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Ponyo poster

Movies that feel likePonyo (2008)

When Sosuke, a young boy who lives on a clifftop overlooking the sea, rescues a stranded goldfish named Ponyo, he discovers more than he bargained for. Ponyo is a curious, energetic young creature who yearns to be human, but even as she causes chaos around the house, her father, a powerful sorcerer, schemes to return Ponyo to the sea.

If you loved Ponyo, the closest films we have are My Neighbor Totoro (1988), Spirited Away (2001) and Kiki's Delivery Service (1989). All three share Ponyo's whimsical and dreamlike feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The Secret of Kells (2009).

🍅 91% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.6 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Hayao Miyazakiwhimsicaldreamlikewarmcozy
9 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max · Amazon Prime Video · Disney Plus

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If Ponyo hit the spot, these will too

My Neighbor Totoro poster
My Neighbor Totoro
1988 · dir. Hayao Miyazaki
🍅 94%★ 8.1fantasy · animation · familyMax

Both are Hayao Miyazaki's work, and they rhyme

The difference: Made in the 1980s, in a different era of the craft

Two sisters move to the country with their father in order to be closer to their hospitalized mother, and discover the surrounding trees are inhabited by Totoros, magical spirits of the forest. When the youngest runs away from home, the older sister seeks help from the spirits to find her.

Spirited Away poster
Spirited Away
2001 · dir. Hayao Miyazaki
🍅 96%★ 8.6animation · family · fantasyMax

Hayao Miyazaki working the same nerve twice

A young girl, Chihiro, becomes trapped in a strange new world of spirits. When her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free her family.

Kiki's Delivery Service poster
Kiki's Delivery Service
1989 · dir. Hayao Miyazaki
★ 7.8animation · family · fantasyMax

Both land whimsy and dream logic at once

A young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service.

The Secret of Kells poster
The Secret of Kells
2009 · dir. Tomm Moore
🍅 90%★ 7.5animation · family · fantasy

Warm and cozy in the same breath

Adventure awaits 12 year old Brendan who must fight Vikings and a serpent god to find a crystal and complete the legendary Book of Kells. In order to finish Brother Aiden's book, Brendan must overcome his deepest fears on a secret quest that will take him beyond the abbey walls and into the enchanted forest where dangerous mythical creatures hide. Will Brendan succeed in his quest?

Song of the Sea poster
Song of the Sea
2014 · dir. Tomm Moore
🍅 99%★ 8family · animation · fantasy

Both keep coming back to the same thing: fairy tale

The story of the last Seal Child’s journey home. After their mother’s disappearance, Ben and Saoirse are sent to live with Granny in the city. When they resolve to return to their home by the sea, their journey becomes a race against time as they are drawn into a world Ben knows only from his mother’s folktales. But this is no bedtime story; these fairy folk have been in our world far too long. It soon becomes clear to Ben that Saoirse is the key to their survival.

Princess Mononoke poster
Princess Mononoke
1997 · dir. Hayao Miyazaki
🍅 93%★ 8.3adventure · fantasy · animationMax

Animation built on whimsy, twice over

The difference: Trades the comfort of Ponyo for an angle of its own

Ashitaka, a prince of the disappearing Emishi people, is cursed by a demonized boar god and must journey to the west to find a cure. Along the way, he encounters San, a young human woman fighting to protect the forest, and Lady Eboshi, who is trying to destroy it. Ashitaka must find a way to bring balance to this conflict.

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole poster
🍅 52%★ 6.9animation · adventure · family

Fantasy with a pulse of dream logic, in both cases

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

When a young owl is abducted by an evil Owl army, he must escape with new-found friends and seek the legendary Guardians to stop the menace.

Howl's Moving Castle poster
Howl's Moving Castle
2004 · dir. Hayao Miyazaki
🍅 88%★ 8.2fantasy · animation · adventureMax

Common ground: anime

The difference: Takes it somewhere less warm than Ponyo does

Sophie, a young milliner, is turned into an elderly woman by a witch who enters her shop and curses her. She encounters a wizard named Howl and gets caught up in his resistance to fighting for the king.

Arrietty poster
Arrietty
2010 · dir. Hiromasa Yonebayashi
🍅 94%★ 7.6fantasy · animation · familyMax

Both are built on the same subject: anime

14-year-old Arrietty and the rest of the Clock family live in peaceful anonymity as they make their own home from items "borrowed" from the house's human inhabitants. However, life changes for the Clocks when a human boy discovers Arrietty.

The Book of Life poster
The Book of Life
2014 · dir. Jorge R. Gutierrez
🍅 82%★ 7.2animation · family · fantasyDisney+Peacock

Both lean on warmth more than on family

The journey of Manolo, a young man who is torn between fulfilling the expectations of his family and following his heart. Before choosing which path to follow, he embarks on an incredible adventure that spans fantastical worlds where he must face his greatest fears.

Kirikou and the Sorceress poster
Kirikou and the Sorceress
1998 · dir. Michel Ocelot
🍅 96%★ 7.5fantasy · adventure · animationPrime Video

Cozy animation in both cases

The difference: Sits closer to adventure than Ponyo does

Drawn from elements of West African folk tales, it depicts how a newborn boy, Kirikou, saves his village from the evil witch Karaba.

Epic poster
Epic
2013 · dir. Chris Wedge
🍅 65%★ 6.6animation · adventure · familyMax

Whimsical fantasy, and it commits to that

A teenager finds herself transported to a deep forest setting where a battle between the forces of good and the forces of evil is taking place. She bands together with a rag-tag group characters in order to save their world—and ours.

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The best-reviewed films that share Ponyo’s defining feeling.