This Is Not A Drill: A Tonne Of Studio Ghibli’s Best Films Are Coming To Netflix Very Soon

In a major coup for the streaming service, 21 of the best films made by legendary animation studio Studio Ghibli will be slowly released on Netflix from February 1 onwards.

Studio Ghibli, a Japanese production company co-founded by the beloved Hayao Miyazaki, have long been a hold-out in the streaming wars. For years, Miyazaki famously claimed that he was never going to let his films stream online. That’s meant in Australia, the only way to watch the classics was via their occasional showing on free-to-air television, or pricey boxsets.

But that’s all changing. Late last year, Ghibli allowed their films to be shown on HBO Max in the States. And now, Netflix will carry some of the studio’s most classic works in the UK and Australia.

Which Studio Ghibli Films Will Be Streaming?

The 21 Ghibli films will be released in phases. The first phase will drop on February 1, and will include the following films:

Castle in the Sky
My Neighbor Totoro
Kiki’s Delivery Service
Only Yesterday
Porco Rosso
Ocean Waves
Tales from Earthsea

The second phase will drop on March 1, and will include these films:

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
Princess Mononoke
My Neighbors the Yamadas 
Spirited Away
The Cat Returns
Arrietty
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya

And the third and final phase will drop on April 1, and will include the following:

Pom Poko
Whisper of the Heart 
Howl’s Moving Castle 
Ponyo 
From Up on Poppy Hill
The Wind Rises 
When Marnie Was There

That means most of the classic Ghibli films will be available to stream. In fact, the only major Miyazaki movie missing is The Castle of Cagliostro, his caper-filled debut.

But who could ever complain about such a minor omission? From March 1, you’ll have positively dozens of hours of classic animated content at your fingertips. That’s a very big deal.