Netflix secures rights to stream 21 Studio Ghibli films in 2020

The collection includes 'Spirited Away', 'Kiki's Delivery Service' among others

For all Ghibli lovers and Spirited Away fans, turns out you can finally relive your childhood with Netflix in 2020. Turns out the streaming service has attained the international digital rights rights to carry 21 iconic Studio Ghibli animated films on the platform, according to Unilad.

“In this day and age, there are various great ways a film can reach audiences. We’ve listened to our fans and have made the definitive decision to stream our film catalogue. We hope people around the world will discover the world of Studio Ghibli through this experience,” said producer Toshio Suzuki at Studio Ghibli in a prepared statement.

The collection will be hit Netflix over the course of three months. On February 1, the following films will be added to the platform: Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Only Yesterday, Porco Rosso, Ocean Waves, and Tales From Earthsea.

On March 1, these movies will be added: Nausicaä Of The Valley Of The Wind, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbors The Yamadas, Spirited Away, The Cat Returns, Arrietty, and The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya.

And finally, on April 1, the following features will be added: Pom Poko, Whisper Of The Heart, Howl’s Moving Castle, Ponyo On The Cliff By The Sea, From Up On Poppy Hill, The Wind Rises, and When Marnie Was There.

The films will be available worldwide, except in the US, Canada and Japan, while being streamed in Japanese with sub-titles. Only one film is excluded from the deal – as with HBO Max, the absolutely harrowing Grave of the Fireflies won’t be available due to the fact the film was not produced by the studio’s parent company Tokuma Shoten, but by Shinchosha, the publisher of the original novel.

The decision is being celebrated by fans around the world, although the animation studio remained shy of  to giving rights to  digital platforms in the past. Studio Ghibli came back from a five-year hiatus in 2017 as co-founder Hayao Miyazaki stepped out of retirement (again) to work on what will allegedly be his final film, How Do I Live.

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