Things to do in Los Angeles today

Ponyo loves Sosuke! And we love this exhibition at the Academy Museum dedicated to the wholesome Hayao Miyazaki film. Studio Ghibli donated more than 100 objects to the Academy Collection, and you’ll find everything from an animation desk to colorful art boards to dozens of frame-by-frame pencil drawings of the scene when Sosuke first finds Ponyo. Though you may recognize a couple of items from the museum’s debut Hayao Miyazaki retrospective, the vast majority of Ponyo pieces are new—and some have never been displayed in North America before. It’s also a colorful and super kid-friendly exhibition; you can watch clips of the gorgeously hand-drawn movie, recreate the wave-running scene and even make your own stop-motion animation. You’ll find it on the museum’s second floor, inside the first few galleries of the “Stories of Cinema’ space.

It doesn’t matter if you win by an inch or a mile—or if you’re more of a fan of the street racing and respect era or heists and hackers phase of Fast & Furious: There’s plenty of familiar motorized might to behold at this Petersen Automotive Museum exhibition honoring the high-adrenaline film franchise. You’ll find roughly 20 screen-used cars and production prototypes—including ones on loan from Vin Diesel’s private collection, as well as from the late Paul Walker—on display in the second floor of the Miracle Mile museum. It’s a very Fast & Furious kind of year in L.A. between Universal Studios’ roller coaster and this 25th anniversary exhibition. While the Petersen’s exhibition is certainly encyclopedic (the selections here span the entirety of the franchise, with a particular focus on the first three films), it’s not overly academic: Brief labels will let you know the story behind the stunt car you’re staring at, but this is ultimately an opportunity to ogle American muscle cars and custom Japanese imports (as well as the franchise’s melodramatic quotes about family). Highlights on display include the 1993 Toyota Supra “Stunt #3” and 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse driven by Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) in the original film, Dominic Toretto’s (Vin Diesel) 1968 Dodge Charger R/T and 1993 Mazda RX-7, and Suki’s (Devon Aoki) very pink 2001 Honda S2000.

Nature lovers, rejoice! The Natural History Museum is bringing back its annual Butterfly Pavilion, which will be open March 22 through August 23 and house up to 30 butterfly and moth species, as well as an assortment of California plants. The seasonal outdoor exhibit allows for adults and children alike to witness nature up close—we’re talking walking amid hundreds of butterflies and having them land on your arms or shoulders. You’ll need to purchase a $10 add-on ticket on top of your museum ticket in order to explore the pavilion for a half-hour.

When Mexican director Alejandro G. Iñárritu made his debut feature, Amores Perros, over a million feet of film didn’t make it to the final cut (to put that into perspective, the finished two-and-a-half-hour movie used around 18,000 feet of film). Twenty five years later, some of these unearthed reels of celluloid now zip through a ground-floor gallery at LACMA as part of a multi-channel film installation. As much a piece of sculpture as it is film or video art, Sueño Perro assembles six 35mm projectors that pierce the hazy near-dark space with raw, nonlinear snippets of the movie, fed from a mesmerizing curtain of film stock speeding along sprockets. It’s an intense experience, both sonically (during the car crash that connects the feature’s storylines) and visually (dog fighting plays a pivotal role in the film, though you’ll see here some of the behind-the-scenes tricks that kept the production cruelty-free).

You may have come across Danish artist Thomas Dambo’s massive troll sculptures—which he makes from reclaimed wood and hides in nature to encourage people to get out and enjoy the outdoors—on Instagram. But you don’t need to book a trip to Denmark to see the gentle giants. The 87 acres of Palos Verdes’s South Coast Botanic Garden are currently home to 12 of the whimsical figures, and you can glimpse them all with your general admission ticket. For $33, you can take a guided walking tour of the Twelvelings (with general admission included). To see the trolls in a different light, one night a month, the gardens will host the Canopy Club—an after-hours dance party in the woods with pop-up performances, food and drinks ($34–$50).

Step back into the era of grunge, supermodels and the dawn of the internet at this free exhibition at the ASU FIDM Museum in DTLA. This retrospective explores the decade’s spirit of rebellion and experimentation, featuring high-fashion couture from icons like Vivienne Westwood and Gianni Versace alongside the flannel shirts, slip dresses and bold prints that defined everyday style. Through a curated mix of garments, vintage magazines and video footage, visitors can trace how 1990s innovation continues to shape contemporary trends.

When I first stepped foot inside of this exhibition of decommissioned Confederate monuments and reflective contemporary art pieces, I was taken aback by the scale of it all. I’d seen the installation photos of the side-by-side statues of Confederate generals Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee on horseback, but as I craned my neck up at these towering tributes, they felt awe-inspiring in the most dreadful meaning of the phrase. Most Angelenos don’t need to be convinced of the immoralities of the Confederacy—but most likely haven’t been forced to come face-to-face with such Civil War iconography either. “Monuments,” displayed almost entirely at MOCA’s Little Tokyo warehouse with a single Kara Walker installation at the Brick in East Hollywood, presents tangible proof that these monuments removed from public view over the past decade were not simple, somber remembrances for the recently deceased, these were larger-than-life celebrations of the Confederacy forged in the Jim Crow era and often financed by folks seeking to twist its history. Works from 19 artists respond either directly or thematically to the many statues on display, or in some cases physically alter them: Bethany Collins’s Love is dangerous chisels pieces of the granite pedestal of a Stonewall Jackson monument into Carolina rose petals. Other graffitied or paint-splattered statues speak for themselves: The Robert E. Lee monument at the center of 2017’s Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia resides...

Support women-owned restaurants and dine at some of L.A.’s best spots during the return of this annual food fest in honor of Women’s History Month. Regarding Her's festival will offer themed menu specials, cooking classes, convos and collabs from women restaurateurs all month long. Highlights from this year’s lineup include La Festa Della Donna, a special International Women's Day celebration at Smorgasburg (Mar 8); the Echo Park Bop, a walking food and drink tour of 10 women-owned restaurants including Quarter Sheets, Bakers Bench, Bar Flores, Tsubaki, Little Fish and Valerie Confections (Mar 22); Maydan Market Monday (Mar 23); the return of All Day Baby via a biscuit pop-up (Mar 28); and a women-powered Lincoln Avenue Parking Lot Party Benefit for Altadena (Mar 29). You’ll also find other fun one-offs on the calendar, including a cacao tasting at the Chocolate Dispensary (Mar 12) and a “Sweetcute” ice cream social at the Very Best Cookie in the Whole Wide World (Mar 21). Check the website for the full lineup.

Explore the Autry into the evening at the Griffith Park museum’s Thursday-night series that spotlights the city’s emerging and established artists, musicians, poets and writers. Programming ranges from free salsa lessons to DJ sets to old-timey radio plays. The museum galleries stay open late, too, plus drinks and food trucks are also on offer.

The reopened Getty Villa will descend into the underworld with this exhibition, which looks at the ritual spells and religious writings ancient Egyptians employed to garner favor with Re and Osiris in the afterlife. See the Getty’s collection of rare Book of the Dead rare hieroglyphics-adorned and illustrated manuscripts, dating back to around 1000 BCE, which were last displayed in 2023. The show should dovetail nicely with the museum’s “Sculpted Portraits From Ancient Egypt,” which runs through January 2027.