Since the roll-out of Studio Ghibli films on Netflix and HBO Max this year, there’s been an explosion of Letterboxd activity around the famed studio’s films. Our Ghibli-loving guests couldn’t be happier. David Jenkins (Little White Lies), Tasha Robinson (Polygon) and Adam Kempenaar (Filmspotting) share their Ghibli obsessions and discuss whether to “sub or dub”. Letterboxd members phone in with their favs. Plus: Little White Lies turns 15.

Links

• David Jenkins’ review of My Neighbor Totoro
• Polygon’s best Studio Ghibli scenes survey
• @c0mmunicants’ Ghibli tweet
• The Official Letterboxd Top 250
• Letterboxd members’ top 20 favorite comfort films
• Adam’s daughter Sophie on Letterboxd
• Mami Sunada’s The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness
• Our Q&A with the hosts of Ghibliotheque

This episode was recorded in Chicago, London and Auckland and edited by Morgan Avery. Podcast artwork by Ann Davenport. Theme music is ‘Hitchcock’ by The Phoenix Foundation. Leave a voice message for Aneesh Chaganty, our next guest, or tell us the ‘so bad it’s good’ film you’ve been rewatching in isolation for an upcoming episode.

We recorded this episode as the news of George Floyd’s death by police brutality was emerging, and held it back in order to amplify Black voices and stories. Racism has no place on Letterboxd. Here are some ideas for activism; here are more; and more. We are donating all proceeds from screenings of Josephine Decker’s Shirley via our virtual screening link (available to US members only) to BIPOC film non-profit Firelight Media. Black Lives Matter.