When Marnie Was There
Promise we'll remain a secret, forever.
2014 • 103 min • Animation · Drama · Family
Synopsis
Upon being sent to live with relatives in the countryside due to an illness, an emotionally distant adolescent girl becomes obsessed with an abandoned mansion and infatuated with a girl who lives there - a girl who may or may not be real.
Our family guide
Best from age 8- 100 Reviewers · 3 · 53%
- 79 Audience · 2003 · 47%
Anna, a lonely and asthmatic girl, is sent to the countryside where she discovers an old mansion. There, she befriends the mysterious Marnie, leading to a summer of secrets, self-discovery, and understanding family ties. It's a beautiful tale of friendship and acceptance.
- Violence & peril
- 1/10
- Language
- 1/10
- Drinking, drugs & smoking
- 0/10
- Romance & sensuality
- 1/10
- Scary moments
- 2/10
Heads up
- Themes of loneliness and abandonment
- Emotional depth may be intense for some
- Discussions of illness and loss
What it models well
- Friendship and connection
- Self-acceptance
- Understanding family history
- Empathy and compassion
Talk about it after
- How does Anna’s perspective change throughout the film?
- What does it mean to be lonely or feel like an outsider?
- The power of imagination and memory.
- How can we show compassion to others and ourselves?
Written by the Movie Knight editorial team for When Marnie Was There. Our own words, our own scoring — always double-check against your family's standards.
Where to watch
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Top billed cast
Director: Hiromasa Yonebayashi • Crew: Masashi Ando, Keiko Niwa, Hiromasa Yonebayashi
Sara Takatsuki
Anna Sasaki (voice)
Kasumi Arimura
Marnie (voice)
Nanako Matsushima
Yoriko Sasaki (voice)
Susumu Terajima
Kiyomasa Oiwa (voice)
Toshie Negishi
Setsu Oiwa (voice)
Ryoko Moriyama
Elderly Lady (voice)
Kazuko Yoshiyuki
Nanny (voice)
Hitomi Kuroki
Hisako (voice)
Hiroyuki Morisaki
Art Teacher (voice)
Takuma Otoo
Neighborhood Association Officer (voice)
Trailers & clips
Reviewer notes
RecommendedI thought there something of the "Rapunzel" to this story. "Anna" is a frail twelve year old girl who has never quite fitted in, and who has been sent by her caring foster-mother from her home in the city to spend the summer in a quiet town by the sea in the hope that it may have some recuperative effect.…
RecommendedTrusted family reviewers> Some people're destined to meet the secret friend. From the director Hiromasa Yonebayashi of 'The Secret World of Arriety' fame. Based on the 1967 English novel of the same name and so the important characters borrowed the western names. This is what I call a fine adaptation, great transformation from the words to the motion picture.…
RecommendedTrusted family reviewersThis is a very beautiful animated film from Studio Ghibli, possibly the last one to com out of Studioe Ghibli for some time or last one ever. It is about Anna, a young girl that we learn has asthma and is feeling very alone. She is sent to relatives in the country to recuperate from severe sickness. Once there she meets another young girl, who is blond and also has beautiful blue eyes like Anna.…
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Details
- TMDB audience
- 7.9/10 (2,003)
- Age rating
- PG
- Status
- Released
- Box office
- $34,949,567
- IMDb
- tt3398268
