More Famous People Who Have Dubbed STUDIO GHIBLI Films

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We continue our round-up of famous people who have contributed to the English language dubs of Studio Ghibli films with the 2006 production, Tales Of Earthsea...

30. Timothy Dalton voiced Ged/Sparrowhawk (Tales Of Earthsea)
The one time James Bond, Timothy Dalton, provided the English voice for Ged/Sparrowhawk in Tales Of Earthsea. The famous, powerful, wise, and noble sorcerer of Earthsea, who is trying to solve the mystery on why the world's Balance in collapsing.

The film actually received a theatrical release in the UK as early as 2007, although the US premiere did not occur to 2010. In its American release, the film was rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for some violent images, making it the first and only animated film distributed by Disney to receive a PG-13 rating.

31. Willem Dafoe voiced Cob (Tales Of Earthsea)
Another great thespian and one time Jesus, in Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ, Willem Dafoe voiced Cob, the mananical warlock.

32 & 33. Anne Hathaway voiced Haru Yoshioka and Kristen Bell voiced Hiromi (The Cat Returns)
Future Catwoman, Anne Hathaway leads another impressive voice cast as Haru Yoshioka, the shy high school student who has a suppressed ability to talk with cats, in The Cat Returns.

Haru's best friend, Hiromi was voiced by Kristen Bell, she of The Good Place and Veronica Mars fame.

At 75 minutes, the 2001 Studio Ghibli production which was dubbed into English in 2005, is the shortest of their animated feature length films, but that didn't stop it from becoming the highest-grossing domestic film at the Japanese box office in 2002.

34. Tim Curry voiced The Cat King (The Cat Returns)
The Rocky Horror Picture Show star has enjoyed a 50 year long career on stage and screen, and in 2005 he lent his vocal talents to the role of The Cat King in The Cat Returns.

35. Tina Fey voiced Lisa (Ponyo)
It's original Japanese title, "Gake no Ue no Ponyo", translates as "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea" but it was just simply called Ponyo when it arrived in English speaking territories in 2009, one year after it's debut in Japan. The dub was once again directed by John Lasseter, Brad Lewis and Peter Sohn of Pixar, who gathered a huge array of vocal talent, including Tina '30 Rock' Fey as Lisa. Her husband, Kōichi, was voiced by...

36. Matt Damon voiced Kōichi (Ponyo)
The Bourne Identity star is among the many voices to be heard in Ponyo. The film itself holds the record of having the widest US theatrical release for any Studio Ghibli production, opening in 927 theaters across America (for comparison Spirited Away opened in 26 theaters, Howl's Moving Castle opened in 36 theaters, and Princess Mononoke opened in 38 theaters).

37. Cate Blanchette as Granmamare (Ponyo)
In the film Ponyo, Granmamare is the most powerful creature in the world. Voiced by Cate Blanchette, she of The Lord Of The Rings & the Hobbit trilogy, she is the mother to Ponyo and the wife to Fujimoto - who happens to be voiced by...

38. Liam Neeson voiced Fujimoto (Ponyo) 
Like Cate Blanchette, Liam Neeson has won Academy Awards, and Golden Globe awards. Unlike Ms Blanchette, he's starred in the Taken trilogy of films and played Qui-Gon Jin in The Phantom Menace, and here he is joining the list of famous people who have lent their voices to Studio Ghibli characters, dubbing Fujimoto in Ponyo.

39. Betty White voiced Yoshie (Ponyo)
The distinctive voice of Golden Girl Betty White can be heard as Yoshie, one of Senior Center inhabitants in 2008's film Ponyo.

From golden days to salad days. At least that's what the college years are supposed to be...

40. Aubrey Plaza voiced Sachiko Hirokouji (From Up On Poppy Hill)
In a perfect piece of casting, Aubrey Plaza, of Parks And Recreation fame, provides the voice of
Sachiko Hirokouji, the young art college student who "needs food", in the 2013 dub of the 2011 picture, From Up On Poppy Hill.

41 & 42. Joseph Gordon-Levitt voiced Jiro Horikoshi, and Emily Blunt voiced Naoko Satomi (The Wind Rises)
2013's The Wind Rises was the highest grossing film in Japan of the year. The fictionalized biopic of Jiro Horikoshi, designer of the Mitsubishi A5M fighter aircraft and its successor, the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, used by the Empire of Japan during World War II, was the final film directed by Miyazaki before his retirement in September 2013.

It's been called "Perhaps the greatest animated film ever made", and it certainly assembled one heck of an impressive voice cast for its English language release, including Inception and A River Runs Thrrough It star Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Jiro, and A Quiet Place and Mary Poppins Returns star Emily Blunt as Satomi.

Blunt's real life husband is also featured...

43. John Krasinski voiced Kiro Honjo (The Wind Rises)
Clearly upset as Joseph Gordon-Levitt is snogging his wife! The ex-Office alum turned Jack Ryan can also be heard in The Wind Rises as Kiro Honjo.

44. Martin Short voiced Mr. Kurokawa (The Wind Rises)
One more from The Wind Rises for you, and its comedian Martin Short who voiced the diminutive leader of a group of airplane designers Mr. Kurokawa in The Wind Rises.

The Wind Rises also featured Darren Criss as the voice of Katayama, he returned to take a larger role in the next Studio Ghibli dub...

45. Darren Criss voiced Sutemaru (The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya)
Darren Criss is well known for starring as Blane on the television series Glee and received Emmy and Golden Globe acting awards for his leading role as spree killer Andrew Cunanan in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. He has also appeared on Broadway and in film and has released several recordings as a soloist and in a band, and found time to contribute his vocal talents to two Studio Ghibli roles; Katayama, as mentioned above, and Sutemaru in The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya.

His friend, the Princess, was dubbed by...

46. Chloe Grace Moretz voiced Princess Kaguya (The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya)
Released in 2013 and based on the anonymous literary tale The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, at a budget of US$49.3million The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya is the most expensive Japanese film as of 2020.

Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 87th Academy Awards, among the vocal cast of the English dub version is the former Hit-Girl and The 5th Wave star Chloe Grace Moretz as the titular Princess Kaguya.

47. Lucy Liu voiced Lady Sagami (The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya)
Ally McBeal, Elementary, Kill Bill and Charlie's Angels are all on Lucy Liu's acting resume, as is voicing Lady Sagami in The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya.

48. John C. Reilly voiced Kiyomasa Oiwa (When Marnie Was There)
Released in 2014, When Marnie Was There was the final film for Studio Ghibli before it took a break, after the retirement of Hayao Miyazaki a year before. The film also featured the final work for Studio Ghibli animator Makiko Futaki, who sadly died in May 2016.

Released in it's English version in 2015, the vocal cast included Wreck-It-Ralph and Talladega Nights star John C. Reilly as Kiyomasa Oiwa.

49. Geena Davis voiced Yoriko Sasaki (When Marnie Was There)
Geena Davis has lent her vocal talents to Studio Ghibli, voicing Yoriko Sasaki in When Marnie Was There. You'll know Davis from Beetlejuice, The Fly, Best In Show, Thelma and Louise, and her own short lived sitcom from the early noughties.

Although When Marnie Was There marks the last film for Studio Ghibli to date, we've bounced around the production and release schedule during this compilation of voice actors, and I've deliberately saved this next 2010 film for last...

50. Saoirse Ronan voiced Arietty (Arietty)
Arietty, based on The Borrowers by Mary Norton, received two different English language dubs - a British dub distributed and released by StudioCanal in the United Kingdom on July 29th 2011, and an American dub released by Walt Disney Pictures in North America on February 17th 2012 under the title of The Secret World Of Arietty. Both casts are notable and both have their merits, although I'd say that the British one just has the edge, featuring Brooklyn and Little Women star Saoirse Ronan in the title role.

51. Tom Holland voiced Sho (Arietty)
Years before his spider-sense started tingling and he joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a young Tom Holland provided the voice for the sick child Sho in the British dub of Arietty.

52 & 53. Olivia Colman and Amy Poehler voiced Homily (Arietty)
This is an interesting one. Arietty's mother, Homily, was dubbed by Olivia "she's in everything" Colman for the British release, and Amy 'Parks & Recreation' Poehler for the American version. Both do a great job in their own ways, and it's hard to pick between the two here.

As is this next duo of voice actors playing Homily's husband...

54 & 55. Mark Strong and Will Arnett voiced Pod (Arietty)
You will, of course, know Mark Strong from The Kingsmen films, and Will Arnett is well known for his role as Gob in Arrested Development and as the voice of LEGO: Batman. Both dubbed Arietty's father Pod in the British and American versions respectively.

Strong has a great, calming fatherly voice, but Arnett's is so distinctive that, again, both work well and it's hard to pick a favourite performance.

Arnett was, at the time, married to Amy Poehler, who as we saw above voiced Pod's wife in Arietty, which is a nice bit of trivia to finish this round-up of famous people who have voiced Studio Ghibli characters.

Unless, of course, you can name more? Let us know in the comments below.

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