Director: Gorō Miyazaki
Class Superlative: Most School Spirit
In a Land of Pure Imagination Realistic Situations
It’s 1963 in the port town of Yokohama. With their school’s clubhouse, the Latin Quarter, being put up for demolition, Umi and Shun spearhead efforts to save the beloved institution. And, y’know, sparkage between Umi and Shun, plus Umi having to run the boarding house that she lives in.
Adorable Child Delicious Dish Alert
Y’all, Umi has COOKING SKILLS TO PAY THE BILLS. Studio Ghibli’s always made anime food look good, but it’s like they were on a mission to include as much food as possible this time.
Lovable Anthropomorphic Latin Quarter Sidekick
The Latin Quarter is full of quirky characters (like the Philosophy Club prez!), but none as prominent as Shirō, the student body president. Forget Shun; Shirō’s where it’s at! He even makes the proto-Biebs hair WORK. And just look how well he leans on things!
Wait, WTF?
I can’t reveal what this is without being super spoiler-y, but you’ll know it when it happens.* TRUST. (Spoiler below.)
*Even though it turns out to be just a scare.
Famous Voices
I actually watched the dub AND the sub! But I can only name-drop from the Disney dub, so.
- Sarah Bolger (Once Upon a Time) as Umi
- FYA Boyfriend Anton Yelchin as Shun
- Gillian Anderson as Umi’s grandma (and we thought she was too young for Miss Havisham)
- Jamie Lee Curtis as Umi’s mom
- Isabelle Fuhrman as Umi’s sister
- Aubrey Plaza as Hirokouji
- Christina Hendricks as Miki
- Chris Noth as Shun’s dad
- Ron Howard as the Philosophy Club president (couldn’t have identified him without those Arrested Development voiceovers!)
- Beau Bridges as Chief Director Tokumaru
- Bruce Dern as the ship captain
- Jeff Dunham as Gen
- Emilly Osment as Nobuko
- Fake Boyfriend candidate Ronan Farrow as the world history teacher
Class Superlative: Most School Spirit
I always love it when characters are just so deeply passionate towards their causes and hobbies, and Poppy Hill is no exception. The movie did lose me a little with a certain storyline, but I choose to remember it more for the enthusiasm that the kids had towards preserving their clubhouse, instead of other things.
Exploring the Studio Ghibli Vault
