Studio Ghibli films usually feel like a warm hug or a fever dream. But When Marnie Was There is different. It’s heavy. It’s a ghost story that isn't really a ghost story, or maybe it’s a trauma story that just happens to have a haunted house. Honestly, the reason this movie hits so hard—even years after its 2014 release—is because the When Marnie Was There cast carries the weight of a very specific, lonely kind of sadness that most animated movies are too scared to touch.
You’ve got Anna Sasaki. She’s twelve, she has asthma, and she hates herself. That is a brutal starting point for a "kids' movie." But the voice actors, both in the original Japanese and the high-profile English dub, managed to turn that internal rot into something beautiful. It’s not just about who played whom; it’s about how these actors handled the silence between the lines.
The Voices Behind Anna and Marnie
In the original Japanese version, Sara Takatsuki voiced Anna. She brought this low-energy, almost monotone quality to the role that perfectly captured Anna’s "ordinary" mask. When Anna says she's "outside" of the invisible magic circle that everyone else belongs to, you believe her. It’s not melodramatic. It’s just cold.
The English dub, produced by GKIDS, took a different but equally effective route. They cast Hailee Steinfeld as Anna. At the time, Steinfeld was already an Oscar nominee, and she brought a certain gravelly, adolescent frustration to the role. She doesn't sound like a "voice actor" doing a "little girl voice." She sounds like a kid who wants to disappear.
Then there’s Marnie.
Kasumi Arimura (Japanese) and Kiernan Shipka (English) had the impossible task of playing a girl who might be a hallucination, a memory, or a spirit. Shipka, coming off the heels of Mad Men, gave Marnie a luminous, ethereal quality. But there’s a flicker of desperation there too. Marnie isn't just a guide; she’s a girl trapped in her own timeline. When the two of them interact, the chemistry is what keeps the movie from drifting off into "too-vague" territory. It’s intimate. It’s almost uncomfortably close.
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Supporting Players Who Actually Matter
Usually, in Ghibli films, the side characters are there for comic relief. Think of the soot sprites or the old ladies in Totoro. In this film, the supporting When Marnie Was There cast feels much more grounded in reality, which makes the supernatural elements feel even weirder.
John C. Reilly plays Kiyomasa Oiwa, the foster uncle. It’s such a weird, perfect casting choice. Reilly has this natural, bumbling warmth that provides the only real levity in the first act. He’s the guy carving wood and not asking too many questions, which is exactly what a kid like Anna needs. Opposite him is Geena Davis as Yoriko, Anna’s foster mother. Her performance is subtle because Yoriko is a complicated character—she loves Anna, but she’s also guilty about the "subsidies" she receives for taking her in. That tension is the engine that drives Anna’s resentment.
And we can’t talk about the cast without mentioning Vanessa Williams as Hisako. She shows up later in the film as a painter who holds the keys to the mystery. Williams plays her with a sophisticated, knowing grace. She’s the bridge between the past and the present.
The Full English Voice Talent Breakdown
- Anna Sasaki: Hailee Steinfeld
- Marnie: Kiernan Shipka
- Yoriko Sasaki: Geena Davis
- Kiyomasa Oiwa: John C. Reilly
- Setsu Oiwa: Grey Griffin
- Hisako: Vanessa Williams
- The Elderly Woman: Ellen Burstyn
- Sayaka: Taylor Autumn Bertman
Why the Casting Choices Changed the Movie's Legacy
Most people don't realize that When Marnie Was There was actually the last film Ghibli produced before their short-lived "hiatus." There was a lot of pressure. The film is based on a British novel by Joan G. Robinson, and the transition from a Norfolk setting to Hokkaido, Japan, required a very delicate touch.
The cast had to navigate a story that is essentially about inherited trauma. That's a big word for a movie often filed under "Family," but that’s what it is. Marnie’s life was tragic—neglected by her parents, bullied by her maids, and eventually losing her husband and her daughter’s trust.
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When you hear Ellen Burstyn voice the older version of a character (no spoilers here, but if you’ve seen it, you know), the weight of an entire lifetime of regret is in her voice. Burstyn is a legend for a reason. She doesn’t "act" sad; she just sounds like someone who has lived through a lot of winters.
The Mystery of the Marsh House
The Marsh House itself is basically a character. The sound design works in tandem with the cast. The creaking floorboards, the wind through the sawgrass—all of it complements Kiernan Shipka’s airy delivery.
There’s a specific scene in the silo during a storm. It’s the climax of the emotional arc between Anna and Marnie. The voice work here is raw. Anna is terrified, not of the ghosts, but of being abandoned again. Marnie is terrified of the past. The way their voices overlap and compete with the sound of the rain is a masterclass in dubbing. Often, English dubs can feel "pasted on" over the original animation. Here, thanks to the direction and the caliber of the When Marnie Was There cast, the dialogue feels like it’s vibrating out of the characters’ chests.
A Different Kind of Ghibli Heroine
Anna isn’t brave. She isn't a warrior like San in Princess Mononoke or a hard worker like Chihiro in Spirited Away. She’s a kid with depression.
This is why Hailee Steinfeld was such a smart choice. She has a way of sounding defensive and vulnerable at the same time. You want to shake Anna, but you also want to protect her. When she finally breaks down and calls Yoriko "mother," it doesn't feel unearned. It feels like a massive, exhausting victory.
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The Japanese cast also deserves a massive amount of credit for maintaining the "Ma" (the space or emptiness) that director Hiromasa Yonebayashi intended. Arimura’s Marnie has a certain "old-fashioned" way of speaking that distinguishes her from the modern-sounding Anna. It’s a subtle linguistic cue that something is "off" about their timeline.
How to Experience the Cast at Their Best
If you’re a purist, you’ll probably stick to the Japanese audio with subtitles. You get the original intentionality. You get the cultural nuances of Hokkaido.
But honestly? The English dub is one of the rare instances where the star power doesn't distract from the story. John C. Reilly and Geena Davis disappear into their roles. They aren't "celebrity cameos." They are the Oiwas and Yoriko.
Watching Tips
- Watch it twice. Once in Japanese to see the original vision, and once in English to catch the nuances Steinfeld and Shipka bring to the friendship.
- Listen for the silence. The cast is great, but the moments where they don't speak are where the movie breathes.
- Check the credits. The song "Fine on the Outside" by Priscilla Ahn is the perfect sonic companion to the cast's performances. It was the first time Ghibli used a theme song entirely in English for the original release.
Final Insights on the Legacy of Marnie
When Marnie Was There didn't blow up the box office like Ponyo or Howl’s Moving Castle. It’s a quieter, more internal film. But its reputation has grown immensely in the last decade. It’s now cited as a vital piece of media for discussing childhood anxiety and the importance of understanding one’s roots.
The When Marnie Was There cast provided the emotional anchor for a story that could have easily become too confusing or too sentimental. Instead, they made it real. They made the ghosts feel like people and the people feel like they were haunted.
If you’re looking to dive deeper into the world of Studio Ghibli, your next step should be comparing the voice work here with Yonebayashi’s other major work, The Secret World of Arrietty. You'll notice he has a knack for casting actors who can handle "small" stories with massive emotional stakes. Alternatively, look into the original novel by Joan G. Robinson to see how much of the characters' "voice" was already on the page back in 1967. Either way, this film stands as a testament to the power of the right voice at the right time.