When Marnie Was There

The latest anime offering from Japan's eminent Studio Ghibli draws from a 1967 YA novel by U.K. author Joan Robinson, transplanting the plot to the Land of the Rising Sun. Withdrawn adolescent Anna Sasaki suffers from crippling asthma and has abandonment issues since her parents died. Her foster mother sends Anna to a coastal village with jovial relatives, but Anna's only real interest lies in a grand but forlornly empty mansion, the Marsh House, on the water's edge. But is it abandoned? Anna meets Marnie, an upper-class girl in old-fashioned dress who claims to live in the house, which suddenly blazes with light and features partygoers in elegant costumes from nearly a century ago. Although they are friends, Marnie won't leave the area to visit Anna, and nobody else seems to know about her. The paranormal angle is pretty obvious, although this is more of a gentle film focusing on moods and emotions rather than "gotcha" twists. Presented in separate dual-language DVD and Blu-ray editions, rated PG, extras include storyboards and behind-the scenes featurettes, including one with the English-dub cast members, who include Geena Davis, Catherine O'Hara, and John C. Reilly. Recommended. (C. Cassady)