Calendar
Studio Ghibli Film Retrospective
OMSI Studio Ghibli Retrospective: Eighteen Films over Eighteen Days
January 10- January 27
**Update: The January 15 Tuesday evening screening of My Neighbor Totoro will be presented in Japanese with English subtitles.
Over a period of nearly 30 years, Japan's Studio Ghibli established itself as perhaps the world's finest producer of animated motion pictures. With a reputation for lush visuals, attention to detail and epic storytelling, Studio Ghibli eschewed commercial success to create intelligent, poetic, often fanciful films that embrace family, community, and a deep concern for the environment and our relationship with nature.
In dedication to some of the most magical and beloved animated movies ever made, the Empirical Theater is pleased to host our fourth annual Studio Ghibli Retrospective from January 10 through January 27. On exhibit are eighteen films including such popular favorites as Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and Spirited Away.
Three selections are new to this year's Retrospective led by Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki a 2016 Japanese documentary recently released in the U.S. that covers Miyazaki's attempt to use CGI animation for the first time. Also in their Retrospective debuts are Isao Takahata's 1991 drama Only Yesterday – at once an ode to nature and an introspective tale of self-realization – and Miyazaki's 2013 historical biography The Wind Rises, the breathtakingly animated story of Japanese aviation engineer Jiro Horikoshi.
Please see below for a listing of Retrospective show times and language versions. The format for all film screenings is DCP.
Tickets
Ticket prices for each show are as follows:
$7 Adult / $6 Youth (3-13) & Senior (63+)
OMSI members receive $1 off
Tickets may be purchased online at omsi.edu, at the OMSI front desk, or by telephone at 503-797-4000.
Schedule
Thursday, January 10
6:30pm Grave of the Fireflies (Sub) : Introduction and Talk By Dr. Ken Ruoff, Professor of History and Director of the Center for Japanese Studies at Portland State University
9:15pm The Wind Rises (Sub)
Friday, January 11
7:00pm Whisper of the Heart (Dub)
9:15pm Princess Mononoke (Sub)
Saturday, January 12
4:00pm My Neighbor Totoro (Dub)
5:45pm Ponyo (Dub)
7:45pm Howl's Moving Castle (Sub)
10:00pm Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (Dub)
Sunday, January 13
4:00pm Kiki's Delivery Service (Dub)
6:00pm Spirited Away (Sub)
Tuesday, January 15
6:30pm My Neighbor Totoro (Sub): Introduction and Talk By Kristin Faurest, PhD, Director of the Portland Japanese Garden Training Center
9:15pm The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (Sub)
Thursday, January 17
6:30pm Only Yesterday (Dub)
8:30pm Porco Rosso (Sub)
Friday, January 18
7:30pm The Cat Returns (Dub)
9:00pm Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (Sub)
Saturday, January 19
5:00pm Kiki's Delivery Service (Dub)
7:00pm Princess Mononoke (Dub)
9:30pm Castle in the Sky (Dub)
Sunday, January 20
4:00pm My Neighbor Totoro (Dub)
5:45pm The Secret World of Arrietty (Dub)
7:30pm Howl's Moving Castle (Dub)
Monday, January 21
4:00pm Ponyo (Dub)
6:00pm Spirited Away (Dub)
Tuesday, January 22
6:30pm The Cat Returns (Sub): Introduction and Talk By Dr. Kristyn Vitale, Maddie’s Postdoctoral Scholar in the Human-Animal Interaction Lab at Oregon State University
9:00pm Pom Poko (Dub)
Thursday, January 24
6:30pm Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki (Sub): Introduction and Talk By Roland Gauthier, Executive Producer and Partner at Hinge
9:00pm Castle In The Sky (Sub)
Friday, January 25
7:30pm Porco Rosso (Dub)
9:30pm Howl's Moving Castle (Dub)
Saturday, January 26
5:00pm The Secret World of Arrietty (Dub)
7:00pm Spirited Away (Dub)
9:15pm Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (Dub)
Sunday, January 27
4:00pm My Neighbor Totoro (Dub)
6:00pm Princess Mononoke (Dub)
Presented by:
The Cat Returns
Fourth Annual Studio Ghibli Film Retrospective: Jan 10- Jan 27
Jan. 22 Screening Includes an Introduction by Kristyn Vitale, PhD., Maddie’s Postdoctoral Scholar in the Human-Animal Interaction Lab at Oregon State University.
6:30PM | Talk
7:30PM | Film Screening (Please note: There is a chance that the movie will start before 7:30PM if the lecture wraps up early)
A quiet suburban schoolgirl, Haru, is pitched into a fantastical feline world and must find her inner strength to make her way back home. Walking with her friend after a dreary day at school, Haru eyes a cat with a small gift box in its mouth attempting to cross a busy street. The cat fumbles the package in the middle of the road as a truck is rapidly bearing down. Haru manages to scoop the cat away to safety. To her amazement, the cat then gets up on its hind legs, brushes itself off, and thanks her very politely.
Strange behavior indeed, but this is nothing compared to what happens later that evening when the King of Cats shows up in a feline motorcade replete with vassals, maidens, and even Secret Service cats. In a show of gratitude for saving his son’s life, the king cat showers Haru with gifts – including a large supply of individually wrapped live mice – and decrees that she shall marry the cat prince and come to live as a princess in the secret Kingdom of Cats.
Directed by Hiroyuki Morita, The Cat Returns was originally envisioned as a short film for a Japanese theme park, a project later canceled. The movie was the second Studio Ghibli release to be directed by someone other than Hayao Miyazaki or Isao Takahata.
Duration: 75 mins. | Rating: G | Presented Jan.18 dubbed in English and Jan. 22 in Japanese with English subtitles
The Empirical Theater's Studio Ghibli Retrospective runs January 10 through January 27 and features a collection of some of the finest films from Japan's most renowned animation studio. Please call 503-797-4000 for more information.
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
Fourth Annual Studio Ghibli Film Retrospective: Jan 10- Jan 27
Technically not a Studio Ghibli film as it was released a year prior to the studio's founding, Nausicaä is considered by many to be Hayao Miyazaki's masterwork — and there are few films, animated or otherwise, of such sweeping scope and grandeur. Set in a devastated future world decimated by atmospheric poisons and swarming with gigantic insects, Nausicaä is the story of a young princess, both brave and innocent, whose love for all living things and passionate determination to understand the processes of nature lead her into terrible danger, sacrifice, and eventual triumph.
Like most Miyazaki films, there is neither good nor evil, but conflicting viewpoints, weaknesses, and power struggles. Throughout the film, his animation is awe-inspiring; the depiction of the poisoned forest in particular is a thing of transcendent beauty. Once the hallucinogenic strangeness of shape and color has been accepted, there is light, growth and life everywhere. Huge dragonfly-like creatures are accompanied by wonderful, evocative sounds of flight and movement. The lethal fungus plants glow, shimmer and shed spores like silent gleaming snowfalls. This is a film not to be missed.
Duration: 116 mins. | Rating: PG | Presented Jan. 12 & Jan 26 dubbed in English and Jan. 18 in Japanese with English subtitles
The Empirical Theater's Studio Film Retrospective runs January 10 through January 27 and features a collection of some of the finest films from Japan's most renowned animation studio. Please call 503-797-4000 for more information.
Kiki's Delivery Service
Fourth Annual Studio Ghibli Film Retrospective: Jan 10- Jan 27
From the legendary Hayao Miyazaki comes the beloved story of a resourceful young witch who uses her broom to create a delivery service, only to lose her gift of flight in a moment of self-doubt. It is tradition for all young witches to leave their families on the night of a full moon and set out into the wide world to learn their craft. When that night comes for Kiki, she embarks on her life journey with her chatty black cat, Jiji, landing the next morning in a sea-side village, where a bakery owner hires her to make deliveries.
Rarely has the animator’s art been so brilliantly rendered as in this delightfully imaginative film – a beautiful and timeless story of a young girl finding her way in the world.
Duration: 102 mins. | Rating: G | Presented Jan. 13 & Jan. 19 dubbed in English
The Empirical Theater's Studio Ghibli Film Retrospective runs January 10 through January 27 and features a collection of some of the finest films from Japan's most renowned animation studio. Please call 503-797-4000 for more information.
Princess Mononoke
Fourth Annual Studio Ghibli Film Retrospective: Jan 10- Jan 27
Princess Mononoke is a landmark of animation and a film of unsurpassed power and beauty. An epic story of conflict between humans, gods, and nature, the film has been universally acclaimed by critics and broke the box office record on its original release in Japan.
While defending his village from a demonic boar-god, the young warrior Ashitaka becomes afflicted with a curse that grants him super-human power in battle but will eventually take his life. Traveling west to find a cure or meet his destiny, he journeys deep into sacred depths of the Great Forest where he meets San (Princess Mononoke), a girl raised by wolf-gods who is waging battle against the human outpost of Iron Town, on the edge of the forest. The girl Mononoke is a force of nature – with blood smeared lips, riding bareback on a great white wolf, doing battle with both gods and humans, she is as iconic a figure as any from film, literature, or opera.
Duration: 134 mins. | Rating: PG-13 | Presented Jan. 11 in Japanese with English subtitles; Jan. 19 and Jan. 27 dubbed in English.
The Empirical Theater's Studio Ghibli Film Retrospective runs January 10 through January 27 and features a collection of some of the finest films from Japan's most renowned animation studio. Please call 503-797-4000 for more information.
Castle In The Sky
Fourth Annual Studio Ghibli Film Retrospective: Jan 10- Jan 27
A young girl with a mysterious crystal pendant falls out of the sky and into the arms and life of young Pazu. Together they search for a floating island in the sky, site of a long-dead civilization promising enormous wealth and power to those who can unlock its secrets.
Castle in the Sky is an early masterpiece of storytelling and filmmaking whose imaginative and ornately detailed vision presaged later films like Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away.
Duration: 124 mins. | Rating: PG | Presented Jan. 19 dubbed in English and Jan. 24 in Japanese with English subtitles.
The Empirical Theater's Studio Ghibli Retrospective runs January 10 through January 27 and features a collection of some of the finest films from Japan's most renowned animation studio. Please call 503-797-4000 for more information.
My Neighbor Totoro
Fourth Annual Studio Ghibli Film Retrospective: Jan 10- Jan 27
Jan.15 Screening Includes Introduction By Kristin Faurest, PhD, Director of the Portland Japanese Garden Training Center
6:30PM | Talk
7:30PM | Film Screening (Sub)
One of the most endearing and internationally renowned films of all time, a film that Roger Ebert called “one of the five best movies” ever made for children, My Neighbor Totoro is a deceptively simple tale of two girls, Satsuki and Mei, who move with their father to a new house in the countryside. They soon discover that the surrounding forests are home to a family of Totoros, gentle but powerful creatures who live in a huge and ancient camphor tree and are seen only by children. Based on Miyazaki’s own childhood imaginings, Totoros look like oversized pandas with bunny ears and they take the girls on spinning-top rides through the tree tops and introduce them to a furry, multi-pawed Catbus — a nod to Lewis Carroll’s Cheshire Cat.
But beneath the film’s playfulness and narrative simplicity lie depths of wisdom. As with much of Miyazaki’s work, at its core My Neighbor Totoro is about human-kind’s relationship to the Earth. The film is infused with an almost spiritual reverence for the power of nature (a philosophy tied to the ancient Shinto belief that every object in nature has a soul). Everything that surrounds us, from light-dappled tree groves, to the marvelous clouds, echoes the density and lusciousness of life. Protected by the Totoros, we know no harm will come to our two heroines in the forest’s sunlit glades and mysterious shadows. The girls may be awed by the power and majesty around them but they understand instinctively that nature has no malice. The viewer is left with a sense of wonder at the beauty, mystery and preciousness of the world all around us.
Duration: 86 mins. | Rating: G | Presented Jan. 12, Jan. 20 and Jan. 27 dubbed in English; Presented Jan. 15 in Japanese with English subtitles
The Empirical Theater's Studio Ghibli Film Retrospective runs January 10 through January 27 and features a collection of some of the finest films from Japan's most renowned animation studio. Please call 503-797-4000 for more information.
The Secret World of Arrietty
Fourth Annual Studio Ghibli Film Retrospective: Jan 10- Jan 27
Arrietty, a tiny, but tenacious 14-year-old, lives with her parents in the recesses of a suburban garden home, unbeknownst to the homeowner and her housekeeper. Like all little people, Arrietty remains hidden from view, except during occasional covert ventures beyond the floorboards to "borrow" scrap supplies like sugar cubes from her human hosts. But when 12-year-old Shawn, a human boy who comes to stay in the home, discovers his mysterious housemate one evening, a secret friendship blossoms. If discovered, their relationship could drive Arrietty's family from the home and straight into danger.
Based on The Borrowers by Mary Norton, this 2010 film was directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi and scripted by Hayao Miyazaki and Keiko Niwa. The year's highest grossing domestic release at the Japanese box office, it subsequently received the Animation of the Year award at the 34th Japan Academy Prize ceremony and achieved considerable international success.
Duration: 95 mins. | Rating: G | Presented Jan. 20 & Jan. 26 dubbed in English
The Empirical Theater's Studio Ghibli Film Retrospective runs January 10 through January 27 and features a collection of some of the finest films from Japan's most renowned animation studio. Please call 503-797-4000 for more information.
Howl's Moving Casle
Fourth Annual Studio Ghibli Film Retrospective: Jan 10- Jan 27
Sophie, an average teenage girl working in a hat shop, finds her life thrown into turmoil when she is literally swept off her feet by a handsome but mysterious wizard named Howl. But after this chance meeting, the young girl is turned into a 90-year old woman by the vain and conniving Witch of the Waste.
Embarking on an incredible adventure to lift the curse, she finds refuge in Howl’s magical moving castle. As the true power of Howl’s wizardry is revealed, and his relationship with Sophie deepens, our young grey heroine finds herself fighting to protect them both from a dangerous war of sorcery that threatens their world. Howl's Moving Castle was the second Studio Ghibli film to be nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards.
Duration: 114 mins. | Rating: PG | Presented Jan. 12 in Japanese with English subtitles and dubbed in English on Jan. 20 and Jan. 25.
The Empirical Theater's Studio Ghibli Film Retrospective runs January 10 through January 27 and features a collection of some of the finest films from Japan's most renowned animation studio. Please call 503-797-4000 for more information.
Ponyo
Fourth Annual Studio Ghibli Film Retrospective: Jan 10- Jan 27
Perfect for audiences of all ages, Ponyo centers on the friendship between five-year-old Sosuke and a magical goldfish named Ponyo, the young daughter of a sorcerer father and a sea-goddess mother. After a chance encounter, Ponyo yearns to become a human so she can be with Sosuke. As to be expected with Miyazaki, the film is awash in pure unbridled imagination and visual wonder — but it is the tender love, humor, and devotion exhibited by Ponyo and Sosuke that form the emotional heart of the film.
In 2009, the film was awarded with the 32nd Japan Academy Prize for both Animation of the Year and Outstanding Musical Achievement.
Duration: 101 mins. | Rating: G | Presented Jan. 12 & 21 dubbed in English
The Empirical Theater's Studio Ghibli Film Retrospective runs January 10 through January 27 and features a collection of some of the finest films from Japan's most renowned animation studio. Please call 503-797-4000 for more information.
Spirited Away
Fourth Annual Studio Ghibli Film Retrospective: Jan 10- Jan 27
Hayao Miyazaki’s Academy Award®-winning masterpiece Spirited Away was the biggest box office hit of all time in Japan and a film that helped redefine the possibilities of animation for American audiences and a generation of new filmmakers.
Wandering through an abandoned carnival site, ten-year-old Chichiro is separated from her parents and stumbles into a dream-like spirit world where she is put to work in a bathhouse for the gods, a place where all kinds of nonhuman beings come to refresh, relax and recharge. Here she encounters a vast menagerie of impossibly inventive characters — shape-shifting phantoms and spirits, some friendly, some less so — and must find the inner strength to outsmart her captors and return to her family. Combining Japanese mythology with Through the Looking Glass-type whimsy, Spirited Away cemented Miyazaki’s reputation as an icon of inspired animation and wondrous, lyrical storytelling.
Duration: 125 mins. | Rating: PG | Presented Jan. 13 in Japanese with English subtitles; Presented Jan. 21 & Jan. 26 dubbed in English
The Empirical Theater's Studio Ghibli Film Retrospective runs January 10 through January 27 and features a collection of some of the finest films from Japan's most renowned animation studio. Please call 503-797-4000 for more information.
Pom Poko
Fourth Annual Studio Ghibli Film Retrospective: Jan 10- Jan 27
In this brilliant and often overlooked Studio Ghibli masterpiece from Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Isao Takahata, the forests are filled with groups of magical tanuki, mischievous raccoon-like animals from Japanese folklore that are capable of shape-shifting from their standard raccoon form to practically any object.
The tanuki spend their days playing idly in the hillsides and squabbling over food – until the construction of a huge new Tokyo suburb clears the nearby forest and threatens their way of life. In an effort to defend their home, the tanuki learn to transform into humans and start playing tricks to make the workers think the construction site is haunted, ending in a spectacular night-time spirit parade, with thousands of ghosts, dragons and other magical creatures descending on the city — in an abundance of fantastical characters that would not be matched on screen by Studio Ghibli until Spirited Away.
Duration: 119 mins. | Rating: PG | Presented Jan. 22 dubbed in English
The Empirical Theater's Studio Ghibli Film Retrospective runs January 10 through January 27 and features a collection of some of the finest films from Japan's most renowned animation studio. Please call 503-797-4000 for more information.