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The Japanese stage adaptation of Spirited Away, Studio Ghibli’s 2001 Oscar-winning animation, has finally arrived in London.
Opening at London’s largest West End theatre, the Coliseum, the production, which is being directed by Olivier and Tony award-winning director-writer John Caird, is set to be one of the biggest new openings of the year.
It has already extended its run due to “unprecedented demand” and when it was performed in Japan it was described by critics there as “full of surprises and originality”, “a world-class production” and “done so perfectly... without pretentiousness.”
It will feature some original cast members, including Kanna Hashimoto and Mone Kamishiraishi, who both play lead character Chihiro, who ends up trapped in a world of Kami (Shinto spirits) in the story. The play will be performed in Japanese with English subtitles.
“I am proud and delighted to present the original Japanese stage production of Spirited Away at the Coliseum Theatre,” said Caird. “We had a wonderful time creating the show in 2022 and I’m so happy now to be spiriting away a British audience into Hayao Miyazaki’s magical world.”
Miyazaki, now 83, is the co-founder of Studio Ghibli and the creative mind behind some of the animation studio’s most beloved movies, including My Neighbor Totoro (1988), Princess Mononoke (1997), Oscar-winning Spirited Away (2001) and Howl’s Moving Castle (2004), most of which can be found on Netflix.
It’s Miyazaki mania in London, as the stage adaptation of My Neighbour Totoro, which opened at the Barbican in 2022, will also be transferring to the West End in March 2025.
The Standard has spoken to Jake Cunningham and Michael Leader – the co-creators and hosts of the Studio Ghibli Ghibliotheque podcast – who shared their love of the studio, and named their top five favourite films that Ghibli fans can watch on Netflix.
To celebrate the West End arrival of Spirited Away and My Neighbour Totoro, we share some of their insights below.
Five of Ghibli's best, according to Jake and Michael
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013)
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[Director] Isao Takahata's final film is his most ambitious, adventurous and wise. A quietly experimental adaptation of a 10th-century Japanese folktale that develops into a crushing meditation on life, death and rebirth, all told with a breathtaking visual style that looks like a watercolour painting come to life.
My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
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Obvious, but timeless. This magical masterwork about two young sisters and their friendship with a local forest creature is a firm contender for the greatest animated film of all time. Miyazaki's cuddly creation became an icon: gracing the Studio's own logo and fuelling a cottage industry of merchandise that has filled Ghibli's coffers for decades.
Only Yesterday (1991)
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Isao Takahata's nostalgic reverie travels between a young woman's present day and recollections of her school days. Its bold formal approach is perfectly paired with the story's relationship to memory, images drifting into frame, dissolving as half-remembered watercolours at its edge.
Porco Rosso (1992)
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Obsessed with drawing planes from a young age, Miyazaki's tale of a porcine flying ace is an adventure tale in the spirit of Indiana Jones; it's also Ghibli's most quotable script, featuring fan favourite "I'd rather be a pig than a fascist".
Whisper of the Heart (1995)
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Put simply: Ghibli's unsung masterpiece. The only directorial credit from legendary animator Yoshifumi Kondo, this teen romance infuses the humdrum suburban life of a young girl with an overactive imagination with that undeniable Ghibli magic. Curiously notable because a shot of young Shizuku working at her desk now graces scores of 'lofi hip hop beats' YouTube channels.
Listen to the Ghibliothequepodcasts and follow them on Twitter here