When is Studio Ghibli coming to Netflix and what films will be available?
NETFLIX just keeps getting bigger and bigger - and now, they have just bought the rights to air movies from long-standing Japanese film company Studio Ghibli.
The films will be now be broadcast to the wider audience that Netflix offers, but when will fans be able to indulge in the new content?
When is Studio Ghibli coming to Netflix?
The iconic film production company will have their work shown to the world on Netflix on the first day of three consecutive months.
The first batch of seven films will be released on February 1, 2020.
The second set of seven movies will be available on the streaming platform from March 1st 2020.
They will be followed by the third and final group of seven movies, which are set to drop on Netflix on April 1st, 2020.
What Studio Ghibli films will be available?
- Castle in the Sky (1986) - The first ever Studio Ghibli film tells the story of an airship carrying a young orphan girl who has been abducted by a government agent.
- My Neighbor Totoro (1988) - This story follows a teenager tasked with taking care of his younger sister after an American firebombing during World War II separates them from their parents.
- Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989) - A teenager moves to a seaside town with her talking cat to spend a year alone, due to her village's tradition for youngsters to train to become witches.
- Only Yesterday (1991) - An unmarried woman takes her first extended trip outside her native Tokyo when she travels to rural Yamagata to visit her sister's family during the annual safflower harvest.
- Porco Rosso (1992) - In 1930s Italy, sky pirates in biplanes terrorise wealthy cruise ships as they sail the Adriatic Sea.
- Ocean Waves (1993) - Taku and his best friend Yutaka are going back to school for what looks like another boring year but their friendship is soon tested by the arrival of a beautiful new student from Tokyo.
- Tales from Earthsea (2006) - In the land of Earthsea, a mysterious force threatens to send the human race into chaos.
- Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) - Far in the future, after much conflict has destroyed most of the world's ecosystem, the few humans that remain live in difficult conditions within what has become a "toxic jungle."
- Princess Mononoke (1997) - In the 14th century, the harmony that humans, animals and gods have enjoyed begins to crumble.
- My Neighbours the Yamadas (1999) - This tells the story of a modern Japanese family through a series of loosely connected episodes that explore the family members' relationships and everyday lives.
- Spirited Away (2001) - A 10-year-old child and parents come across an abandoned theme park and after the parents turn into giant pigs, the child learns that the park is a place where supernatural things happen to those who need a break from their time on earth.
- The Cat Returns (2002) - A high school student who rescues a cat that was about to be run over by a truck, discovers the cat is actually a prince named Lune.
- Arrietty (2010) - A tiny teenager lives with her parents in a hidden area of a suburban home and the homeowner and housekeeper have no idea.
- The Tale of The Princess Kaguya (2013) - A tiny creature found inside a bamboo stalk grows into a beautiful and attractive girl, who demands that her admirers prove their feelings for her by completing some near-impossible tasks.
- Pom Poko (1994) - Mythical creatures called Tanuki see their forest home come under threat by urban development and they must use all their supernatural talents to try and save it.
- Whisper of the Heart (1995) - This animated film follows an inquisitive young girl who wants to be a writer when she grows up.
- Howl's Moving Castle (2004) - A young girl's relatively uneventful lifet begins to change when she makes friends with a wizard who lives in a magical flying castle.
- Ponyo (2008) - During a journey to see the world, a goldfish princess meets a human boy, who gives her the name Ponyo.
- From Up on Poppy Hill (2011) - It's 1963 in Japan and the country is in the middle of becoming more modern and leaving behind the pain and devastation caused by the Second World War and focusing on that year's Tokyo Olympics.
- The Wind Rises (2013) - The film follows the story of a Japanese aviation engineer whose career includes creating a A6M World War II fighter plane.
- When Marnie Was There (2014) - A young girl is sent to Kushiro for health reasons, where she meets an unlikely friend who it turns out has closer ties to than expected.
What is Studio Ghibli?
Studio Ghibli is a animation film studio created in 1985 by founders Hayao Miyazaki, Toshio Suzuki, Isao Takahata and Yasuyoshi Tokuma.
It has produced an impressive six of the ten highest grossing anime films ever seen in Japan, with their 2001 Oscar-winning film Spirited Away holding the box office record for anime movies.
The studio has also made several short films, as well as TV adverts.
It was established 35 years ago after the success of 1984's anime Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.
One of the company's founders Hayao Miyazaki, came up with name Ghibli, an Italian noun based on the Libyan-Arabic name for the hot desert wind of that country, with the idea that Studio Ghibli would breathe new life into the anime industry.