Up until I was eight, my dad traveled frequently for work, often for weeks at a time. Once, after a long trip to Japan, he returned with a couple of animated movies on VHS: My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki’s Delivery Service. Even though I couldn’t understand the dialogue, I watched them repeatedly and reveled in the worlds created by Hayao Miyazaki.
I shared them with my friends and even rewound the cassettes to catch the trailer featuring a dreamy floating castle (I now know this trailer was for Laputa). The characters and art have stuck with me ever since. After three cross-country moves, I can still look to Kiki for support in being a young woman of color figuring out how to make it on her own.
A year ago I was again given the gift of Miyazaki’s work, and this time I became the proud owner of the amazing Studio Ghibli Movie Collection.
Sixteen brilliant and beautiful films, many of which I had once attempted to download and subtitle in a dimly-lit dorm room (to little success), were now legally in my possession. This was clearly cause for celebration, so I invited various friends over for a Studio Ghibli Movie Marathon. For the occasion I created an unofficial Studio Ghibli Bingo card, which I now give to you.
Did I miss something? Add your own boxes in the comments.
