Name : Sherilyn Connelly / Alias : Village Voice
With the retirement of producer Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli has put production on hold; When Marnie Was There may well be its last feature film. If so, it's a strong note to leave on.

Name : Molly Eichel / Alias : Philadelphia Inquirer
While not a masterpiece, it is beautiful, nonetheless.

Name : Sara Stewart / Alias : New York Post
Subtle, sometimes really sad and honest about the struggles of adolescence, "Marnie" is a worthy last entry from Ghibli before the studio reportedly goes on hiatus.

Name : Peter Keough / Alias : Boston Globe
Yonebayashi has touched on the greater mystery underlying everyday life, a world pulsing with wonder and possibility, edged with a shadow of melancholy.

Name : Michael O'Sullivan / Alias : Washington Post
It's a kid's movie that grown-ups will like. As Marnie does on Anna, the movie casts a spell.

Name : Andrew O'Hehir / Alias : Salon.com
There are moments of hushed magic here, of moonlit, seaside and tree-shadowed visual poetry, that rival anything Ghibli has ever created.

Name : Alonso Duralde / Alias : TheWrap
As a visual (and auditory) experience, When Marnie Was There offers so many other pleasures that audiences may well overlook the story issues. After all, even second-tier Studio Ghibli releases rank among world cinema's finest animated films.

Name : Ella Taylor / Alias : NPR
Even without its moving parable of emotional repair, When Marnie Was There has all of Ghibli's exquisitely hand-drawn sense of place .

Name : Linda Barnard / Alias : Toronto Star
Showcasing the gorgeous hand-drawn work that is a hallmark of Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli, When Marnie Was There tells a story of youthful friendship tinged with melancholy and magic.

Name : Jeannette Catsoulis / Alias : New York Times
Beneath its calm, exquisitely detailed surface, "When Marnie Was There" bubbles with half-formed ideas and undeveloped themes.

Name : Jesse Hassenger / Alias : AV Club
As a children's movie, it's uncommonly sensitive and complicated, rooted in relationships rather than dazzling action. But adults may notice its simple poetry turning, after a while, to suds.

Name : Boyd van Hoeij / Alias : Hollywood Reporter
A beautifully animated tale.

Name : David Ehrlich / Alias : Time Out
Wistful and stirringly humane, When Marnie Was There isn't one of Ghibli's greatest films, but it's emblematic of their collective greatness. In a way, that's the most perfect thing it could be.

Name : Kenneth Turan / Alias : Los Angeles Times
Though its curious narrative arc means you're never sure exactly where it's going, the film works up a considerable emotional charge by the end.

Name : Kerry Lengel / Alias : Arizona Republic
To those film lovers attuned to quiet moments and emotional nuance, this film has a shine all its own. The old-school hand-drawn animation celebrates sweeping landscapes and but also the telling detail, revealing character through spare gestures.

Name : J. R. Jones / Alias : Chicago Reader
Yonebayashi made his feature directing debut with The Secret World of Arrietty, adapted from the British children's book The Borrowers, and this emotionally resonant second feature takes its story from another such title.

Name : Walter V. Addiego / Alias : San Francisco Chronicle
If you feel any kinship with the disaffected, "When Marnie Was There" has much to tell you.

Name : Joe Neumaier / Alias : New York Daily News
The Ghibli studio is in transition, but "Marnie," despite some gentle moments of reflection, is a ghost shadow of its previous masterworks.

Name : Bilge Ebiri / Alias : New York Magazine/Vulture
When Marnie Was There may start off a bit awkwardly, but it'll have you bathing in your own tears by the time it's over.

Name : Brad Wheeler / Alias : Globe and Mail
The artwork is simple and elegant; Anna's fragility and self-loathing is portrayed clearly.

Name : Peter Debruge / Alias : Variety
Yet another splendid escape from the increasingly strenuous glut of computer-animated offerings, this one designed to serve as family entertainment after the more adult-skewing likes of "The Wind Rises" and "The Tale of Princess Kaguya".

Name : Colin Covert / Alias : Minneapolis Star Tribune
This is a film defined by patience and attention, an adventure of emotional exploration.