All of Animator and Filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki’s Movies in Order (And Where To Watch Them)

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Hayao Miyazaki’s final title in his filmography, The Boy and the Heron, released in 2024 and won the prestigious Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Upon its initial release in Japan and subsequent global rollout, the film received overwhelmingly positive reviews upon both debuts and earned over $160 million at the worldwide box office.

It’s not surprising that the anime movie fared well, given Miyazaki’s illustrious career. He is considered one of the most remarkable storytellers and animators of our time. Miyazaki is often compared to Walt Disney due to his comparable contributions to animation. Miyazaki has been a force in the industry since the advent of color-animated feature filmmaking in Japan. He rose from humble beginnings as an animator to co-founding his own studio, Studio Ghibli, and gaining international recognition.

Miyazaki’s storytelling and animation techniques are largely unparalleled. Despite technological advancements, he has sworn off CGI and relies on hand-drawn animation. It’s a painstaking process that gives Miyazaki’s works an animation style and aesthetic that is wholly unique. His 2001 film, Spirited Away, was and is still the only hand-drawn animated film to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature.

Miyazaki’s animated films are also appealing because they reiterate that animation is not just for children. Many of his works, especially My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and Ponyo are perfectly suitable and enjoyable for children. However, they are so creative, imaginative, and filled with underlying themes and motifs that adults can also enjoy them. His recurring themes of environmentalism, love, loss, and self-discovery ensure audiences always have mature themes to analyze.

In addition to recurring themes and motifs, there are some recurring characters in Miyazaki’s work, too. This is why it is best to watch Miyazaki’s films in release order to capture the significance of recurring elements, as well as watch the evolution in his filmmaking. Here are all of his movies in order of release date.

Netflix
Amazon Prime Video
Disney Plus
Apple TV Plus
Apple TV
Hulu
Crunchyroll
fuboTV
Max
Max Amazon Channel
MGM Plus Amazon Channel
Crunchyroll Amazon Channel
Peacock
Kocowa
Amazon Video
Google Play Movies
YouTube
Paramount Plus
Paramount+ with Showtime
Paramount Plus Apple TV Channel
Starz Apple TV Channel
AMC Plus Apple TV Channel
Britbox Apple TV Channel
Paramount+ Amazon Channel
Discovery+ Amazon Channel
AMC+ Amazon Channel
The Roku Channel
Showtime Roku Premium Channel
Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel
Starz Roku Premium Channel
AMC+ Roku Premium Channel
Showtime Amazon Channel
AMC+
MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel
YouTube Premium
YouTube Free
The CW
Hoopla
CW Seed
Vudu
VUDU Free
Starz
Criterion Channel
PBS
FXNow
Pantaflix
Tubi TV
Kanopy
Comedy Central
Microsoft Store
Redbox
Sun Nxt
Crackle
AMC
AMC Theatres
Fandor
Curiosity Stream
NBC
MGM Plus
Freeform
History
A&E
Lifetime
Shudder
Screambox
Acorn TV
Sundance Now
Popcornflix
GuideDoc
BritBox
MUBI
Netflix Kids
Boomerang
Urban Movie Channel
History Vault
Yupp TV
Eros Now
MyOutdoorTV
WWE Network
Smithsonian Channel
Laugh Out Loud
Pure Flix
Boomerang Amazon Channel
PBS Kids Amazon Channel
Lifetime Movie Club
Cinemax Amazon Channel
Hallmark Movies Now Amazon Channel
PBS Masterpiece Amazon Channel
MZ Choice Amazon Channel
Viewster Amazon Channel
Spamflix
Pluto TV
HiDive
VIX
Night Flight Plus
Topic
MTV
Retrocrush
Classix
Dekkoo
Shout! Factory TV
Chai Flicks
OVID
Mhz Choice
Vice TV
Shudder Amazon Channel
MUBI Amazon Channel
AcornTV Amazon Channel
BritBox Amazon Channel
Fandor Amazon Channel
Screambox Amazon Channel
Sundance Now Amazon Channel
Adult Swim
USA Network
Fox
FlixFling
Bet+ Amazon Channel
Rakuten Viki
AMC on Demand
TCM
Bravo TV
TNT
Food Network
BBC America
IndieFlix
TLC
AHCTV
DIY Network
HGTV
Investigation Discovery
Science Channel
Destination America
Discovery Life
Animal Planet
Discovery
Motor Trend
Cooking Channel
Travel Channel
Paramount Network
Here TV
TV Land
VH1
Logo TV
DreamWorksTV Amazon Channel
Flix Premiere
TBS
AsianCrush
Revry
DOCSVILLE
Rooster Teeth
Spectrum On Demand
OXYGEN
Hi-YAH
tru TV
DisneyNOW
WeTV
ARROW
Plex
Plex Live TV
Plex Player
WOW Presents Plus
Magellan TV
BroadwayHD
The Oprah Winfrey Network
Filmzie
MovieSaints
Dogwoof On Demand
True Story
Martha Stewart TV
DocAlliance Films
KoreaOnDemand
Hoichoi
iQIYI
Metrograph
Freevee
Public Domain Movies
Kino Now
Cultpix
Eventive
FilmBox+
aha
ShortsTV Amazon Channel
Bet+
Takflix
Klassiki
Starz Amazon Channel
Netflix basic with Ads
Cohen Media Amazon Channel
Popflick
ViX Premium Amazon Channel
Runtime
Fandango
Telemundo
Discovery+
Reveel
Ovation TV
Angel Studios
Cineverse
AD tv
Midnight Pulp
FYI Network
Xumo Play
National Geographic
Atom Tickets
Shahid VIP
DistroTV
myfilmfriend
Cinemark
Outside Watch
Cinepolis USA
Full Moon Amazon Channel
Citytv
Univer Video
GlewedTV
Toon Goggles
Noggin Apple TV Channel
A&E Crime Central Apple TV Channel
Acorn TV Apple TV
ALLBLK Apple TV channel
UP Faith & Family Apple TV Channel
Topic Apple TV Channel
Tastemade Apple TV Channel
Sundance Now Apple TV Channel
Shudder Apple TV Channel
Showtime Apple TV Channel
ScreenPix Apple TV Channel
OUTtv Apple TV Channel
MotorTrend Apple TV channel
Lifetime Movie Club Apple TV Channel
Hallmark Movies Now Apple TV Channel
Eros Now Select Apple TV Channel
CuriosityStream Apple TV Channel
Cinemax Apple TV Channel
BBC Select Apple Tv channel
BET+  Apple TV channel
Carnegie Hall+ Apple TV Channel
IFC Films Unlimited Apple TV Channel
HISTORY Vault Apple TV Channel
HISTORY Vault Amazon Channel
Carnegie Hall+ Amazon Channel
Lifetime Movie Club Amazon Channel
Film Movement Plus
Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Troma NOW
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  1. Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro

    #1

    After a successful robbery leaves famed thief Lupin the Third and his partner Jigen with nothing but a large amount of expertly crafted counterfeit bills, he decides to track down the forgers responsible—and steal any other treasures he may find in the Castle of Cagliostro, including the 'damsel in distress' he finds imprisoned there.

  2. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

    #2

    After a global war, the seaside kingdom known as the Valley of the Wind remains one of the last strongholds on Earth untouched by a poisonous jungle and the powerful insects that guard it. Led by the courageous Princess Nausicaä, the people of the Valley engage in an epic struggle to restore the bond between humanity and Earth.

  3. Castle in the Sky

    Castle in the Sky

    1986

    IMDB 8.0 (182k)

    #3

    A young boy and a girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.

  4. My Neighbor Totoro

    My Neighbor Totoro

    1988

    IMDB 8.1 (380k)

    #4

    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.

  5. Kiki's Delivery Service

    #5

    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.

  6. Porco Rosso

    Porco Rosso

    1992

    IMDB 7.7 (102k)

    #6

    In Italy in the 1930s, sky pirates in biplanes terrorize wealthy cruise ships as they sail the Adriatic Sea. The only pilot brave enough to stop the scourge is the mysterious Porco Rosso, a former World War I flying ace who was somehow turned into a pig during the war. As he prepares to battle the pirate crew's American ace, Porco Rosso enlists the help of spunky girl mechanic Fio Piccolo and his longtime friend Madame Gina.

  7. Whisper of the Heart

    Whisper of the Heart

    1995

    IMDB 7.8 (72k)

    #7

    Shizuku lives a simple life, dominated by her love for stories and writing. One day she notices that all the library books she has have been previously checked out by the same person: 'Seiji Amasawa'.

  8. Princess Mononoke

    Princess Mononoke

    1997

    IMDB 8.3 (426k)

    #8

    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.

  9. Spirited Away

    Spirited Away

    2001

    IMDB 8.6 (850k)

    #9

    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.

  10. Howl's Moving Castle

    Howl's Moving Castle

    2004

    IMDB 8.2 (450k)

    #10

    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.

  11. Ponyo

    Ponyo

    2008

    IMDB 7.6 (163k)

    #11

    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.

  12. The Secret World of Arrietty

    #12

    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.

  13. From Up on Poppy Hill

    #13

    Yokohama, 1963. Japan is picking itself up from the devastation of World War II and preparing to host the 1964 Olympics—and the mood is one of both optimism and conflict as the young generation struggles to throw off the shackles of a troubled past. Against this backdrop of hope and change, a friendship begins to blossom between high school students Umi and Shun—but a buried secret from their past emerges to cast a shadow on the future and pull them apart.

  14. The Wind Rises

    The Wind Rises

    2013

    IMDB 7.8 (98k)

    #14

    A lifelong love of flight inspires Japanese aviation engineer Jiro Horikoshi, whose storied career includes the creation of the A-6M World War II fighter plane.

  15. The Boy and the Heron

    #15

    While the Second World War rages, the teenage Mahito, haunted by his mother's tragic death, is relocated from Tokyo to the serene rural home of his new stepmother Natsuko, a woman who bears a striking resemblance to the boy's mother. As he tries to adjust, this strange new world grows even stranger following the appearance of a persistent gray heron, who perplexes and bedevils Mahito, dubbing him the "long-awaited one."

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