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When Marnie Was There
When Marnie Was There “A young orphaned Japanese girl,
  a loner with attitude who lives with her
  foster mother, believes she is not loved
  and wanted when she discovers her
  guardian is being paid to look after her;
  but she overcomes her difficulties in
  a magical way when she has an asthma
  attack and is sent to live in the country
  in the delightful Studio Ghibli animation
  When Marnie Was There...”

 LONELY AND UNABLE TO MAKE FRIENDS, orphaned Anna (voice of Hailee Steinfeld) is convinced that she is ugly and unlovable and when she finds out that her foster mother Yoriko Sasaki (voice of Geena Davis) is being paid by the government to look after her she becomes even more distant and withdrawn.

In her desperation, the artistic and gifted Anna sees that she is outside an "invisible magic circle" and cannot reach those in the rest of the world. She is sullen and protective of herself; silently calling out for love and reassurance while being unable to relate to those who offer friendship. She sees herself as stupid, unpleasant and hateful.

“Always charming
and stunningly beautiful,
Studio Ghibli creations
hold a magical power.
When Marnie Was There
follows those traditions
with its riveting
storytelling of a young
girl who finds herself
and learns to love
the person that she is
seen through the eyes of
one who loves her
unconditionally...”
Having suffered an asthma attack, Anna is ambivalent about the doctor and Yoriko's suggestion that she should go to stay with family in Koshiro in the country. Anna never allows her emotions to show and pays little attention to the journey to the chaotic home of Satsu (Grey Griffin) and Kiyomas Oing (John C Reilly).

However, once there Anna finds the Oings to be kind and caring; having a daughter of their own who is now a Yoga instructor in Tokyo. As they pass an old tower, they tell Anna that it is part of an old farm that is no longer used and is supposed to be haunted.

While out walking she sees an abandoned house across the bay and as the tide is out she can walk over to it. She feels strangely drawn to the elegant building, which she sketches, and discovers it has been empty for a long time.

The old marsh house soon begins to haunt Anna's dreams; she sees a young girl at the window and when she wakes up the following day she meets an artist, Hisako (Vanessa Williams), who befriends the girl.

Seeing a rowing boat, Anna tries to teach herself to row so that she can get across to the house again; but when she gets into difficulties the young girl she saw at the window of the supposedly empty mansion, the mysterious Marnie (voice of Kiernan Shipka), appears and the two girls form a strong bond of friendship based on the love and trust Anna had mistakenly thought she'd lost with the death of her parents and also her grandmother. That Marnie is left by her parents in the care of a governess Nan and the servants, who sometimes treat her badly, only endears her all the more to Anna.

Sharing Marnie's life and becoming her "precious secret" leads Anna into a magical world of fantasy that seems so real that she begins to find her true self again. The truth means far more to Anna than she could ever imagine in the amazing and eerily beautiful When Marnie Was Here.

Adapted from the beloved British children's classic by Joan G Robinson, When Marnie Was There has been transported from the setting of the Norfolk coast to seaside Japan thus exploiting the studio's affection of European influence and storytelling and its traditional fondness for nature and the environment. With the moonlit seascapes, powerful drama, haunting orchestral score and mysterious figures, this is Ghibli Gothic at its best.

Always charming and stunningly beautiful, Studio Ghibli creations hold a magical power. When Marnie Was There follows those traditions with its riveting storytelling of a young girl who finds herself and learns to love the person that she is seen through the eyes of one who loves her unconditionally.

When Marnie Was There also features the voices of: Ava Acres as Sayaka; Raini Rodriguez as Nobuko; Kathy Bates as Mrs Kadoya; Ellen Burstyn as Nan; and Catherine O'Hara as the Older Woman.

Music is by Takatsugu Muramatsu; Producer is Yoshiaki Nishimura; and Directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi (The Secret World of Arrietty).

* STUDIOCANAL's UK Home Entertainment release of Studio Ghibli's celebrated anime When Marnie Was There, is released on Blu-ray and DVD in the UK on 3 October 2016.

Extras: Behind The Scenes with the English voice cast | The Making Of When Marnie Was There | Yohei Taneda creates the Art of When Marnie Was There | Original Japanese Trailers and Television spots | UK Trailers.

"Always charming and stunningly beautiful, Studio Ghibli creations hold a magical power. When Marnie Was There follows those traditions with its riveting storytelling of a young girl who finds herself and learns to love the person that she is seen through the eyes of one who loves her unconditionally" — Maggie Woods

"A film of extraordinary tenderness and beauty… It makes the whole world seem brighter… ****" — The Telegraph

"A must-see… Japan's answer to Frozen ****" — Metro