Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

Well, FilmFour have completed their Studio Ghibli season for the time being with two dubbed animes: Porco Rosso (1992) - a weird concoction about a rogue Italian Air Force pilot who has turned into a pig (!) and The Cat Returns (2002) - an amusing bit of whimsy about a girl who saves a cat from being killed in traffic and is rewarded by the King of the Cats by being betrothed to his Crown Prince (but not to worry as she is gradually being turned into a cat).  These two were in stark contrast to the film here reviewed which is set in Japan during the closing days of World War II.  A brother and his young sister are devastated when their mother is killed during bombing (and their father is off in the Navy probably never to return).  They scratch for survival by selling what they can, attempting to live off the land, hoping to appeal to the charity of strangers, and in extremis stealing.  They both starve to death -- this is not a spoiler since this is clear from the beginning.  So this is an ultimately downbeat film, but without being maudlin in any way.  Thank goodness it was shown in the original Japanese; I don't think I could have put up with celebrity voices.