When Marnie Was There (2015)
91%RT Audience Score: 88%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
4 wins & 18 nominations total
When Marnie Was There is still blessed with enough visual and narrative beauty to recommend, even if it isn’t quite as magical as Studio Ghibli’s greatest works.
When Marnie Was There is like a beautiful watercolor painting come to life, with stunning animation and a touching story about the power of friendship. The relationship between Anna and Marnie is both heartwarming and mysterious, and the film’s exploration of memory and self-worth is poignant. Plus, the way the natural and spirit worlds blend together is pure Studio Ghibli magic. It may not have the grand scope of some of their other films, but it’s a lovely and emotional journey that will leave you feeling both happy and sad.
Production Company(ies)
Universal International Pictures,,
Distributor
GKIDS
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG for thematic elements and smoking
Year of Release
2015
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:DTS Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 43m
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Language(s):Japanese
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Country of origin:Japan
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): May 22, 2015 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 6, 2015
Genre(s)
Drama/Fantasy
Keyword(s)
starring Hailee Steinfeld, Kathy Bates, Mila Brener, Ellen Burstyn, Geena Davis, Grey DeLisle, directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, written by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, Keiko Niwa, Masashi Ando, drama, fantasy, anime, PG rating, Yoshiaki Nishimura, Koji Hoshino, box office gross $314.3K, reviewed by Tara Brady, Wendy Ide, Leslie Felperin, Geoffrey Macnab, Peter Bradshaw, Dan Jolin, Michael J Casey, Allen Almachar, Fiona Underhill, Katie Smith-Wong, Daniel Barnes, Rachel Wagner, 91% Tomatometer, 88% audience score, When Marnie Was There, Studio Ghibli, Hailee Steinfeld as Anna, Kathy Bates as Mrs Kadoya, Mila Brener as Young Hisako, Ellen Burstyn as Elderly Lady, Geena Davis as Yoriko Sasaki, Grey DeLisle as Setsu Oiwa, abandoned villa, mysterious blonde girl, adolescence, friendship, past, present, smoking, Japanese language, GKIDS
Worldwide gross: $34,949,567
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $43,626,438
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,398
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 4,757,518
US/Canada gross: $561,085
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $700,385
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,257
US/Canada opening weekend: $27,388
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $34,188
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,338
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Kathy Bates – Mrs. Kadoya (Voice)
Mila Brener – Young Hisako (Voice)
Ellen Burstyn – Elderly Lady (Voice)
Geena Davis – Yoriko Sasaki (Voice)
Grey DeLisle – Setsu Oiwa (Voice)
Director(s)
Hiromasa Yonebayashi
Writer(s)
Hiromasa Yonebayashi, Keiko Niwa, Masashi Ando
Producer(s)
Yoshiaki Nishimura, Koji Hoshino
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
4 wins & 18 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (100) | Top Critics (36) | Fresh (91) | Rotten (9)
The quasi-Sapphic intensity of Anna and Marnie’s relationship – recalling Ghost World or a benign Heavenly Creatures – is poetically and sensitively handled.
August 9, 2016 | Rating: 4/5
Tara Brady
Irish Times
TOP CRITIC
While Marnie lacks the densely mystical, immersive quality of Ghibli at its best, the film features characteristically exquisite hand-drawn animation and a sensitivity to the precarious, friable quality in an adolescent girl’s self-worth.
June 12, 2016 | Rating: 4/5
Wendy Ide
Observer (UK)
TOP CRITIC
The painterly, old-school aesthetic brings an aptly nostalgic feel to this examination of how the past can haunt the present and the rapturous intensity of young friendship.
June 9, 2016 | Rating: 3/5
Leslie Felperin
Radio Times
TOP CRITIC
The film has a mournful delicacy and sense of mystery about it which counterbalances its sentimentality.
June 9, 2016 | Rating: 4/5
Geoffrey Macnab
Independent (UK)
TOP CRITIC
The gentle, unforced charm of the animation feels like the very best of book illustration come to miraculous life, but with a strong, almost Hitchcockian streak of excitement and danger.
June 9, 2016 | Rating: 4/5
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
An intimate, emotional journey, which may lack the scope and scale of previous Ghibli adventures, but remains a bittersweet sayonara for the studio.
June 9, 2016 | Rating: 4/5
Dan Jolin
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Does what Ghibli has always done, and done so well: Address the cruel twists and turns life can take.
September 15, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Michael J. Casey
Michael J. Cinema
It’s amazing how [Studio Ghibli] can so easily tap into the wonder and awe of young people.
July 15, 2020 | Rating: B
Allen Almachar
The MacGuffin
There is a pervading sense of melancholy in this film, but you cannot help but be swept up in its stunning beauty. It is a totally immersive experience, like dipping your head into a watercolour painting and swimming about in it for two hours.
July 1, 2020 | Rating: 8.5/10
Fiona Underhill
JumpCut Online
Overall, When Marnie Was There is lovely to watch but it fails to provide the celebratory ending that Studio Ghibli deserves after 30 years of animation.
November 18, 2019 | Rating: 3/5
Katie Smith-Wong
Flick Feast
The most Ghibli-esque touch here is the way that the natural and spirit worlds easily commingle, like overlapping cels in the same frame.
April 19, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
Daniel Barnes
Dare Daniel
The mystery surprised me at times and kept a brisk pace.
April 15, 2019 | Rating: B+
Rachel Wagner
rachelsreviews.net…
Plot
A 12-year-old girl is sent to the country for health reasons, where she meets an unlikely friend in the form of Marnie, a young girl with long, flowing blonde hair. As the friendship unravels it is possible that Marnie has closer ties to the protagonist than we might expect.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Ellen Burstyn provides the voice for the elderly lady character in the film.
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