When Marnie Was There

 is a 2014 Japanese anime drama film written and directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, produced by Studio Ghibli for Nippon Television Network, Dentsu, Hakuhodo DYMP, Walt Disney Japan, Mitsubishi, Toho and KDDI and distributed by Toho. It is based on Joan G. Robinson's 1967 novel of the same name.
The film follows Anna Sasaki staying with her relatives in a town in Kushiro wetlands, Hokkaido. Anna comes across a nearby abandoned mansion, where she meets Marnie, a mysterious girl who asks her to promise to keep their secrets from everyone. As the summer progresses, Anna spends more time with Marnie, and eventually Anna learns the truth about her family and foster care.
It was the final film for Studio Ghibli, before it announced a short break after "The Tale of the Princess Kaguya", and the retirement of Hayao Miyazaki a year before the film was released. The film featured the final work for Studio Ghibli animator Makiko Futaki, who died in May 2016. It was also the final film that Yonebayashi directed for Ghibli before he left and joined Studio Ponoc. The film received positive reviews from critics, praising its animation, music, vocal performances, and emotional story. It was released in theatres on 19 July 2014, and on Blu-ray and DVD in Japan on 18 March 2015. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 88th Academy Awards.
Plot.
Anna Sasaki is a 12-year-old girl with low self-esteem living in Sapporo with foster parents, Yoriko and her husband. One day, she suffers an asthma attack at school. At the doctor's recommendation to send Anna to a place where the air is clean, her parents decide to have her spend summer break with Yoriko's relatives, Setsu and Kiyomasa Oiwa, who live in a rural seaside town located between Kushiro and Nemuro.
Anna investigates an abandoned mansion across a salt marsh. She finds it familiar but gets trapped by the rising tide until she is found by Toichi, an old fisherman. Anna starts dreaming of a blonde girl in the mansion. On the night of the Tanabata festival, she meets the girl, Marnie. The two agree to keep their meetings secret. At the mansion, Anna has visions of being back in the Oiwa house, implying that she is dreaming. Marnie invites Anna to a party at the mansion, where she sees Marnie dancing with a boy named Kazuhiko. Locals find Anna asleep outside, suggesting that the party was also a dream.
Anna meets Hisako, an older woman who paints. Hisako comments that Anna's sketches look like a girl whom she knew when she was young. A family moves into the mansion. During the move-in, Anna meets a girl named Sayaka, who gives her Marnie's diary that had been hidden in a drawer. Anna tells Marnie she found documents that show her foster parents are paid to take care of her. She makes the assumption that they only pretend to love her for the money, and says she can’t forgive her biological family for leaving her behind and dying. Marnie shares how her parents are always traveling abroad, and how she is left behind with her rude nanny. The maids bully her and threaten to lock her in the silo near the mansion. Anna leads Marnie to the silo to confront the latter’s fear of it. Marnie conquers her fear and Anna has a dream of Kazuhiko comforting Marnie.
Sayaka finds the missing pages from Marnie's diary, which include passages about Kazuhiko and the silo. She and her brother find Anna unconscious with a high fever. They bring her back to the Oiwas, where Anna dreams about confronting Marnie. Marnie says she is sorry for leaving her and that she cannot see Anna anymore. When Anna recovers, Hisako reveals Marnie's story: Marnie married Kazuhiko and they had a daughter named Emily, whom Marnie loved dearly due to years of loneliness and depression. Kazuhiko died from a sudden illness and Marnie committed herself to a sanatorium to cope with her loss. With no other family to care for her, Emily was sent to a boarding school. Marnie recovered but preteen Emily was resentful for her mother abandoning her. In her adulthood, Emily ran away from home and had a daughter herself, but she and her husband were killed in a car accident. Marnie raised her granddaughter, who was placed in foster care after her death.
At the end of the summer, Yoriko arrives to take Anna home and is delighted to see Anna having made new friends in Hisako, Toichi and Sayaka. She gives Anna a photograph of the mansion and says it belonged to Anna's grandmother. When Anna sees Marnie's name written on the back, she realizes that she is Emily's daughter and Marnie's granddaughter. This revelation brings closure about her identity. Yoriko tells Anna about the government payments, but reassures her that they have always loved her. For the first time, Anna calls Yoriko her mother.
During the end credits, Anna says goodbye to her friends and promises to visit again next summer, before seeing Marnie at the mansion window waving goodbye to her.
Production.
The original novel by Joan G. Robinson had previously been cited by Hayao Miyazaki as one of his favorite children's novels. Hiromasa Yonebayashi was assigned the project by Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki, who asked him to change the setting of the story to Japan. Yonebayashi found the story moving, but he "thought it would be very difficult to visualize as a film," and initially turned down the role. His interest was later renewed, however, and he began to conceive of new elements for the story, such as Anna's characterization as an artist. Although the setting was changed, the decision was made to retain Marnie's appearance as blonde and blue-eyed, though Miyazaki was opposed to this decision. He later criticized the usage of Marnie's character to promote the film, opining that it was "plain outdated and cheesy."
Yonebayashi intended the film to be encouraging to children in Japan who felt lonely and isolated, and hoped that "when they see Marnie, maybe they could take a little step forward". Key focus was placed upon highly detailed character movements and backgrounds, as well as depicting the details of Anna's experience in the environment. The Marsh House that is central to the story was designed by Yohei Taneda, who Yonebayashi asked "to draw the Marsh House as if it were another character who watches over Anna." Taneda scouted buildings in Hokkaido for inspiration.
Music.
When Marnie Was There Soundtrack Music Collection, known as in Japan, is a two-disc soundtrack and image song album that was released on CD in Japan and in 113 countries worldwide (including Japan) as a digital download on the iTunes Store on 16 July 2014. The first "Image Song" disc features music composed to express the personality of the characters and feel of places in the film. The second disc features all the background music for the film. Priscilla Ahn, the writer and performer of the movie's theme song, "Fine on the Outside", also released an accompanying album to the film called "Just Know That I Love You" on 16 July 2014.
Release.
"When Marnie Was There" was released in Japan on July 19, 2014. On 14 January, GKIDS announced that they would be distributing the film for a North American release on May 22, 2015. The film premièred at the New York International Children's Film Festival on 27 February 2015. The film had its UK premiere during the BFI London Film Festival on 10 October 2015 with a wider release scheduled for 10 June 2016.
The film was released on Blu-ray and DVD in Japan by Walt Disney Studios Japan on 18 March 2015, and released on Blu-ray and DVD in America by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment on October 6, 2015.
Reception.
Box office.
"When Marnie Was There" opened at third place, grossing during its opening weekend in Japan. By its fourth weekend, it had earned , made an additional in its next two weekends, and had a total of by its eighth weekend. By the end of 2014, the film had grossed () in Japan.
Overseas, the film sold 114,679 tickets in France, equivalent to approximately () in 2015. In North America, the film had grossed by its third weekend, and went on to gross $561,085 in the United States and Canada. In South Korea, it grossed () in 2015. The film grossed $763,191 in other territories, for a worldwide total of approximately .
Book sales.
Following the success of the film, Robinson's original novel experienced a boost in sales internationally. Her agent Caroline Sheldon sold the rights of the book to 10 countries, including Japan, Italy, Spain and China. The book was also re-released in English by HarperCollins Children's Books as part of its classics range.
Critical response.
"When Marnie Was There" received positive reviews. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 91%, based on 99 reviews, with an average rating of 7.47/10. The website's critical consensus reads, ""When Marnie Was There" is still blessed with enough visual and narrative beauty to recommend, even if it isn't quite as magical as Studio Ghibli's greatest works." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 72 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".