Many of us know Ghibli movies such as Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Spirted Away, etc.

But how about original short films of Ghibli?

Short films of Ghibli are available only at Ghibli Museum in Tokyo.

Every time I visit Ghibli Museum, I watch the short films as well!

Here I’ll show you all the short films of Ghibli Musemu in order!

The Whale Hunt (くじらとり) (2001)

I think I’ve watched this “The Whale Hunt” 2 times before.

The original story is “くじらとり (The Whale Hunt)” from the classic picture book “いやいやえん (Iya Iya En)”.

This is the oldest film among short movies of Ghibli Museum.

Children in kindergarten make boat using building blocks and go hunting a whale.

Go hunting but peaceful story like you can imagine.

Koro’s Big Day Out (コロの大さんぽ) (2002)

“Koro’s Big Day Out” is the story of the puppy Koro that rushes out of the house to chase a girl Sawako who left for school.

Koro runs around and meets various people on the way.

The model of the town is Koganei-shi in Tokyo.

Art director Noboru Yoshida who directed Ponyo on the Cliff joined this work.

You can find the soft pastel colored animation like Ponyo on the Cliff.

Mei and the Baby Cat Bus (めいとこねこバス) (2002)

“Mei and the Baby Cat Bus” is the one of the two short films used the characters of ordinary Ghibli films.

Yes, My Neghbor Totoro!

Mei and cat bus are from My Neighbor Totoro, aren’t they.

There are even people who come to Ghibli Museum just to watch this short film.

This cat bus is not big.
It seems like a child cat bus.

House Hunting (やどさがし) (2006)

A girl Fuki sets out on a journey to look for a new house.

Big characteristic of “House Hunting” is there is almost no dialogue in the film.
All audio (music, sound effects, and dialogue) is expressed using only the human voice.

That’s interesting that even sound effects are expressed by human voice.

“The Wind Rises” is famous for this expressing sound with the human voice.

Its origin might have been here in this short film.

The Day I Bought a Star (星をかった日) (2006)

If you are a fan of “Howl’s Moving Castle”, you have to watch this film!

This “The Day I Bought a Star” is known as a side story of Howl’s Moving Castle.
It depicts Howl’s boyhood although the names and voice actors of the characters are different.

Nona meets a mysterious lady, Nina, in the desert and begins living in a cabin on her farm.

After making Howl’s Moving Castle, Hayao Miyazaki started working on this short film in 2006.

I noticed that voice actor of Nona was Ryunosuke Kamiki who played a role of main character in Godzilla Minus One.

Mon Mon the Water Spider (水グモもんもん) (2006)

“Mon Mon the Water Spider” is a love story of water spider and water strider.

One day, Mon Mon meets a water strider and falls in love.

I could see the plush of Mon Mon sold at a gift shop of Ghibli Museum.

You can see real water spiders swimming in the Inokashira Park Zoo nearby the Museum. 

A Sumo Wrestler’s Tail (ちゅうずもう) (2010)

Sumo of mouse wrestlers!

“A Sumo Wrestler’s Tail” was made based on the Japanese folk tale “ねずみのすもう(Sumo of Mouse)”

Only this short film is directed by Akihiko Yamashita, not Hayao Miyazaki.

Akihiko Yamashita had been in charge of key frame of Spirited Away.
Later, he was also selected as the lead animation director for “Howl’s Moving Castle.

You can enjoy an atmosphere of Japanese folk tail as well from this short film.

Mr. Dough and the Egg Princess (パン種とタマゴ姫) (2010)

This “Mr. Dough and the Egg Princess” was very interesting film.

Egg princess was working under a witch as a servant.
One day, when the egg princess making a bread, the dough suddenly comes to life.

The dough and the egg princess run away from the witch.

There was no conversation or line but just animation.
Still, watching the adventure of dough and the egg princess was very intersting.

The face and action of witch reminded me of Yubaba in Spirited Away.

Treasure Hunting (たからさがし) (2011)

This “Treasure Hunting” was made based on Japanese picture book “たからさがし(Treasure Hunting)”.

Main characters are Yuji, a small boy, and Gick, a rabbit.
They start competing with each other to decide who owns the stick which they found at the same time.

In the end, they decided to do a treasure hunt to determine the winner.

The animation looked like “The Whale Hunt”.

Hayao Miyazaki wanted to make animation that focusing on just walks and runs.

And then he made this.

You can enjoy the lively movements of the characters in this animation.

Boro the Caterpillar (毛虫のボロ) (2018)

“Boro the Caterpillar” is the latest short film although it was made in 2018.

I haven’t watched it yet and I really want to watch it.

The image looks cute.
This main character Boro is just 1 mm.
It was much smaller than I imagined.

This is the story of Boro that emerged from its egg in the grass before dawn.

You can enjoy the world from the eyes of very small caterpillar

Summary

Depends on the date, the original short film you can watch is different.

They change the short film every month.

I went to Ghibli Museum in August 2024 and the film was The Whale Hunt(くじらとり).
House Hunting(やどさがし) had already been scheduled for September and A Sumo Wrestler’s Tail(ちゅうずもう) for October.

Screen time of most of the films is between about 10 and 15 minutes.

If you are a fan of My Nighber Totoro, Mei and the Baby Cat Bus(めいとこねこバス) is recommended.
For a fan of Howl’s Moving Castle, I recommend The Day I Bought a Star (星をかった日).

You can check the movie you can see from the website of Ghibli Museum, so I recommend you to check the schedule before your visit.

Here in this official website, you can also check the details of each short films.
Ghibli Museum Mitaka Short Films

If you visit Ghibli Museum, don’t for get to buy souvenir!
I also summarized the popular souvenir here!
8 Popular Souvenir at Ghibli Museum Gift Shop 2019! Including Limited Items!

Tags: Ghibli Museum, List, Order, Short Films Author : Hiroshi80