Poppy Hill” is beautiful, but more dull than expected. It would be nice to see Goro Miyazaki engage in stories that actually resonate with him, rather than to follow his father’s script (or footsteps).

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | May 25, 2022

It might not be one of the most well-regarded or well-produced of the studio's films, but it's a high point in Gorō's career and one of the final brushstrokes in his father's, and that's more than enough to justify a visit to Poppy Hill.

Full Review | Jul 17, 2021

Though From Up On Poppy Hill lacks the magic or pure emotion of some of Ghibli's finest work, Goro's sophomore feature still stands as a testament to why hand drawn animation should never perish in the face of digital wizardry.

Full Review | Nov 12, 2020

It's a sweet, simple movie about likable people growing up and figuring out who they are.

Full Review | Original Score: B+ | Mar 13, 2019

Accompanied by a joyous, honky-tonk score from Satoshi Takebe and earnestly voiced by its leads, this is a perfectly rendered world that quietly throbs with sadness and thrums with modern progress.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 27, 2019

This 1960s-set melodrama carries such deep currents of emotion and so much affection for its sweet-natured characters, that by the end I was pretty sure it would rank among my two or three favorites from the studio.

Full Review | Jul 2, 2018

The atmosphere is so potent, so rich and distinct that it overshadows the meagerness of the story which is really little more than a kitschy soap opera.

Full Review | Aug 17, 2017

A rather mediocre film...And yet, even with all of its faults, I still find myself oddly swept up in its familial drama.

Full Review | Original Score: C+ | May 25, 2014

If this Ghibli creation is smaller in scale than many of the company's films, it certainly doesn't lack for heart or soul. I was swept away in it.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 2, 2014

There are no real villains in this story. All the people are basically good and they try to do the right thing. The artwork is beautiful and the film also has considerable emotional power.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Dec 17, 2013

The story will undoubtedly appear slow moving and uneventful to those used to the pizzazz of Pixar, but allow the richly detailed hand-drawn animation to work its charms and the film's mood of gentle nostalgia proves surprisingly moving.

Full Review | Sep 23, 2013

A lovely Japanese hand-drawn animated film with a female heroine.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 5, 2013

It's really hard to go wrong with a Studio Ghibli film, and From Up on Poppy Hill is no exception. It may not be their very best work, but it's still good work, full of charm and fun.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Sep 3, 2013

The magic is found in the everyday details of domestic life.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Aug 22, 2013

A gently lyrical diversion for Ghibli die-hards ... a gentle snooze for others.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 12, 2013

It's a lively, touching story, full of sadness and optimism, drawn with an unaffected simplicity.

Full Review | Aug 4, 2013

An interesting way of tackling everything from understanding parentage to the atomic bomb which devastated Nagasaki.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 2, 2013

From Up On Poppy Hill finds Goro Miyazaki sitting much more comfortably in the director's chair, but fans of Studio Ghibli's fantasy epics may find this fanciful delight to be lacking the familiar magic.

Full Review | Aug 2, 2013

Beautifully precise architectural sketches, endearingly warm nostalgia, gentle teen romance and genuine intrigue.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Aug 2, 2013

It ... arrives with the vast reserves of patience, optimism and artistry we've come to expect from this studio.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 1, 2013