When Marnie Was There

is a 2014 Japanese anime drama film written and directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, produced by Studio Ghibli and based on Joan G. Robinson's novel of the same name, although it transposes the setting from Norfolk, England from the original novel to Sapporo.

It was the final film for Studio Ghibli, before they announced that its division took a short hiatus after The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, and the retirement of Hayao Miyazaki a year before the film was released. It also marked the final film credit for Studio Ghibli animator, Makiko Futaki. The film was released in theatres on 19 July 2014, and on Blu-ray and DVD in Japan on 18 March 2015. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature at the 88th Academy Awards.

Plot
Anna hasn't a friend in the world - until she meets Marnie among the sand dunes. But Marnie isn't all she seems...

An atmospheric ghost story with truths to tell about friendship, families and loneliness. Anna lives with foster parents, a misfit with no friends, always on the outside of things. Then she is sent to Norfolk to stay with old Mr and Mrs Pegg, where she runs wild on the sand dunes and around the water. There is a house, the Marsh House, which she feels she recognizes - and she soon meets a strange little girl called Marnie, who becomes Anna's first ever friend. Then one day, Marnie vanishes.

A new family, the Lindsays, move into the Marsh House. Having learnt so much from Marnie about friendship, Anna makes firm friends with the Lindsays - and learns some strange truths about Marnie, who was not all she seemed...

Other Sources

 * Omoide no Marnie at MyAnimeList
 * Omoide no Marnie at MyAnimeList