What makes your favorite Miyazaki film? Is it the Adventure of Laputa, the wonder of My Neighbor Totoro, the intricacy of Spirited Away, or the magic of Howl’s Moving Castle? Somehow, builder Tung Man Chun manages to distil the hearts of these films down to 8×8 studs in a series of incredible LEGO vignettes. Each model is anchored by a larger-than-life character, bringing a sense of dynamism to the compact format. Let’s have a look at the full series.

We’ve seen some incredible large-scale versions of Miyazaki’s take on Howl’s famous moving castle; somehow Tung manages to pack the same level of personality into this pocket-sized version. It looks even more frog-like when shrunk to the size of an actual amphibian! Speaking of frogs, the white ones make excellent smoke at this scale.

As a bonus, Tung also depicts the castle taking flight, soaring above a microscale field.

For Miyazaki’s Oscar-winning Spirited Away, Tung chose to depict No Face’s gluttonous rampage. The huge mouth, grub-like body, and spindly legs perfect capture No Face’s terrifying transformation. The splayed wood tiles jutting out of the 8×8 footprint lend so much action to the scene.

Is there any concept from the worlds of Studio Ghibli more delightful than Totoro’s Catbus? I doubt it. The thrill of riding inside that furry, purring transport is a perfect cozy encapsulation of a child’s imagination. Joss Ivanwood recently captured the catbus’ arrival at a larger scale, but even in miniature the scene looses none of its charm. Tung finds just the right level of detail, from the bus’ wand whiskers to Mei’s red umbrella. I love the simple Totoro silhouette in the corner.

Tung ends his series with a tribute to Studio Ghibli’s first film, Laputa: Castle in the Sky. Here, the builder plays with perspective with the peaceful robot paired with a microscale version of the titular city. It’s remarkable how much personality comes through from a simple 1×2 round plate at a slight angle.