‘When Marnie Was There’, An Animated Studio Ghibli Film About a Troubled Girl and Her Unusual Friend

When Marnie Was There is an animated film by the legendary Studio Ghibli about a troubled girl and her unusual friend. The film, which was directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, is based on the novel of the same name by British author Joan G. Robinson. The English dub features the voices of Hailee Steinfeld, Kiernan Shipka, John C. Reilly, Vanessa Williams, Geena Davis, Kathy Bates, and more. Though it released in 2014 in Japan, When Marnie Was There is scheduled to premiere in North America on May 22, 2015.

Sent from her foster home in the city one summer to a sleepy town by the sea in Hokkaido, Anna dreams her days away among the marshes. She believes she’s outside the invisible magic circle to which most people belong – and shuts herself off from everyone around her, wearing her “ordinary face”. Anna never expected to meet a friend like Marnie, who does not judge Anna for being just what she is. But no sooner has Anna learned the loveliness of friendship than she begins to wonder about her newfound friend…

image via USA TODAY