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A decade after its launch, Studio Ghibli Fest continues to attract growing audiences across the United States, bringing longtime fans and young viewers together to enjoy beloved animated classics such as My Neighbor Totoro, Ponyo and Spirited Away on the big screen. For Amanda Mendoza VanCleave of Austin, Texas, the annual festival has become a family tradition shared with her three-year-old daughter and mother. Every year, the three attend Ghibli screenings together. VanCleave said her daughter excitedly recognises the familiar Totoro logo as soon as it appears on screen, often delighting audiences with her enthusiasm. Although the family first discovered Studio Ghibli films through HBO Max, watching them in cinemas has become a special yearly event. During a recent screening of Hayao Miyazaki's 1988 classic My Neighbor Totoro, the three even wore matching Totoro-themed pajamas. Studio Ghibli films have long inspired devoted fans, but their continued success in cinemas years—and in some cases decades—after their original release is rare. Every year, both loyal followers and first-time young viewers return to theatres to watch the films. Running from June through October, Ghibli Fest has been held for the past 10 years. Popular titles including My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away and Ponyo have become regular cinema attractions rather than occasional re-releases. The festival has also continued to expand. When North American distributor GKids and Fathom Entertainment launched Ghibli Fest in 2017, five films generated about $5 million in ticket sales. Since then, annual box office earnings have steadily increased, even after Studio Ghibli films became widely available on HBO Max in 2020. GKids President Dave Jesteadt said the festival's continued growth has exceeded expectations. He said organisers initially never imagined the programme would last this long, noting that attendance has continued to set new records each year instead of declining. The festival reached its highest box office in 2024, earning $16.4 million from 14 films. Last year, eight titles collected $10.6 million. This year, Ponyo and My Neighbor Totoro have already completed successful five-day theatrical runs. According to Shannah Miller, Vice President of Marketing at Fathom Entertainment, the festival has expanded from about 640 cinema locations in its early years to more than 1,100 this year. Strong audience demand has also led to longer screening schedules for many films. When GKids acquired North American distribution rights to the Studio Ghibli catalogue in 2011, the Japanese studio emphasised the importance of theatrical releases. Initially, screenings were mainly held in major cities and independent cinemas. Ghibli Fest later expanded into multiplexes, introducing the films to a wider audience, particularly children discovering animation beyond Hollywood productions. Industry experts say the festival has also helped cinemas fill quieter periods, as older films increasingly attract audiences when there are fewer new Hollywood releases. Streaming has also introduced Studio Ghibli to younger viewers, many of whom later choose to experience the films in theatres. Jesteadt said the arrival of the films on streaming platforms actually created a new generation of cinema-goers eager to watch them on the big screen. This year's festival continues with Tales of Earthsea in August, Only Yesterday, the 40th anniversary screening of Castle in the Sky, a 4K restoration of Princess Mononoke in September, and the 25th anniversary screening of Spirited Away in October. Although Studio Ghibli films are occasionally re-released in other countries, Ghibli Fest remains a unique event exclusive to the United States. Fans say the cinema experience offers something that streaming cannot. Angela Lector, who has attended screenings dressed as characters from the films, said watching Ghibli movies in theatres creates opportunities to meet fellow fans and share the experience with others. Many fans also hope the festival will include more lesser-known Studio Ghibli titles in future editions. For VanCleave, the annual screenings continue to create new memories. She recently invited another family to a showing of Ponyo, giving their three-year-old daughter her first cinema experience. The two children ended up sharing a recliner while watching the film together, adding another memorable moment to the growing tradition.

Unlike live-action films, the consummation of best-animated films depends on how vividly the animator can handle the hand-drawn object to turn fantasies into reality. What was once puppetry and bioscope was replaced later by 2D animation. Now the spellbinding computer-generated imagery (CGI) continues to fascinate us. If you want to enrich your movie archive with some of the greatest animated movies, this list is worth watching. Top 10 Best Animated Movies for All Times ‘Grave of the Fireflies’ | Japanese Cartoon | 1988 This is a heartbreaking story about two teenage brothers who rely entirely on one other and fight against all odds to stay together during World War II. Isao Takahata directed this animated film as well as wrote it. The original story was a semi-autobiography of Akiyuki Nosaka. This war-tragedy film stars Yoshiko Shinohara, Tsutomu Tatsumi, Akemi Yamaguchi, and Ayano Shiraishi. The film won an award in Blue Ribbon (1989) and two in Chicago International Children's Film Festival (1994). With a rating of 8.5/10 on IMDb and 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, it still grabs the attention of movie lovers. Read Best Action Movies Ever Made in Film Industries Worldwide ‘Toy Story’ film series | American Computer Animation | 1995-2019 Walt Disney Pictures has released four seasons of this Pixer production franchise in 1995, 1999, 2010, and 2019. Each of them carries an interesting screenplay on what will happen when the toys will come to life and take the lead to make things right. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen gave the voice for the major roles of the film. John Lasseter, Pete Docter, Joe Ranft, and Andrew Stanton made the original story. The film series was directed by Lasseter himself, along with Lee Unkrich, Ash Brannon, and Josh Cooley. All of the versions won Oscar except the second release. These blockbuster films have a rating of at least 7.7 on IMDb and 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. Read Best Comedy Movies of All Time: Humour in Films through Century ‘Persepolis’ | French-Iranian Cartoon | 2007 This war drama’s story is taken from a graphic novel titled Persepolis. The novel was written by Marjane Satrapi based on her own life during the Iranian revolution. Satrapi herself and Vincent Paronnaud jointly directed this autobiographical animated film. The lead voice-over artists were Chiara Mastroianni and Catherine Deneuve. It got the Oscar nomination for the 'best animated' feature. This animated film has a rating of 8/10 on IMDb and 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. ‘Son of the White Mare’ | Hungarian Cartoon | 1981 This Roman Kunz production was directed by Marcell Jankovics. This fantasy film starring Gyorgy Cserhalmi, Vera Pap, and Gyula Szabo featured Laszlo Arany’s poetry of the same name based on the Hungarian myth. The story is centered on a superhuman character, who is on a quest to the underworld to free the princesses. This psychedelic animated film was selected for the Fantasia International Film Festival 2019. This film carries a rating of 7.9/10 on IMDb and 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. Read Azmeri Haque Badhon: Starring the Title Role of 'Rehana Maryam Noor' Film Premiered in 74th Cannes ‘Rocks in My Pockets’ | Latvian Cartoon | 2014 Signe Baumane, the Latvian animation artist, made this film centered on the incidents of her own life. It explores how she as well as her family struggled to overcome their insanity. She did the voice-over in the whole movie. Baumane won the FEPRESCI prize, Latvian Film Prize, and Sky Arte Award for this comedy-drama. This documentary film stays at the rating of 7.5/10 on IMDb and 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. ‘The Wolf House’ | Chilean Stop-Motion Animation | 2018 It was the first feature film of Cristobal Leon & Joaquin Cocina, two talented animation artists worked together since 2007. Along with them, Alejandra Moffat wrote the screenplay of the film. This is a tale of a young woman who flees from a German colony and seeks a harbor in Chile. Amalia Kassai and Rainer Krause worked behind the major characters’ voices. This stop-motion film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival 2018. This horror animation is rated at 7.6/10 on IMDb and 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. Read Best Pandemic Feature Films: Top 10 Virus Outbreak Movies Ever ‘Shaun the Sheep Movie’ | British Stop-Motion Animated Film | 2015 This film features Shaun the Sheep, the popular TV series in 2007 by Nick Park. The interesting story is all about a sheep planning with friends to rescue their master. With the voice-over of Justin Fletcher, Omid Djalili, and John Sparkes, this comedy film was written and directed by Richard Starzak, and Mark Burton. It received the nomination for Oscar, Golden Globe, and BAFTA in 2016. This Aardman Animations production is rated at 7.3/10 on IMDb and 99% on Rotten Tomatoes. ‘The Boy and the World’ | Brazillian Cartoon | 2013 A little boy sets out on an adventure to find his father, only to find himself in a world governed by machines, animals, and aliens. With this story in the background, ‘The Boy and the World’ film was made with a unique combination of digital animation, sketch, and painting. This adventure animation, directed and written by Ale Abreu, got the 88th Oscar nomination. Besides the filmmaker himself, the voice-over artists of the film were Vinicius Garcia, Felipe Zilse, Lu Horta, Cassius Romero, and Marco Aurelio Campos. The rating of this film on IMDb is 7.6/10 and on Rotten Tomatoes is 93%. Read Dilip Kumar: Life History, Success Story of the Legendary Indian Film Star ‘The Secret of Kells’ | Irish-French Cartoon | 2009 The Secret of Kells, produced under the Cartoon Saloon, follows an adventure of a boy and an ancient book named Kells filled with mysterious powers. Evan McGuire, Brendan Gleeson, Mick Lally, Michael McGrath, Liam Hourican, Paul Tylak gave voices over the major roles. This fantasy film, directed by Tomm Moore and Nora Twomey, got the 82nd Academy Award nomination. The ratings of this animated film are 7.6/10 and 90% on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes respectively. ‘Wrinkles’ | Spanish Cartoon | 2011 The main idea of this film comes from the graphic novel titled Wrinkles by Paco Roca. The story shows how an old man becomes a con artist to save his friend from getting relocated to the 'lost causes' unit of an elder-care facility due to Alzheimer’s disease. Read Greatest Love Stories in Celluloid: Hollywood’s Best Romantic Movies of All Time Alvaro Guevara and Tacho Gonzalez gave the voice behind the main characters of this animated drama directed by Ignacio Ferreras. Angel de la Cruz and Rosanna Cecchini cooperated with the screenplay along with Roca and the director of the film. All of them won the Goya Awards 2012 for this film. ‘Wrinkles’ stays at the rating of 7.6/10 on IMDb and 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. Wrap up Beyond the age limit, these best-ever animated films have been feeding the fascination of all types of cinephiles. Thanks to the comedy-centric trend, every filmmaker now tends to mix humorous ingredients in their creations. Moreover, comedy movies are more enjoyable to the movie-enthusiasts who want to go back to their childhood. Not to mention, these animated films had been a great relief for cineastes around the world. Read Suman Ghosh’s Film Searching for Happiness is to Feature in London Indian Film Festival 2021