostro has unoriginal and un-Miyazaki (if you know what I mean) ones but is interesting in the storyline department. I really want to see On Your Mark. It sounds quite good.

Though my first viewing expereince of Howl is not a highly enjoyable one, I would not quickly jump to the conclusion that it is my least favourite Miyazaki film, at least not until I have watched it a few times more . My problem with Howl is the confusing plot that seems to be shattered and disjointed. Events pop up one after another, but there is no major plotline that ties them up together properly. Those events themselves are also often unexplained. I am still unsure why Sophie has to destroy the castle and rebuild it (unsuccessfully).

And yea, even if it is proved to be my least favourite Miyazaki movie, it would still be one of my favourite anime movie. As mentioned before, even the worst work of the best anime director is leagues better than the standard of the majority.

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Actually, 'Castle of Cagliostro' can be seen as a prototype for later films. Miyazaki was working with someone else's characters and their world, so he had to give the Lupin fans what they wanted to see. And I STILL haven't seen 'Howl's Moving Castle' yet... it was playing here, but it must've been for like, five days!

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i actually love laputa. but i may be bias since it was the very first anime i remembered watching...

my least favorite would have to be grave of fireflies... i remembered watching it when it first came out and i felt completely depressed after the show. i mean the storyline and the images is great, but it's just really depressing!!!! it has just a horrible sad ending...

and decades later, i still feel sad for the characters and for the history of the plot.

i know some of you must agree with me...

I don't rate Kurenai no buta too highly but the wife loves it.

How could you be so low as to rate Laputa the lowest of Ghibli films, Konan! Laputa is my favourite!
Why do you say Laputa is your worst, Konan?

kaida81, you are rating Grave of the Fireflies the lowest of Ghibli films? I loved this film and I think it deserves higher. Besides, this wasn't done by Miyazaki. This was of Takahata.

Well, my view will be perhaps somewhat unusual here. I actually liked Nausicaa a lot, although I didn't like some bits of the animation and I agree that the ending isn't very good. But it certainly belongs to the majority of the Miyazaki movies which caught me, embraced me in and held me tight until the ending subtitles were over. The same holds for Laputa (although it indeed felt like some Disney parody at few points). And Whisper of the Heart is one of my most favorite! (I think Only Yesterday is the only Ghibli movie which surpasses it in the character development, and there's barely anything else going on in OY, while Whisper carries along the usual Miyazaki boatload of moral messages, hidden meanings, fantasy scenes and some fun.)

I didn't like Howl's Castle very much (although I've also seen it only once yet) - the art was beautiful as always, but the plot didn't feel flowing as naturally as in the other movies, and there seemed to be some superfluous branches and missed opportunities - too much like if they took the book, reworked and trimmed the story but forgot some artifacts (I didn't read the book though - that's just how it feels). So Howl's Castle is one of my candidates.

The other one is Porco Rosso. (Now I have to emphasize that I'm answering the question about which one is my least favourite, not which one I think is worst.) Again, the story just has let me out - I wasn't dragged in, and couldn't feel real compassion with the hero. But I'm thinking that this will perhaps come with age and some life experience and I might feel very different about the movie in some 10 or 20 years.

(Note that I didn't see Lopin or anything earlier.)

If I extend the question to Takahata as well, um... Pom Poko just felt weird, but that's probably a cultural shock. I guess I will have to study it and take some time to really understand all the story layers. It's a nice story (and some fun) even without understanding the Japanese culture and the whole film's message, but does not come on par with Only Yesterday or the GOTF.

I would have to say Porco Rosso (with Princess Mononoke second). I just couldn't relate to the main character. I guess being female I wouldn't, but not just from that standpoint. I think the plot centered on the war too much, and things related to the war (fixing the plane, etc.).
Even barring that, like pasky said, the plot just didn't draw me in.

I think if it had focused more on the love story, I would've liked it more. Or maybe if it didn't leave the ending ambiguous.

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I think mine would be Porco Rosso....It just doesn't give me the good feeling I always get when watching a Miyazaki film. I like the music, but the story isn't so good as the others.

=x oh nues nues nues....none of the miyazaki films are bad.... they are all great. ^^ No least favorites here.

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Evil Enough For You?

My least favourite Ghibli film is probably Howl's Moving Castle. I loved it a lot. It was tough to choose my least favourite. I agree with the comments above with the story, there were many plot holes and events that weren't really answered properly.

Jiji, when you say you would put Whisper of the Heart at the bottom, do you mean it's your least favourite Ghibli film?

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Originally posted by Johny
Jiji, when you say you would put Whisper of the Heart at the bottom, do you mean it's your least favourite Ghibli film?

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Not necessarily as I was only talking about the least favourite Miyazaki-related film . Indeed I find Umi Ga Kikoeru the least enjoyable movie (animated or not) I have ever seen in my life .

Well, I know I am an oddball here so please don't thwack me.

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atcually... the one i prefer is... spirited away, totoro,the cat returns and mononoke.:D but... somebody teach me how to insert pics inside a forum?!!!:(

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Originally posted by Jiji

Not necessarily as I was only talking about the least favourite Miyazaki-related film . Indeed I find Umi Ga Kikoeru the least enjoyable movie (animated or not) I have ever seen in my life .

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Originally posted by pasky

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Originally posted by Jiji

Not necessarily as I was only talking about the least favourite Miyazaki-related film . Indeed I find Umi Ga Kikoeru the least enjoyable movie (animated or not) I have ever seen in my life .

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It's nice not to be alone! :-) But actually, while I really quite dislike Umi Ga kikoeru, I love Whisper of the Hearth - even though it shares many elements.

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“Miyazaki is the greatest living animator… His frames are brilliantly, sunnily ‘lit’, with exhilarating shifting perspectives and cinematic movement, and a drawing style that is as detailed and dense as Brueghel.” — Philip Lopate, Film Comment