Halloween Town is a fantasy world populated by various monsters and supernatural beings associated with the eponymous holiday. Jack Skellington, the well-respected Pumpkin King, leads the town in organizing its annual celebrations. This year however, Jack is weary of the same routine and longs for something new. Upon discovering trees containing doors to other holiday-themed worlds, Jack stumbles through the one leading to Christmas Town and is fascinated by the unfamiliar holiday. Jack returns home and shares his discovery with his friends and neighbors, but they struggle to grasp the concept of Christmas, although they relate to its ruler, Santa Claus, or "Sandy Claws" as Jack mistakenly dubs him. After several futile attempts at finding a way to rationally explain Christmas, Jack decides to "improve" the holiday instead. He announces that Halloween Town will take over Christmas this year and assigns Christmas-themed jobs, such as singing carols, making presents and building a sleigh pulled by skeletal reindeer, to various residents. Sally, the feminine creation of local mad scientist Doctor Finkelstein, experiences a vision predicting that their efforts will end disastrously. Jack, whom she secretly loves, dismisses her warnings and instructs her to make a Santa Claus suit for him. He tasks mischievous trick-or-treating trio Lock, Shock and Barrel with abducting Santa; however, he orders them not to involve their superior Oogie Boogie, a bogeyman with a passion for gambling and Jack's long-time rival, in their plot. When Lock, Shock and Barrel bring Santa to Halloween Town, Jack tells him that he will take care of Christmas this year and orders the trio to keep Santa safe. However, they disobey Jack's orders and bring Santa to Oogie Boogie, who plots to play a game with Santa's life at stake. As Jack departs to deliver presents in the real world, Sally, after failing to stop him beforehand, attempts to rescue Santa from Oogie, only to be captured herself. Jack's Halloween-themed presents terrify the real world's populace, who contact the local authorities and are instructed to lock down their homes for protection. The military is alerted and Jack is shot out of the sky, leading Halloween Town's populace to believe he is dead. It is revealed that he survived and has crashed into a nearby cemetery. Bemoaning the trouble that he has caused, Jack realizes he nonetheless enjoyed the experience and that it gave him new ideas for celebrating next Halloween, reigniting his love for the holiday. Upon returning home, Jack rescues Santa and Sally, confronts Oogie Boogie and defeats him by unraveling a thread holding his cloth form together, causing all of the insects inside Oogie to spill out and reduce him to nothing. Though displeased with Jack for his foolish actions and not listening to Sally earlier, Santa makes amends with him and resumes his yearly duties, replacing Jack's presents with genuine ones and saving Christmas. All of Halloween Town celebrates Jack's return. Santa brings a snowfall to the town, thereby bringing the Christmas spirit upon it, while Jack and Sally finally declare their love for each other.

A race of diminutive aliens visit Earth at night to gather plant specimens in a California forest. One of them, fascinated by the distant lights of a neighborhood, separates from the group, before U.S. government agents arrive and chase the startled creature. The aliens are forced to depart before the agents can find them, leaving their lone member behind. While the agents search the forest, the creature takes shelter in a shed belonging to the family of ten-year-old Elliott Taylor. Initially scared by the creature, who runs away, Elliott spends the following day leaving a trail of Reese's Pieces to lure the alien back to the Taylors' home, where he hides the creature in his room. The following morning, Elliott feigns illness to stay off school and play with the creature, whom he dubs E.T. Elliott eventually introduces E.T. to his older brother, Michael, and five-year-old sister Gertie, who agree to keep E.T. hidden from their hardworking single mother, Mary. When the children ask about his origins, E.T. displays telekinetic abilities by levitating several balls to represent his planetary system, and later demonstrates other extraordinary abilities by reviving a dead chrysanthemum and instantly healing a cut on Elliott's finger. As Elliott and the creature begin to bond, they start to share thoughts and emotions, the two being simultaneously startled when E.T. accidentally opens an umbrella in a different room. At school, Elliott becomes intoxicated because, at home, E.T. is drinking beer and watching television. Sensing E.T.'s desire to be rescued, Elliott impulsively frees the frogs about to be vivisected in his biology class, inspiring the other children to follow his lead, and romantically kisses a girl he likes because E.T. is watching John Wayne kiss Maureen O'Hara in The Quiet Man (1952). Elliott is sent to the principal's office for his disruptive behavior. Inspired by a Buck Rogers comic strip, depicting the character calling for help with a communication device, E.T. builds a makeshift device to "phone home", using various parts around the Taylor home. E.T. also learns to speak English, and requests the children's help to build the device. They agree to help find the missing components, unaware that agents are covertly searching for the alien. On Halloween, the children disguise E.T. as a ghost and Elliott sneaks E.T. into the forest, where they set up the device to call E.T.'s people. Elliott begs E.T. to stay on Earth with him, before falling asleep and waking alone in the forest the next day. Elliott returns home to his worried family, while Michael searches for E.T., finding him pale and weakened in a culvert. He takes him home, where Elliott is also growing weaker, and reveals the creature to Mary just before government agents invade and quarantine the house. The lead agent, Keys, asks for Elliott's help to save E.T., stating that meeting aliens was his childhood dream and he considers E.T's arrival a genuine miracle. However, E.T. dies while Elliott rapidly recovers. Left alone to say goodbye, Elliott tells E.T. that he loves him, so E.T.'s heart begins to glow and he is revived and restored to health. E.T. tells Elliott that his people are returning for him. Elliott and Michael flee with E.T. on their bikes, flanked by Michael's friends who help them evade the pursuing authorities. Heading towards a roadblock, E.T. levitates the boys to safety and lands them in the forest. E.T.'s ship arrives, and he says goodbye to Michael and Gertie, who gifts him the chrysanthemum he previously revived. Elliott tearfully asks E.T. to stay, but E.T. places his glowing finger on Elliott's head and tells him that he will always be there. The children, Mary, and Keys observe as the ship blasts off into space, leaving a rainbow in the sky.

In a world where witches exist alongside non-magical humans, 13-year-old Kiki decides to go out on her own, which all young witches must do when they turn 13. She takes with her her familiar spirit, a talking black cat named Jiji. Her mother insists that she take her mother's old, reliable broomstick. Kiki flies off into the cloudless night when the moon is full, searching for a new town for settlement. She encounters another witch and her cat whom she finds pretentious, but they cause Kiki to wonder what her special "skill" is. Kiki finds the town of Koriko and accidentally flies through traffic, causing disruptions. She is approached by a policeman, but a boy named Tombo helps her escape. Kiki looks for a place to live and work in her new town. She finds the Gutiokipanja bakery, owned by Osono and her husband, Fukuo, who are expecting a child. Osono invites her to live in a room above the bakery. Kiki opens a business delivering goods by broomstick, known as the "Witch Delivery Service". Her first delivery is of a small stuffed toy of a black cat that resembles Jiji, as a birthday gift for Osono's neighbor's nephew Ket. Along the way, she is caught in the wind and ends up in a forest filled with crows, which attack her, causing her to lose the toy. They come up with a plan in which Jiji pretends to be the toy for Ket until Kiki can retrieve the real one. She finds it in the log cabin of a young painter with crows, Ursula, who repairs and returns it. With the help of Ket's dog Jeff, Kiki successfully retrieves Jiji and replaces him with the stuffed cat. The next day, Tombo gives her an invitation to visit his aviation club. However, she gets busy with her deliveries, and gets caught in a thunderstorm on her way back. Drenched from the rain, she decides not to go. She then falls ill, but Osono cares for her until she recovers. Osono secretly arranges for Kiki to see Tombo again by assigning her a delivery addressed to him. Kiki apologizes for missing the party, and Tombo takes her for a test ride on the flying machine he is working on, fashioned from a bicycle. Kiki warms up to him, but is once again disgusted by Tombo's friends. Kiki becomes depressed and discovers she can no longer understand Jiji. She has also lost her flying ability and is forced to suspend her delivery business. Ursula then visits Kiki and invites her go to her cabin. She agrees, and the two spend time together there. Ursula determines that Kiki's crisis is a form of artist's block, and then advises her to find a new purpose, so that she can regain her powers. While visiting a former customer's house, Kiki witnesses an airship accident on television. Tombo is seen trying to help tie the dirigible to the ground, but a gust of wind pushes the aircraft away with him clinging to the rope. Kiki rushes to the scene and asks to borrow a broom from a local shop-owner. She regains her flying power and manages to rescue Tombo after the airship crashes into the city's clock tower. With her confidence restored, she resumes her delivery service, and writes a letter home saying that she and Jiji are happy.

The film is set in a small rural village in 19th century Japan. According to tradition, once a person reaches the age of 70, he or she must travel to a remote mountain to die of starvation, a practice known as ubasute. The story concerns Orin, who is 69 and in sound health. However, she notes that a neighbor had to drag his father to the mountain, so she resolves to avoid clinging to life beyond her term. She spends a year arranging all the affairs of her family and village, severely punishing a family hoarding food and helping her younger son lose his virginity. The film contains harsh scenes depicting the brutal conditions faced by the villagers. Interspersed between episodes in the film are brief vignettes of nature—birds, snakes, and other animals hunting, watching, singing, copulating, or giving birth.

In October 1957, the Soviet Union launches Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite. Witnessing Sputnik as it passes over the mining community of Coalwood, West Virginia, 17-year-old Homer Hickam is inspired to build his own rockets. His family and friends are skeptical of his ambition, especially his father John Hickam, who wants Homer to work in the coal mine that he manages. Homer recruits his friends Roy Lee Cooke and Sherman O'Dell, as well as the social outcast Quentin Wilson, to his rocketry team. Their teacher, Freida J. Riley, supports their endeavors as they launch their first small rockets. When one rocket lands near John's office and nearly injures some workers, John warns Homer not to launch rockets on company property again. The boys begin launching rockets beyond the borders of the coal company's property with the help of Ike Bykovsky, the manager of the mine's machine shop. John continues to oppose Homer's rocketry and sends Bykovsky to work in the mine as punishment for helping the boys. After several of their rockets explode, the boys finally get a rocket to fly. The rocket launches attract the interest of the community, but the boys are forced to abandon their pursuits after they are accused of starting a wildfire with a stray rocket. After a mining accident injures John and kills Bykovsky, Homer is devastated, as he feels responsible for Bykovsky's death. However, John tells Homer that Bykovsky was not forced to stay in the mine, so Homer is not to blame for his death. Homer drops out of high school to work in the mine, contributing to his family's income as his father recovers. Homer is inspired by Miss Riley to read a book on applied rocket science, which teaches him how to calculate a rocket's trajectory. He and Quentin use this knowledge to locate their missing rocket and prove it could not have started the fire. The boys present their findings to Miss Riley and the school principal, Mr. Turner, who later determines that the fire was caused by a flare from a nearby airfield. Homer leaves the mines and returns to school and rocketry. The boys win the school science fair, which allows Homer to attend the National Science Fair in Indianapolis. Homer's presentation on rocketry is well received at the National Science Fair, but someone steals a key piece of his equipment—the de Laval nozzle. Homer makes an urgent call to his mother Elsie, who enlists the new machine shop manager, Mr. Bolden, to build a replacement nozzle. The nozzle is shipped overnight to Indianapolis. Homer wins the top prize in the competition, after which he is bombarded with college scholarship offers. He returns to Coalwood triumphant and visits Miss Riley, who is dying of Hodgkin lymphoma. Many Coalwood citizens come to watch the launch of the boys' final rocket, including John, who had not attended any of the previous launches. The rocket, named Miss Riley, reaches an altitude of 30,000 feet (9,100 m). During the closing credits, it is explained that Miss Riley died soon after the launch. It is revealed that all the boys went to college, and Homer went to work for NASA.

Shashi Godbole is a traditional Marathi homemaker and entrepreneur in Pune who makes and sells laddoos as a home-run business. Her husband Satish and daughter Sapna take her for granted, mock her because of her poor English-speaking skills, and generally treat her with disrespect, making Shashi feel negative, insecure, and underconfident. However, her young son, Sagar, loves her as she is, and her elderly widowed mother-in-law offers her words of sympathy. Shashi's older sister, Manu, who lives in New York City, invites Shashi's family to the marriage of her daughter, Meera, with Kevin. It is decided that Shashi will travel to New York alone five weeks in advance to help Manu organise the marriage, while her husband and children will join her as the marriage approaches. During her flight to America, Shashi is given inspirational advice by a fellow passenger. Upon her arrival in New York, Shashi is warmly welcomed by Manu and her younger daughter, Radha. While Shashi is in New York, she has a traumatic experience at a coffee shop where a staff member is rude to her due to her inability to communicate in English. She is comforted by fellow customer, French chef Laurent, who himself is weak in English. Using the money she earned by selling laddoos, Shashi secretly enrolls in a conversational four-week English class, showing her resourcefulness at navigating an unfamiliar city alone. The class comprises the instructor David Fischer, a Mexican nanny Eva, a Pakistani taxi driver Salman Khan, a Chinese hairstylist Yu Son, a Tamil software engineer Ramamurthy, a shy African-Caribbean man Udumbke, and Laurent. Shashi quickly becomes a promising and committed student, earns everyone's respect with her charming behavior and her cuisine, and gains self-confidence. Laurent becomes attracted to Shashi, leading to some interpersonal conflict. When he tries to kiss her at the rooftop of a building, Shashi pushes him away and runs off, but fails to explain that she is married. Meanwhile, Radha finds out about Shashi's secret English classes and is supportive of her pursuit. Shashi begins watching English films at night and does her homework diligently. To complete the English-speaking course and receive an academic certificate, each student must write and deliver a five-minute speech. Shashi's family shows up earlier than planned as a surprise, and after missing out on an event where Sagar injures his leg, Shashi eventually decides to quit because of scheduling conflicts and the fact that she considers herself to be an irresponsible mother since she did not realise that Sagar was injured. The test date coincides with that of the marriage, forcing Shashi to miss the test. Radha invites David, Laurent, Salman, Eva, Ramamurthy, Yu Son and Udumbke to the marriage, where Satish is taken aback at being introduced to a diverse group of people by his wife. Shashi gives a touching and enlightening toast to the married couple in English, surprising everyone. In her speech, Shashi extols the virtues of being married and having a family, describing the family as a safe space of love and respect where weaknesses are not mocked. Satish and Sapna regret treating her with disrespect. David declares she has passed the course with distinction and issues her the certificate. Shashi thanks Laurent for "making her feel better about herself." Shashi's family returns to India by flight, where Shashi fluently communicates in English with the flight attendant.

Anna Sasaki is a 12-year-old girl with low self-esteem living in Sapporo with her foster parents, Yoriko and her husband. One day, Anna suffers an asthma attack at school. At the doctor's recommendation to send Anna to a place where the air is clean, Yoriko decides to have her spend summer break with Yoriko's relatives, Setsu and Kiyomasa Oiwa, who live in a rural seaside town located between Kushiro and Nemuro. Anna investigates an abandoned mansion across a salt marsh. She recognizes it, but the tide ensnares her and keeps her there until Toichi, an elderly fisherman, finds her. Anna sees a blonde-haired girl in the mansion. On the night of the Tanabata festival, she meets the girl, Marnie. The two agree to keep their meetings secret. Marnie invites Anna to a party at the mansion, where she sees Marnie dancing with a boy named Kazuhiko. Anna sketches Marnie while there. Anna meets Hisako, an older woman who paints. Hisako comments that Anna's sketches look like Marnie, whom she knew when she was young. A family moves into the mansion. During the move-in, Anna meets a girl named Sayaka, who gives her Marnie's diary that had been hidden in a drawer. Anna tells Marnie she found documents showing her foster parents are paid to care for her. She assumes that they only pretend to love her for the money and says she cannot forgive her biological family for leaving her behind and dying. Marnie shares how her parents are always traveling abroad, and how she is left behind with her cruel nanny. The maids bully her and threaten to lock her in the silo near the mansion. Anna leads Marnie to the silo to confront the latter's fear of it. Marnie conquers her fear, but begins referring to Anna as Kazuhiko. As a storm hits, Anna dreams of Marnie leaving and wakes up to discover her gone. Sayaka finds the missing pages from Marnie's diary, which include passages about Kazuhiko and the silo. She and her brother find Anna unconscious with a high fever. They bring her back to the Oiwas, where Anna confronts Marnie, intending not to forgive her for leaving her in the silo. Marnie says she is sorry for leaving her and she cannot see Anna anymore. Before they part, Anna tells Marnie that she loves her and forgives her. When Anna recovers, Hisako reveals Marnie's story: Marnie married Kazuhiko and had a daughter named Emily. Kazuhiko died from a sudden illness and Marnie committed herself to a sanatorium to cope with her loss. With no other family to care for her, Emily was sent to a boarding school. Marnie recovered, but as a preteen, Emily was resentful for her mother abandoning her. In her adulthood, Emily ran away from home to get married and had a daughter herself, but she and her husband were killed in a car accident when their daughter was just a baby. Marnie raised her granddaughter, who was placed in foster care after her death. At the end of the summer, Yoriko arrives to take Anna home and is delighted to see Anna with her new friends, Hisako, Toichi, and Sayaka. She gives Anna a photograph of the mansion and says it belonged to Anna's grandmother. When Anna sees Marnie's name written on the back, she realizes that she is Emily's daughter and Marnie's granddaughter, and knew so much of Marnie's story because she had heard it as a baby. This revelation brings closure to her identity. Yoriko tells Anna about the government payments but reassures her they have always loved her. For the first time, Anna calls Yoriko her mother. Anna says goodbye to her new friends and promises to visit again next summer. While driving away, she sees Marnie at the mansion window, waving goodbye to her.

The story is set in Japan, beginning in the early 1990s up until the present day (2008), with each act centered on a boy named Takaki Tōno.

Bastian Balthazar Bux is a shy boy who lives with his widowed father Barney. One morning, Barney tells Bastian of his concern after hearing he daydreams in school and tells Bastian he needs to stop. On his way to school, Bastian is chased by bullies, and escapes by hiding in a bookstore. He meets the owner, Carl Conrad Coreander, and Bastian's interest in books leads him to ask about the one Mr. Coreander is reading, The Neverending Story, but he advises against reading it. With his curiosity piqued, Bastian secretly takes the book. Arriving at school late, Bastian hides in the building's attic to read. The book describes the world of Fantasia, a fantasy realm that is slowly being destroyed by a malevolent force called " The Nothing ". Messengers are heading to the Ivory Tower to seek help from the Childlike Empress. To their dismay, they learn that she has fallen ill. The young warrior Atreyu is tasked with discovering a cure for her illness in order to save Fantasia. Atreyu is given an amulet called Auryn that can guide and protect him in the quest. As Atreyu sets out, a wolf -like being named Gmork is sent to kill Atreyu. Atreyu's quest leads him to seek the advice of Morla, the Ancient One, in the Swamps of Sadness. While making their way through the swamp, Atreyu's horse Artax is overcome by the sadness and sinks into the swamp, leaving Atreyu to continue alone. Morla, weary and indifferent, being a prisoner in the swamp, directs Atreyu to the Southern Oracle, ten thousand miles distant instead of helping him directly. Gmork closes in as an exhausted Atreyu begins to sink into the swamp before being saved by the Luck Dragon Falkor, who takes him to the home of Urgl and Engywook, two gnomes who live near the gates to the Southern Oracle. Atreyu just manages to make it through the first deadly gate but at the second gate, a mirror reveals an image of Bastian reading the book. Atreyu eventually meets the Southern Oracle, who tells him that the only way to save the Empress is to find a human child who lives beyond the boundaries of Fantasia to give her a new name. In flight, Atreyu is knocked from Falkor's back by the Nothing, losing the Auryn in the process. He wakes on the shore of some abandoned ancient ruins, where he finds several murals depicting his adventure, including one of Gmork, who explains that Fantasia represents humanity's imagination and is thus without boundaries, while the Nothing is a manifestation of the loss of hopes and dreams. Gmork lunges at Atreyu who slays him with an improvised weapon as the Nothing begins consuming the ruins. Falkor manages to retrieve Auryn and rescue Atreyu. Later only small fragments of Fantasia remain in a starry void. Fearing that they have failed, they come upon the Ivory Tower intact. Inside, Atreyu reports he failed the Empress, but she assures him that he has succeeded and brought to her a human child who has been following his quest. She explains that Bastian has been following Atreyu's adventures and they have followed Bastian throughout the film. He has become a part of the story they are all sharing in. As the Nothing begins to destroy the Tower, Atreyu is knocked unconscious. The Empress pleads with Bastian to call out her new name in order to save Fantasia. Filled with doubt, Bastian declines to believe any of it could be happening. After she implores him directly to call out her new name, he runs to the window of the attic and calls out her new name: "Moonchild". The Empress presents Bastian with a grain of sand, the last remnant of Fantasia. The Empress tells him that he has the power to bring Fantasia back with his imagination. Bastian re-creates Fantasia and flies on Falkor's back to see the land and its inhabitants restored, including Atreyu and Artax. When Falkor asks what his next wish will be, Bastian brings Falkor to the real world to chase down the school bullies. The film narrates that Bastian had many more wishes and adventures before returning to the ordinary world but that is another story.

In 1901, recently orphaned 10-year-old Mary Lennox is sent from her home in British India to her uncle Lord Archibald Craven's mansion, Misselthwaite Manor, in Yorkshire, England. She was unloved and neglected by her parents, who were killed by an earthquake in India. As a result, Mary is cold, self-centered and so repressed that she is unable to cry. Head housekeeper Mrs. Medlock informs Mary that her uncle, who spends most of his time away, will likely not see her. Mary hears strange sounds of crying in the house and discovers a hidden door in her room that leads to uninhabited areas, including her aunt's old room. There, she discovers a large key. Mrs. Medlock continuously sends Mary to play out on the grounds to keep her occupied whenever the crying starts in the house. Mary discovers her late Aunt Lilias' walled garden, which has been locked up since her death 10 years prior. She realizes that the key she found earlier unlocks the garden but keeps it a secret. She befriends Dickon Sowerby, the younger brother of the manor's housemaid, Martha. Dickon is an outdoorsy boy who is good with animals. Mary and Dickon slowly clean up the secret garden, and Mary becomes happier. She also finally meets her uncle, who is sullen but kind. Hidden away in the mansion is Lord Craven's son and Mary's cousin, Colin Craven, who has been treated like a sickly invalid his entire life. A spoiled, short-tempered boy, he has never left his room nor ever walked and is confined to his bed or uses a wheelchair. His father barely comes to see him in fear that Colin will die soon and he will lose his son. Mary eventually discovers Colin, learning that he was the source of the crying in the house. Although taken aback by his difficult nature, she puts her foot down and refuses to give in to his whims, showing him that he is not really sick. Encouraged by Mary, Colin goes outside for the first time, and Mary and Dickon take him to the secret garden. The three children grow close and spend their free time in the garden every day, where Colin, with their help, learns to walk. The trio keep all of this a secret from the staff. Colin wants his father to be the first one to see him on his legs. Lord Craven has a dream of his late wife Lilias calling to him and returns home. In the secret garden, he sees Colin walking for the first time, leaving him speechless with joy. Mary bursts into tears for the first time in her life, certain that she is unwanted by her uncle and the garden will be locked up again as he had ordered it to be. Lord Craven reassures her that she is now part of the family. Promising never to lock it up again, he thanks her for bringing his family back to life. Dickon informs his older sister and the rest of the manor staff of the good news. The staff watch in shock and joy as Lord Craven and the children come home together.