Several Japanese animated features for young viewers from Studio Ghibli will be screened in the Los Angeles area this month.
Hayao Miyazaki’s “My Neighbor Totoro” (1988) and “Kiki’s Delivery Service” (1989) on Thursday, Feb. 15, at 7:30 p.m. at the Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood.
The beloved “My Neighbor Totoro” tells the story of young sisters who move near a vast forest where they encounter Totoro, a giant, lumbering, bunny-esque creature.
“Kiki’s Delivery Service” is the 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.
Info: www.americancinemathequecalendar.com/egyptian_theatre_events
Studio Ghibli films at Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica:
“Howl’s Moving Castle” (Miyazaki, 2004) on Friday, Feb. 16, at 7:30 p.m.
Average teen Sophie is swept off her feet by a handsome but mysterious wizard named Howl. Later, the young girl is cursed by the Witch of the Waste and finds refuge in Howl’s magical moving castle, where a dangerous war of sorcery is brewing.
“My Neighbor Totoro” on Saturday, Feb. 17, at 3 p.m.
“Nausica? of the Valley of the Wind” (Miyazaki, 1984) and “Castle in the Sky” (Miyazaki, 1986) on Feb. 17 at 7:30 p.m.
“Nausica? of the Valley of the Wind” is set a thousand years after a nuclear holocaust, when Princess Nausicaa must call upon the giant crustacean Ohmu to unite her people.
In “Castle in the Sky,” a young girl with a mysterious crystal pendant falls out of the sky and into the life of young Pazu. Together they search for a floating island in the sky.
“Spirited Away” (Miyazaki, 2001) on Sunday, Feb. 18, at 7:30 p.m.
This Academy Award-winning masterpiece was the biggest box office hit of all time in Japan and helped redefine the possibilities of animation. Wandering through an abandoned carnival site, 10-year-old Chichiro is separated from her parents and stumbles into a dreamlike spirit world, where she is put to work in a bathhouse for the gods.
“Porco Rosso” (Miyazaki, 1992) and “Whisper of the Heart” (Yoshifumi Kondo, 1995) on Thursday, Feb. 22, at 7:30 p.m.
“Porco Rosso” follows Marco, a world-weary WWI flying ace turned bounty hunter, whose head has been transformed into that of a pig by a curse.
“Whisper of the Heart” is a gentle coming-of-age drama about a shy student who meets a magical cat on a commuter bus and follows it to a strange boutique.
“Kiki’s Delivery Service” on Sunday, Feb. 25, at 3 p.m.
“Princess Mononoke” (Miyazaki, 1997) and “Pom Poko” (Isao Takahata, 1994) on Feb. 25 at 7:30 p.m.
“Princess Mononoke” is an epic story of conflict and balance between humans, gods and nature.
In “Pom Poko,” the forests are filled with groups of magical tanuki, mischievous raccoon-like animals who can shape-shift to practically any object.
Info: www.americancinemathequecalendar.com/aero_theatre_events
