Natalie Portman Reveals Her Favorite Studio Ghibli Movie

At the Toronto International Film Festival this year, Natalie Portman sat down with Collider alongside filmmaker Ugo Bienvenu to talk about his new animated movie Arco. Portman is not only one of the producers of the film, but she also voices a character in the English dub.

Arco tells the story of a 10-year-old boy who breaks the rules to try out time travel before he’s old enough. He ends up stuck in the year 2075, a future where climate change has forced people to live inside domes and rely on androids to survive.

There, he meets a girl named Iris, and the two of them face natural disasters while trying to get him back home. The movie gives a magical twist to the idea of time travel, showing rainbows not as tricks of light but as travelers carrying lost information from the future.

The English cast features some big names, including Natalie Portman, Will Ferrell, America Ferrera, Mark Ruffalo, Flea, and Andy Samberg.

While talking with Collider’s Steve Weintraub, Portman was asked about her favorite Studio Ghibli movie. She answered simply: “I think probably Spirited Away.”

Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away came out in 2001 and is one of the most beloved films from Studio Ghibli. It tells the story of a girl named Chihiro who wanders into a world of spirits and has to find a way to rescue her parents after they are turned into pigs.

The movie became a huge hit around the world and won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, making history as the first hand-drawn, non-English animated film to ever do so.

Portman and Bienvenu also spoke about the importance of protecting the heart of Arco and respecting audiences. Beyond that, Portman reflected on moments from her own career, including her famous comedy sketch with The Lonely Island on Saturday Night Live. She also mentioned she has new projects on the way, like The Gallerist with Jenna Ortega and Lena Dunham’s Good Sex.

The interview shows how much passion both Portman and Bienvenu have for Arco and how the film mixes wonder, adventure, and concern for the planet in a unique way. And for Portman, when it comes to Studio Ghibli, Spirited Away is the one that stands out the most.

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