Purposeful Ramblings Through My Mind

Arthur loves My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away, and has seen Kiki's Delivery Service as well, though seemed to find that one a bit less exciting (it didn't hold his attention all the way through, though I think it's charming!) We're waiting a bit on Mononoke as I recall it being slightly more violent than the others; I haven't seen Nausicaa, so don't know if he would like it or not. Howl's Moving Castle is also very good, though quite different from the book on which it's based. All of these films have female protagonists, none of the first three are princesses or of high status - the first two are basically ordinary middle-class Japanese girls who are put into unusual circumstances, while Kiki is a young witch-in-training, though in a modern-type setting rather than high fantasy. Sophie in Howl's Moving Castle is a middle-class girl who is magically transformed into an old woman for much of the movie.