Blending fantasy with coming-of-age tropes, Whisper is a deeply empathetic film, a great example of how even when they were dealing in human nature, the people at Ghibli could find magic.
Fans of this movie are probably singing “Country Roads” about now. The classic tune plays a major role in this 1995 coming-of-age tale that was actually the first Ghibli production not helmed by Miyazaki or Takahata. Yoshifumi Kondō took duties for what would be his only film before his death in 1998. It’s a more straightforward story than the movies for which Ghibli is most famous, centering on a 14-year-old named Shizuku who becomes fascinated with her image of a boy who happened to check out the same books she did from the library. Blending fantasy with coming-of-age tropes, Whisper is a deeply empathetic film, a great example of how even when they were dealing in human nature, the people at Ghibli could find magic. It doesn’t talk down to its audience, presenting Shizuku as a more complex young teenager than even some other Ghibli movies tend to do. It treats its subject respectfully and gracefully, which is why it’s developed such a loyal following over the years. One has to wonder how Kondō would have shaped animation if he hadn’t been taken by an aneurysm at such a young age.