Guillermo del Toro names his favourite Studio Ghibli movie: “Something that very few filmmakers do”

In the realm of Spanish born director, Guillermo del Toro, his movies come as bilingual in whimsy as they are in their language, bridging horror, fantasy, comedy, and, of course, retaining a special pedestal for monsters. Forever incorporating the fictitious in his work, kneeling at the altar of his dreamed-up beings as they grant his audiences access to the utmost escapism, del Toro is aptly a lover of all things make believe, whether in the director’s chair or in the box office queue.

At the apex of the fictional category for many of us, Hayao Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli has won the hearts of viewers and fellow filmmakers globally. So, where one’s spindly Pinocchio remake is another’s feline companioned, Kiki’s Delivery Service, it’s always intriguing to discover the muses these minds look to. Especially when the influence permits one expert to bow down to another without competition.

Said to have been inspired cinematically since a young age, del Toro has arguably retained a childlike state of mind ever since, yielding a particular tap-in for epic fiction. After a rocky start with his debut picture, Omnivore, in the 1990s, which saw his production disrupted by vandals and put a stop to its release, de Toro soon honed his resilience in accepting a stint with Disney a while later.

Rising within the gothic category with films like Crimson Peak in 2015 and gaining further trajectory with more recent cinematic fairytale, The Shape of Water, his career has hence been built on his ability to thrill viewers with his open-mindedness, particularly to the otherworldly.

Comparatively, Japan’s central animation studio, Studio Ghibli, has also harnessed many feats in its animation portfolio, engendering the likes of colossal dragons, cat-shaped buses, and neighbourhood herons to permeate comfort viewing the world over, forming their own partnership with Disney in the 90s. Therefore, not many would disagree that del Toro’s own obsession with Miyazaki’s now 24-film-strong resume is wholly justified.

With the release of Ghibli’s latest anime picture, The Boy and the Heron, debuted last year, despite many utterances of resignation in the studio prior, its soaring popularity amongst fans came as no surprise, stirring mentions of the studio throughout the industry and posing apt timing for del Toro’s own cherishing inference.

Speaking to Collider, del Toro notes that Ghibli’s films “have such a recognisable seal. I think it’s good to start with My Neighbour Totoro because Miyazaki shows you something impossibly and painfully beautiful. This is something that very few filmmakers do”. In admiration, it becomes clear that the auteurs are not so dissimilar in their merging of darkness within otherwise light-hearted narratives. Therefore, while choosing Ghibli’s most famous film as his personal choice might come as a shock to some, he feels the movie is apt in its sensation.

Evidently, the fantasy category is addictive enough for Ghibli to continue their work almost four decades on from its inception, charting many progressions in the animation field, in which they decidedly stick to the illustrative format. So, maybe it’s this simplicity and trademark style in which del Toro has cemented his love. Either way, there is arguably nothing more inspiring than hearing the mind behind one classic film praise another in pure admiration, from Spanish fantasy to classic Eastern anime; master to master.

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