Princess Mononoke

Princess Mononoke is considered to be the remake of Miyazaki's earlier film, Nausicaa. I must say, it equally matches (and at some parts, surpasses) its predecessor. Although in both films, the characters learn to understand one another, Princess Mononoke's understanding leads to a bit more uncertainty. The ending of the film is definitly less of a joyful one as Princess Mononoke is not considered to be that much of a hero as Nausicaa is in her story.
Also, Princess Mononoke does not contain the same level of epicness as Nausicaa does, mainly because the latter is set in a post-apocalyptic world, while the former is set in a pre-industrialized world. Both films, however, contain enormous beings of destructable power.
This does not mean that Princess Mononoke is less of a film, or less entertaining than Nausicaa. On the contrary, I find Princess Mononoke to be a bit more enjoyable, mainly because of its contemporary style, fuller characters (Princess Mononoke shows more of her personality than Nausicaa does), and unsure ending. Nausicaa is much more similar to contemporary Hollywood cinema in that there is a legend, and the hero becomes the savior and everyone lives happily ever after. What's great about Princess Mononoke is that it follows anime/Miyazaki's style with a more floaty ending. It is difficult to side with any of the groups in conflict; they all have their faults. Therefore, in the end, instead of everyone winning, it's more like everyone going back to their own lives, trying to be more cautious of the other groups.
One of the main things that makes Princess Mononoke better than Nausicaa is that while Nausicaa is on the side of her people of the valley, Princess Mononoke is on the side of nature and the forrest. Nausicaa has less of a connection with the forrest and the insects (she is an outsider) compared to Princess Mononoke, who practically was raised by the wolves and grew up in the forrest. The different angle which the main character comes from strengthens the equality of the triangle conflict. Therefore, nature has a much more stronger siding in Princess Mononoke.
Animation, music, and story of this film makes it a must see out of Miyazaki's works.

9.0

Porco Rosso

I have to admit, Porco Rosso was one of Miyazaki's films that I've never heard of before. This is quite surprising actually, considering how entertaining it is and that it's one of my favorites. I really enjoy how Miyazaki contains groups that are considered to be "bad guys," like the pirates, in both Porco Rosso and Castle in the Sky, and show them having honor and "nice guy" personalities. It's a really interesting contradiction that makes the film fun to watch. It really reminds me of my favorite manga, One Piece, by Eiichiro Oda, which is also about pirates, but the main crew are good nature pirates. I wouldn't be surprised if Oda was a fan of Miyazaki while he was growing up.
Porco Rosso and Kiki's Delivery Service are both similar in the way how both the main characters of the film are generally accepted by the other characters despite their obvious differences. Onlookers aren't that shocked to see Kiki flying on her broomstick and everyone seems fine with Marco's pig-like appearance. It is pretty interesting how we, the viewers, accept these fanstastic phenomenons just by seeing how the other characters react to them.
Miyazaki's endings are hugely different from mainstream Hollywood films in that your not sure what really happens. Did Marco and Gina get together in the end? Or are they still living their lives as how they were before? This uncertainty that Miyazaki gives us, in my opinion, allows us to become more engaged in the film and feel more connected with the characters. We are given the opportunity to speculate how the story ends, hence, be a part of the film.

9.0

Kiki's Delivery Service

Yet again, another young, little girl with short hair. It seems as though Miyazaki has a fetish; but wait, this time, the girl has both parents, not only alive, but well too. This caught my attention as soon as Kiki's mother mentions the father. I thought that the radio was important to Kiki because maybe the father left it for her when he died, so I was really shocked to see she has a dad.
Miyazaki's characters are always independent, so it was only natural to see Kiki fly off to another town on her own. Even if it's only for a year, I find it hard to image a 13 year old girl moving to a completely new area and taking care of herself. The fact that Kiki is separated from her parents makes her similar to Miyazaki's other heroines, who have to fend for themselves. However, I must say that the inclusion of parents makes the film a much more reassuring and happy experience.
And I must say, this is one of my favorite Miyazaki films (which includes Howl's) mainly because it's one of the most feel good stories. There is no real conflict like in Nausicaa, which leaves for an easy viewing. Even though Jiji ends up not talking at the end, it's still reassuring, because cats aren't supposed to talk in the first place. Also, Kiki becomes generally accepted in her new town and gains a close relationship with Tombo. Jiji not being able to talk with Kiki also shows the maturity level that Kiki gains over the course of the film. + maturity = + assurance
And this film was released only 5 days after I was born!!

9.2