When you watch a Studio Ghibli film, you know you’re in for something special. Chief director Hayao Miyazaki’s work is renowned for determined leads (even when they’re in over their heads), environmental themes, stunning animation, amazing creatures and delicious-looking food – seriously, watching one of his films on an empty stomach is not a good idea. With a string of critically acclaimed worldwide hits, Studio Ghibli’s films have gone beyond cult status to become part of global pop culture.
The result is a body of work with something for everyone, and once you’ve seen one Studio Ghibli film, you’ll want to see them all. But in case you need a little more persuading, here’s our guide to some of the highlights of the On Demand Studio Ghibli collection.
Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind
Miyazaki (who was born in 1941) was already a seasoned animator with numerous film and television credits when he struck a deal to adapt his manga series Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind into a feature film. The story of a princess trying to defend her kingdom from a militaristic empire looking to use ancient bioweapons to destroy a teeming and deadly jungle, it features many of the themes that would dominate his later work: the environment, the dangers of war, a love of flight and aircraft. Critically acclaimed and largely seen as a step forward for anime in general, it was a box office success that led directly to the founding of Studio Ghibli.
Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind airs 6.30pm AEDT Monday 29 December on SBS World Movies and will be streaming at SBS On Demand for 28 days after it airs.
Upcoming On Demand
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
Anime • Fantasy • 1984
Anime • Fantasy • 1984
The Japanese language version will be streaming from 30 December for 28 days.
Upcoming On Demand
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
Anime • Fantasy • 1984
Anime • Fantasy • 1984
My Neighbour Totoro
Miyazaki’s first film for his new studio, Castle in the Sky (also coming to SBS On Demand), was a critical hit, but it was the film that followed – 1988’s My Neighbour Totoro – that really put the studio on the map. The story of two young sisters who find their way into a world of spirits and wild creatures, including the huge but friendly Totoro, who travels via the Catbus, which is exactly what it sounds like. Packed with memorable characters and stunning images, and with a gentle and heartwarming story that’s much more about vibes than drama, it was a huge hit that made pop culture icons of Totoro and Catbus (there’s even a life-size version at the Ghibli theme park in Japan).
My Neighbour Totoro airs 6.50pm Wednesday 24 December on SBS World Movies. The English language version will be streaming at SBS On Demand for 28 days from 3.30pm on 24 December.
Upcoming On Demand
My Neighbor Totoro
Anime • Fantasy • 1988
Anime • Fantasy • 1988
The Japanese language version will be streaming from 25 December, also for 28 days.
Upcoming On Demand
My Neighbor Totoro
Anime • Fantasy • 1988
Anime • Fantasy • 1988
Porco Rosso
It seemed that Miyazaki had found his groove with stories of children in magical worlds - and for fans of that groove, 1989’s Kiki's Delivery Service (also coming to SBS On Demand) tells the story of a young girl running a delivery service in a world where witches are real. But in 1992, he released perhaps his most underrated film, Porco Rosso. A thrilling tale of conflict in the skies over 1920s Europe, it features both highly accurate air combat and a protagonist who’s a former WWI flying ace with a pig’s head (it was a curse). Throw in a love story with a twist and a firmly anti-fascist message, and you have an all-time adventure classic that’s a personal favourite of Miyazaki’s.
Porco Rosso airs 6.50pm Sunday 28 December on SBS World Movies and will be streaming at SBS On Demand for 28 days after it airs.
Upcoming On Demand
Porco Rosso
Anime • Fantasy • 1992
Anime • Fantasy • 1992
The Japanese-language version will be streaming at SBS On Demand from 29 December for 28 days.
Upcoming On Demand
Crimson Pig
Anime • Fantasy • 1992
Anime • Fantasy • 1992
Princess Mononoke
The first Studio Ghibli film to receive wide distribution in the West, 1997’s Princess Mononoke sees Miyazaki returning to more overt fantasy with spectacular results. A cursed prince with superhuman powers and a young woman raised by wolves travel through a middle ages Japan where gods walk and the future – in the form of iron and firearms – threatens to despoil the land and the spirits that animate it. There’s a slightly harder edge to this than some of Miyazaki’s other films, but the gorgeous animation and epic story make it a must for all but the youngest viewers.
Princess Mononoke will be airing 10.35pm Tuesday 30 December on SBS World Movies and streaming at SBS On Demand for 28 days after it airs.
Upcoming On Demand
Princess Mononoke
Anime • Adventure • 1997
Anime • Adventure • 1997
The Japanese-language version will be available from 6am on 31 December and streaming for 28 days.
Upcoming On Demand
Princess Mononoke
Anime • Adventure • 1997
Anime • Adventure • 1997
Spirited Away
A magical experience is on the menu with this 2001 feature, in which Miyazaki goes all out in animating some of the tastiest-looking food ever put on screen. Ten-year-old Chihiro Ogino and parents Akio and Yūko are on their way to their new home when a shortcut leads them to an empty resort town stocked with tasty food. Surprise! It’s actually the spirit world, her parents are turned into pigs, and she’s forced to find work in a bathhouse frequented by all manner of spirits and creatures. It’s a wild ride (comparisons have been made to Alice in Wonderland), with Chihiro as a plucky heroine determined to save her porcine parents in the face of some pretty fantastic (and as always, brilliantly animated) obstacles.
Spirited Away airs 6.30pm Thursday 25 December on SBS World Movies and will be streaming at SBS On Demand for 28 days after it airs.
Upcoming On Demand
Spirited Away
Animated • Fantasy • 2001
Animated • Fantasy • 2001
The Japanese-English version will be streaming from 26 December, also for 28 days.
Upcoming On Demand
Spirited Away
Anime • Fantasy • 2001
Anime • Fantasy • 2001
Howl's Moving Castle
There have always been topical themes in Miyazaki’s films – mostly notably a strong thread of environmentalism – but with the 2003 Iraq War firmly in mind, his loose adaptation of Diana Wynne Jones’ novel Howl's Moving Castle brought his anti-war feelings to the fore. As a war flares between two kingdoms, a young hat-maker is turned into a woman pushing 100 by a witch. Searching for a cure, she finds her way inside a vast moving castle that turns out to be at the heart of the conflict, staffed with magical creatures who aren’t what they seem.
Howl's Moving Castle airs 6.30 pm Friday 26 December on SBS World Movies and will be streaming at SBS On Demand for 28 days after it airs.
Upcoming On Demand
Howl's Moving Castle
Anime • Fantasy • 2004
Anime • Fantasy • 2004
The Japanese-language version will be streaming at SBS On Demand from 27 December for 28 days.
Upcoming On Demand
Howl's Moving Castle
Anime • Fantasy • 2004
Anime • Fantasy • 2004
Ponyo
Wizards under the sea, nature out of balance, and a young fish girl whose greatest desire is to be human: with Ponyo, Miyazaki’s returned to the more light-hearted and magical tone of his earlier films. A fairy tale for all ages that mixes a poetic quality with hyperactive storytelling – at times it’s not so much a story about a five-year-old as one that feels like it’s being told by one – the journey of cute fish-creature Brunhilde to becoming the human Ponyo is full of travel, transformations, and tidal waves. Not to mention residents of a nursing home who magically have the ability to breathe under the sea.
Ponyo airs 6.30pm Monday 22 December on SBS World Movies, and will be streaming at SBS On Demand for 28 days after it airs.
Upcoming On Demand
Ponyo
Anime • Adventure • 2008
Anime • Adventure • 2008
The Japanese-language version will be streaming from 23 December for 28 days.
Upcoming On Demand
Ponyo
Anime • Children • 2008
Anime • Children • 2008
The Boy And The Heron
After 2011’s The Wind Rises, Miyazaki announced his retirement. But he continued working on various projects related to Studio Ghibli, and hanging around the studio soon led to new inspiration: in 2023, the studio released his final film to date, the Academy Award-winning The Boy And The Heron. Set during World War II, it features a young boy grieving his mother, who is led into a magical underwater realm and beyond. It’s a tale that not only features many of Miyazaki’s ongoing themes (flight, nature, war and the power of creation, very tasty looking food), but it often veers close to autobiography – though maybe not the magical talking bird part.
The Boy And The Heron airs 6.30pm Sunday 21 December on SBS World Movies and will be streaming at SBS On Demand for 28 days after it airs.
Upcoming On Demand
The Boy and the Heron
Anime • Fantasy • 2023
Anime • Fantasy • 2023
The Japanese language version will be streaming for 28 days from 22 December.
Upcoming On Demand
The Boy and the Heron
Anime • Fantasy • 2023
Anime • Fantasy • 2023
Miyazaki, Spirit of Nature
If you’re looking to find out more about the man behind the films, this 2024 French documentary by Léo Favier is the perfect place to start. Exploring his environmental themes, his films, and his life, it features numerous intellectuals discussing his views on animism, nature, and society. Heavily illustrated with scenes from his films, there’s also plenty of clips of Miyazaki at work and interviews with animation experts, including his producer Toshio Suzuki, and his son, Goro Miyazaki. It’s a loving tribute to the man and a thoughtful examination of some of the main themes he’s been exploring over forty years in animation.
Miyazaki, Spirit of Nature airs 4.55pm Sunday 21 December on SBS World Movies and is also streaming now at SBS On Demand.
Stream free On Demand
Miyazaki: Spirit Of Nature
program • Special • 2025
PG
program • Special • 2025
PG
See more (including the beautiful Red Turtle) in the Studio Ghibli season on SBS World Movies December 21-30 (check the TV Guide for times in your location) and in the STUDIO GHIBLI COLLECTION at SBS On Demand.
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