A SEASON of Studio Ghibli films from Japan starts at City Screen, York, this evening with My Neighbour Totoro at 6.30pm.

Marketing manager Dave Taylor says: "This summer we’re sampling some of Hayao Miyazaki’s magic and Isao Takahata’s talents as we bring you a selection of the best work from the legendary Japanese animation studio, Studio Ghibli. City Screen will be playing some films dubbed into English and some in the original language with English subtitles to suit all tastes."

My Neighbour Totoro, one of the best-loved family films of all time, will be shown with English subtitles. In this animation, two young girls, Satsuki and Mei, find their new home stands by a mystical forest inhabited by a menagerie of fantastical creatures called Totoros, whereupon they befriend O-Totoro, the biggest and eldest of them and king of the forest.

While the girls' mother lies sick in hospital, O-Totoro takes them on a magical adventure and helps them to understand the realities of life in a story with a powerful ecological theme.

Further films in the season will be Howl's Moving Castle, an anime adaptation of Diana Wynne Jones’s novel; Princess Mononoke; Ponyo; Spirited Away; Kiki’s Delivery Service and Grave Of The Fireflies.

Tickets are on sale on City Screen's new phone number, 0871 902 5747, in person at the Coney Street Picturehouse or at picturehouses.com