When Marnie Was There

"Promise we'll remain a secret, forever."

2014 1h 43m JA

🙌

7.9

BANGER

🔥

92%

CERTIFIED FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.6

IMDB

★7.9TMDB · 2,029🍅92%Rotten Tomatoes●72Metacritic★7.6IMDB · 54,089

AnimationDramaFamily

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“Promise we'll remain a secret, forever.”

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Cast

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)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Hiromasa Yonebayashi
Writers: Masashi Ando, Keiko Niwa, Hiromasa Yonebayashi
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 12 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, shot by Atsushi Okui. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Takatsugu Muramatsu. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Rie Matsubara shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Sara Takatsuki and Kasumi Arimura and Nanako Matsushima carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Promise we'll remain a secret, forever.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt3398268 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Hiromasa Yonebayashi directs. Atsushi Okui behind the camera. Takatsugu Muramatsu scores. Rie Matsubara cuts. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 12 years ago.
2Directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, shot by Atsushi Okui. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Takatsugu Muramatsu. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Rie Matsubara shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Sara Takatsuki and Kasumi Arimura and Nanako Matsushima carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "Promise we'll remain a secret, forever.".
7IMDB entry: tt3398268 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 9 themes, including "friendship", "based on novel or book", "imaginary friend", "flashback".
9Released under 15 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Atsushi Okui
Original score: Takatsugu Muramatsu
Editing: Rie Matsubara
Runtime: 103 min · 1h 43m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $34,949,567
Original language: JA
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: When Marnie Was There (2014)
Rotten Tomatoes: 92% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 72/100
IMDB rating: 7.6/10 · 54,089 votes
MPAA: PG

Awards

Nominated for 1 Oscar. 4 wins & 18 nominations total

CICFF Children's Jury Award for Best Animated Feature Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Hiromasa Yonebayashi

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Ewa Wiman2015-04-18
★ 10/10
This 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. Anna feels real connection to this girl. During the film we learn more and more about Anna and this young girl. It is a film that is both beautiful very well worth seeing.
Reno2015-06-16
★ 9/10
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. Actually, it suited for the narration from the standpoint of Japanese culture and lifestyle, especially for this anime version with the beautiful fictional coastal landscapes. Whenever I remember this film in the future, that Marsh house would be the first thing to pop out in my mind, an unforgettable landmark for sure. The movie promos were damp. The posters were not that impressive, but okay and the trailer was very ordinary. Studio Ghibli was the reason to go for it, so I expected nothing spectacular from the movie. Even while I was watching, I thought it was just an enjoyable mystery flick, but you know sometime the value of the whole movie comes at the end twist. Once the end was near my stance changed, especially after the hidden truth revelation. Some movies need a re-watch to terminate any doubts regarding characters and scenes. As for this movie, if your focus is straight, then it's does not require. Not a technical brilliance like the director's previous movie, but the story was strong and twisty. The characters were very interesting, suspense was the movie's influence for the audience to stick till the end. There is no loose end, certainly gives a few topics to discuss about, but the narration moves on a circular track and hits back like the boomerang. That does not mean it is a time travel or something. The narration bends and blends with the time. To realise what is real and what is not, you have to wait till the end. After seeing the film, I understood everyone's childhood memories could monopolize if we encounter same object, place, person and other things again in the later life. Yes, I had few minor experience in my life as well. The opening dialogue itself a hint of what kind of movie it is going to be. There are two prominent girls, Anna and Marnie in the story, like the Anna and Elsa from 'Frozen'. The narration flips on a regular basis to tell the multiple layered story. As this film was a puzzle in portrayal, obviously viewers try to solve it, including me. I tried my best. I thought Anna's childhood toy was something to do with all the fuss, but I was terribly wrong. That was a perfect divert if you observe it closely. In another perspective, I kept 'The Others' and 'The Orphanage' in mind, but was not even close to where this story was heading. Whether you succeed or not, very fun to solve a mystery, you know. Finally, it gave me full satisfaction like that indirectly I saw 'The Uninvited' once again. Feels like the Oscars was concluded yesterday, but I am already thinking about the next one. If I am not wrong this movie is definitely one of the contenders for the best animation race, along with 'The Good Dinosaur' probably. Absolutely, I would be disappointed if I don't see it in the final five. There is lots of time between now and then, so anything might happen, who knows. After all, this film has already won my little heart and millions of other's. I know no one can replace Mr. Miyazaki, but feels like Hiromasa Yonebayashi could come near if his future projects as much effective as his one. Best of luck to him and he's only a 41. But remember Isao Takahat is 80 and still in the race, yet to announce his retirement. And this film was very close to his 'Only Yesterday'. I love you more than any girl I've ever known. Studio Ghibli is like Disney Studio from the east. As we know, narrating a fairy tale having the tween girls in the lead is what they're famous for. The previous couple of movies were out of their trademark, so, happy they are back with this masterwork. At a same time I am very very very very sad, because it's their final movie after the 30 years of triumph. Since Hayao Miyazaki's retirement everything falling apart from the studio's management. They've given reasons and it is only a temporary, though hope the rise of 3D animation is not the one to halt the production, praying for the pause to be lifted soon. This film is not just passing through from this giant anime production house, but it is a masterpiece. As usual, it is a girly movie and that does not stop grownups, especially men from a watch. I loved it, everytime when I like a movie I express my desire for a sequel and so I did for this film. Though it was one time story with nothing left over for further development, possibly some new thing can be attached to it. Whatever happens this movie will remain as one of the best from the studio and can compete with any modern animations and live-shot masterworks. Highly recommended, not just for anime or animation fans, but for mystery and who love the layers in story narration. 9/10
CinemaSerf2026-08-04
★ 7/10
I 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. Whilst exploring one day, she encounters an home aptly named "Marsh House" inhabited by the mysterious and solitary "Marnie". Both are shy and reluctant to come out of their shells, but are equally intrigued by the other and so slowly a bond begins to establish between the pair. We know already something of "Anna" and her complicated past, but "Marnie" is much more enigmatic and as the story unfolds there becomes something more of the fairy tale to this blonde-locked girl looking from the window of her blue room. As her holiday continues, "Anna" determines to find out more about her new friend and in the process a discover a little more about herself and her own past. This probably isn't the most noted of the Ghibli films and for the first half, this rather delicately drawn animation rather ponderously meanders along, but once we pass the half way mark the story starts to gain momentum and the characters and the mystery deepen to present us with a more interesting hybrid of friendship and fantasy. The narrative delicately treads on the eggshells of both girls' loneliness and imagination without ever really committing to "Marnie" being a real girl or an imaginary friend in the vein of "Harvey" the rabbit. To add to the slightly muted but effective colours, there is a generous and often luxuriant score to accompany the quirkiness of the tale and despite the presence of plenty of clues as to just what is going to happen, there remains enough of a puzzle to keep us on tenterhooks until a conclusion that wasn't quite what I was anticipating. It's an effortless film to let wash over you and is well worth a look.