Whenever anyone asks me what my favorite Miyazaki film is, I reply Spirited Away. I then quickly add that my favorite STUDIO GHIBLI film is Whispers of the Heart. Yup, that’s right. My favorite thing out of all the marvelous things Studio Ghibli has given us wasn’t touched by Miyazaki’s sainted hands (Not that he doesn’t deserve the status of saint-hooded-ness. Put the pitchforks down please). Whispers of the Heart isn’t flashy. There are no forest gods kicking around with young children, no mission for the greater good, and no message about society tucked away in the corners.

This is one of the rare shows aimed at children that even adults can enjoy. The story flows like a fairytale often following fairytale logic as well- probably because the whole theme of the show is ballet. It does a great job of showing the dreamlike stories and mythos of ballet, while often poking fun at the more ridiculous bits and at us for having to suspend our disbelief so often. They also use classic ballet songs as background music and do so very skillfully, while blending it wonderfully with the plot.