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When I was a child, I was all about this anime movie and for years now I have not been able to find it nor pinpoint the title.
The description is going to be a bit ambiguous so just stay with me here and keep a very open mind. This is coming from the memory of a 5 year old.

Timeframe for when movie was made: mid 80s to sometime throughout the 90s

In the beginning there is a brunette little girl (maybe even a pre teen) that does not appreciate something in her life. I believe she gets upset with her mother and takes her for granted then runs outside to her backyard upset. There she encounters... something... a spirit... or animal. I can't remember but she is sent on a mission and it gets pretty hazy from there. I remember the end is her waking up in the backyard and it was all a dream and she runs back inside and hugs her mother.

No, it's not Spirited Away. Really.

senshin
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Stephanie Clay
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1 Answers1

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Here is a guess, it doesn't fit exactly - but hopefully the fuzziness is to blame for that.

I looked through all the old Ghibli works, but didn't find anything that seemed to match up. However, there was one show that some of the larger names from Ghibli worked on before Ghibli was created. This show was Chie The Brat or Jarinko Chie. This was back in 1981, but it could have taken a while to be translated and localised for English speakers - placing it roughly mid 80s.

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Chie is a hardworker at home, but she's not without her brattiness - Flicking through the first few minutes of the show, she takes a cut of the family's earning and keeps it for herself:

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She eventually leaves on an adventure after her school-life is disrupted by her relatives, who barge in and embarrass both the teacher and herself.

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She then takes the money she has stored away and travels into the city. There she finds a woman she treats like her mother (whom she embraces occasionally) and rides rollercoasters, paddles boats, and other adventure-y things.

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And as for the spirit/animal - there are some talking cats which maybe are what you remembered. The two cats are both from Chie's home village and have a large fight in a graveyard near the conclusion of the show.

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Again, this only loosely fits the description you've offered - but it's the best I could find.

Toshinou Kyouko
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