Ghibli films average 72 feelgood vs Marvel 60 and DC 52. Miyazaki has never made a film below 59 feelgood across 50 years. Wonder beats spectacle on the metric that matters.
We scored 200,000+ movies on how they make you feel. Not how good they are — how good they make you feel. It’s a different question, and it produces different answers.
When we filtered for franchises and studios, one name appeared at the top that shouldn’t surprise anyone who’s watched their films, and should surprise everyone who’s only seen box office numbers: Hayao Miyazaki‘s Studio Ghibli.
The Numbers: Ghibli vs Everyone
Ghibli doesn’t just lead. It leads by 12 points over Marvel. That’s not a margin of error — that’s a different category of emotional impact.
The reason becomes clear when you look at individual films:
My Neighbor Totoro — a movie about two girls who move to the countryside and befriend a forest spirit — scores 82 on feelgood. Avengers: Infinity War — a $2 billion grossing spectacle — scores 51. Infinity War is a great movie. It’s rated 8.24. But it doesn’t make you feel good. It makes you feel devastated. Totoro makes you feel like everything might be okay.
That’s the gap the data captures.
The Man Who Draws Worlds
Hayao Miyazaki was born on January 5, 1941, in Tokyo, during wartime. His family manufactured airplane parts for the Japanese military — a detail that would haunt his films for decades. The Wind Rises, his most personal work, is literally about a man who designs beautiful planes that become instruments of war.
He joined Toei Animation as an in-between artist — the lowest rung of animation. He drew frames that went between other people’s key frames. For years, he filled in the gaps of other people’s stories.
His break came with Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind in 1984. It was successful enough that he and Isao Takahata co-founded Studio Ghibli in 1985. The name comes from the Italian word for a hot Saharan wind — and from the Caproni Ca.309 Ghibli, a World War II reconnaissance aircraft. Even the studio name carries his obsession with flight.
What followed was the most consistent directorial career in film history. Nine major feature films over four decades. Every single one rated above 7.4. Every single one with a feelgood score above 59. No other director in our database of 200,000 movies matches that combination of critical quality and emotional warmth across that many films.
The Retirement That Never Sticks
Miyazaki has announced his retirement seven times. After Princess Mononoke (1997). After Spirited Away (2001). After Howl’s Moving Castle (2004). After Ponyo (2008). After The Wind Rises (2013). Each time, he came back.
His most recent film, The Boy and the Heron (2023), won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. He was 82 years old. He didn’t attend the ceremony. He was already drawing the next thing.
At 85, he is reportedly working on yet another project at Studio Ghibli. The man who keeps retiring keeps being unable to stop creating worlds that make people feel something real.
Why Ghibli Hits Different
Marvel movies are about conflict. The hero fights the villain. The world is in danger. The stakes are existential. You feel excitement, tension, relief. But not warmth.
Miyazaki’s films are about wonder. A girl discovers a bathhouse for spirits. A boy flies over a city with a pirate. Two children wait at a bus stop in the rain and a giant furry creature appears beside them.
The feelgood difference isn’t about quality — Marvel makes excellent films. It’s about emotional architecture. Ghibli films are designed to make you feel safe, curious, and gently amazed. Marvel films are designed to make you feel thrilled, worried, and satisfied. Both work. But only one makes you feel good.
The data across 200,000 films confirms what audiences have felt for decades: wonder creates warmth. Spectacle creates excitement. They’re not the same thing. And when you measure which one stays with people longer, wonder wins every time.