When Marnie Was There's reviews
Media reviews
The Washington Post
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.
Cahiers du Cinéma
This is not so much by psychological subtlety of assault that shines the film, but by the lyrical impulse, which lies about everything: (...) a rise in the living sources of the affection.
Entertainment Weekly
The animation is dazzling.
Los Angeles Times
It deals with friendship, loneliness, abandonment and forgiveness, and though its curious narrative arc means you're never sure exactly where it's going, the film works up a considerable emotional charge by the end.
Variety
Yonebayashi?s open-hearted tale, more than any other Ghibli offering, could conceivably have worked just as well in live-action, and yet the tender story gains so much from the studio?s delicate, hand-crafted approach.
The Wrap
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.
New York Post
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.
The Hollywood Reporter
A beautifully animated tale
New York Times
The conclusion is rushed and poorly staged, yet the damp caul of loneliness that envelops the film?s early scenes feels moving and true.
Vulture
'When Marnie Was There' may start off a bit awkwardly, but it'll have you bathing in your own tears by the time it's over.