When Marnie Was There

Name: When Marnie Was There
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Animation, Family
Released: May 22, 2015
Duration: 103 min
Rating: 72
Cast: Kasumi Arimura, Nanako Matsushima, Sara Takatsuki, Susumu Terajima, Toshie Negishi

2015

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 22 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 129 Ratings

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7.9

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7.9	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 129 Ratings

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When Marnie Was There

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Movie Details & Credits

GKIDS | Release Date: May 22, 2015 | PG

Starring: Kasumi Arimura, Nanako Matsushima, Sara Takatsuki, Susumu Terajima, Toshie Negishi

Summary: Sent from her foster home in the city one summer to a sleepy town by the sea in Hokkaido, Anna dreams her days away among the marshes. She believes she’s outside the invisible magic circle to which most people belong – and shuts herself off from everyone around her, wearing her “ordinary face”. Anna never expected to meet a friend likeSent from her foster home in the city one summer to a sleepy town by the sea in Hokkaido, Anna dreams her days away among the marshes. She believes she’s outside the invisible magic circle to which most people belong – and shuts herself off from everyone around her, wearing her “ordinary face”. Anna never expected to meet a friend like Marnie, who does not judge Anna for being just what she is. But no sooner has Anna learned the loveliness of friendship than she begins to wonder about her newfound friend. [GKIDS]… Expand

Director: Hiromasa Yonebayashi

Genre(s): Drama, Mystery, Animation, Family

Rating: PG

Runtime: 103 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Michael O'Sullivan

Jun 11, 2015

There is a quality of enchantment to When Marnie Was There that can’t be faked, and that the studio behind this animated feature is justifiably famous for. Read full review

Tasha Robinson

May 21, 2015

It’s a quiet film of modest narrative ambitions and simple shifts. But its technical and visual ambitions couldn’t be higher. It’s as if Ghibli is still trying to raise its own bar, so that even if it’s going out, it’s reminding viewers what they’d be missing. Read full review

Philip Kemp

Jun 6, 2016

A gentle tale, tinged with melancholy told with all the loving attention to detail you expect from Studio Ghibli. Read full review

Sara Stewart

May 20, 2015

Subtle, sometimes really sad and honest about the struggles of adolescence, Marnie is a worthy last entry from Ghibli before the studio reportedly goes on hiatus. Read full review

Alonso Duralde

May 27, 2015

It’s not the predictability that’s disappointing as much as the pat resolutions and emotional fixes provided to Anna. If you’re going to set up a young character who’s this complicated and in this much pain, you owe her a similarly complex catharsis. Read full review

Kerry Lengel

Jun 4, 2015

There are no princesses, monsters or castles in the sky, but that doesn't mean there is no magic. Read full review

Joe Neumaier

May 21, 2015

Director Hiromasa Yonebayashi did a wonderful job adapting “The Borrowers” into “The Secret World of Arriety.” But this slow-moving film, also from a book, tends to plod rather than float. Read full review

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User Reviews

ztuxilef

Apr 3, 2020

This movie is beautiful
This movie is heartwarming This movie is (and i hate to say this word) relatable
This movie is soooo well written This may not reach the same level of creativity or world building that a miyasaki or takahata movie would but it doesn’t need that because it touches youThis movie is beautiful
This movie is heartwarming This movie is (and i hate to say this word) relatable
This movie is soooo well written This may not reach the same level of creativity or world building that a miyasaki or takahata movie would but it doesn’t need that because it touches you in a way that not even some of miyasakis best works never could.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Futuredirector

Feb 20, 2017

When Marnie was there is an intense, magnifecently animated and surprisingly impressive film that carries the audience to a wonderful world full of charm and drama.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

GentM2015

Jun 19, 2015

A really good and magical animated movie.A film for children that is mature,and also very important for kids to see because it teaches a lot.The animation is beautiful,it has a good mystery and some very good messages.I would say it is one of the best Studio Ghibli's film ever.

6 of 8 users found this helpful62

killerofdeth

Dec 10, 2016

I really liked this movie as it was an experience from start to end. It was a very fulfilling movie as the art was great as expected from Studio Ghibli. The story at the start and end was very interesting but the middle part was only ok. The parts with Anna and Marnie were great but thereI really liked this movie as it was an experience from start to end. It was a very fulfilling movie as the art was great as expected from Studio Ghibli. The story at the start and end was very interesting but the middle part was only ok. The parts with Anna and Marnie were great but there were sometimes I got confused. There are some side character but they show up once or are in a side plot that is not resolved or built upon till the end and it is over in a few sentences and one character who knows something is only given a little to explain at the very end. Anna has some development and she does grow a little bit but I felt like most of it happened at the end. In total even though there are some things that I don't like I still think that it is a great movie and the ending really makes it for me since all of the mystery's and side plots are resolved at the end. I feel like they should have made it a little longer to go more in depth about everything. But it is an experience that I do not regret watching. If you can go see this movie then I would recommend it.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

RandUm801eee

Sep 13, 2022

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Remember the episode of Futurama where Fry becomes his own grandfather?

I was thinking of that during When Marnie Was There, the heartwarming incest romance about a depressed 12-year-old who is cured by her queerbaiting grandma.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Iky009

Sep 16, 2015

Can not show the same breath the charm of the previous films of Ghibli even more so shows the quality of the studio as a whole, even if the plot is not as lush, but still yes is good.

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

Broyax

Jun 13, 2017

Double dose de grenadine bien sirupeuse ici accompagnée d'une eau de rose concentrée pour ces "Souvenirs de Marnie" qui brassent en vrac et dans le désordre le désarroi d'une petite ado, les atermoiements des mômes adoptés et le désoeuvrement d'autres mouflets délaissés par leurs parentsDouble dose de grenadine bien sirupeuse ici accompagnée d'une eau de rose concentrée pour ces "Souvenirs de Marnie" qui brassent en vrac et dans le désordre le désarroi d'une petite ado, les atermoiements des mômes adoptés et le désoeuvrement d'autres mouflets délaissés par leurs parents bourgeois. En somme, tout un programme bien moralisateur et donneur de leçons à la petite semaine.

Tout cela est enrobé dans un mélange foutraque de poésie (c'est poétique, t'entends ?) et d'onirisme qui confine à la maladie mentale caractéristique des "mondes imaginaires" de jeunes schizophrènes qui se découvrent "médiums" et en contact avec des évènements passés et des personnes trépassées : je suis sûr que la petite ado ferait un malheur avec un guéridon.

Couche après couche, le film en rajoute (même pas peur !) jusqu'à l'indigestion de niaiserie même pour les plus aguerris. La musique dégoulinante se fait le chantre de toute cette chienlit dont le scénario casse-gueule bringuebalant et tellement tiré par les cheveux t'arrache le scalp direct.

Techniquement, c'est très soigné et très lumineux (toute cette poésie, c'est dingue...) et seule l'animation marque sévèrement le pas, très boîteuse. Mais dieux du ciel, quelle purge que ces "souvenirs" ! j'en ai pas digéré mes corn-flakes du coup : ça le fait pas trop avec la grenadine.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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