Are Studio Ghibli Movies Streaming On Netflix? Here's How To Watch Them Online

There are many animation studios in Japan, but few have reached the same level of success and widespread renown as Studio Ghibli, which has released some of the greatest animated movies of all time. These include the likes of "Howl's Moving Castle," "My Neighbor Totoro," and "Spirited Away," which won the Academy Award for best animated feature in 2003 – one of many awards the studio has received since it was founded by legendary Japanese animation director Hayao Miyazaki.

It took some time for Studio Ghibli  to become well-known outside of Japan, but as its popularity rose exponentially over the years, fans in the United States began watching the company's movies. Initially, this was done on VHS and other physical media, before the films became available on streaming services.

These days, nearly all of Studio Ghibli's many movies are available on Max, with just one streaming on Netflix due to an exclusive licensing deal. Netflix also holds the rights to stream all of the company's films outside the U.S., Canada, and Japan. Licensing rights change every so often, but for now, here's where you can watch all of Studio Ghibli's films in North America as of 2025.

The only Studio Ghibli movie you'll find on Netflix currently in North America is "Grave of the Fireflies," and that's due to the fact that the film's distributor is Shinchosha Publishing, not Studio Ghibli, though it is indeed a Ghibli movie.

Shinchosha Publishing owned the rights to the story the film is based on and hired the animation studio to produce it in the mid-1980s. The rights then went to Sentai Filmworks, but have since reverted to the original owner, which inked a deal with Netflix to stream the film worldwide. 

One of the saddest movies ever made, it's a devastating story about two children trying to survive in World War II-ravaged Japan. The ending of "Grave of the Fireflies" alone is one of the bleakest in animation history. All of Studio Ghibli's films have heavy themes and messages, but the one about kids trying to survive the deadliest conflict in human history will undoubtedly leave you puffy-eyed. Despite it being animated, nothing is held back.

Warner Bros. Discovery has owned the rights to every other Studio Ghibli film except "Grave of the Fireflies" since 2020. That's when the company signed a licensing deal with GKids, the U.S. distributor of Studio Ghibli's movies, to stream them in the States. Before that deal was signed, the only way to see a Ghibli film in the U.S. was to purchase it or catch it in the theater. That changed in November 2020, with Warner Bros. Discovery reupping the agreement in March 2024 for several years.

The details of the deal haven't been made public, but Warner Bros. Discovery — which has removed a lot of other animation from its Max platform — clearly considers the studio's movies to be a hot property it doesn't want to relinquish. As a result, Max will be the U.S.'s streaming home for 21 Studio Ghibli films for the foreseeable future, as well as two behind-the-scenes documentaries about director Hayao Miyazaki.

If you're new to Ghibli's films, you may be wondering about the best way to watch them. Since the movies aren't connected narratively, you can watch them in any order you wish. You can begin with a classic like "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind" or "My Neighbor Totoro," or dive into newer fare like "Ponyo" or "The Boy and the Heron." Whatever you choose, you can't go wrong, as Studio Ghibli has something for everyone.