There she becomes fascinated with a decrepit mansion and with Marnie, the astonishing girl who lives there.įor Anna, the summer becomes focused upon her blossoming friendship with Marnie, and with untangling the blurred line between reality and fantasy relating to that friendship. After a particularly harsh asthma attack, her adoptive mother decides to send her off for a summer to stay with relatives in the clean air of the countryside. Anna is an orphaned child, an asthmatic, and is a socially awkward, introverted loner. The 'tween' years can be difficult for most kids, but they are particularly difficult for Anna, the featured character in director Yonebashi Hiromasa's film 'When Marnie Was There'.
#WHEN MARNIE WAS THERE (DVD) SERIES#
Featuring a talented voice cast that includes Takatsuki Sara, Arimura Kasumi, Matsushima Nanako, Terajima Susumi and Hitomo Kuroki, When Marnie Was There signals a new generation of promising young talents in Japan's premier animation studio.Īn introvert who has trouble making friends at school, Anna (Takatsuki Sara) is sent to live with her grandparents in Hokkaido by her adopted mother after a series of asthma attacks. Transporting the plot from Norfolk to Hokkaido, Yonebashi creates a magical and elegantly designed world for his interpretation of this touching tale about a lonely girl who discovers true friendship for the first time with a girl who lives in a mysterious house.
Studio Ghibli and The Borrowers Arrietty director Yonebashi Hiromasa present an ageless tale of friendship that transcends space and time with When Marnie Was There, the adaptation of Joan G.