TIL that in January 2014, a seven-year-old girl named Charlotte Benjamin wrote a letter to Lego, pointing out the lack of female characters compared to male ones. A few months later, in June 2014, Lego introduced a “Research Institute” set showcasing female scientists, which quickly sold out.
Which is pretty funny when looking at Disney vs Ghibli movies because Ghibli actually does that while Disney just goes “Here’s a young adult princess, enjoy girls!”
Ghibli movies always appealed to me growing up because their female protagonists were very grounded, weren’t hyper-feminine to a comical degree, and actually did interesting things, like go on adventures. Their stories also did not focus solely on falling in love with a male character, and focused a lot on their unique internal struggles.
I would strongly suggest that anyone with a daughter give them the opportunity to see Ghibli movies. “Howl’s Moving Castle”, “Kiki’s Delivery Service”, “My Neighbor Totoro”, “Porco Rosso”, “Whisper of the Heart”, “The Cat Returns”, and “Castle in the Sky” were important to me in my formative years. Boys may like them, too! My son particularly loves “Porco Rosso”, “Ponyo”, and “Spirited Away.”
Definitely give your kids a chance to see them.
My son is obsessed with Kiki and Ponyo.