Meet the English cast of From Up on Poppy Hill

An article published by Variety has revealed the English language cast of Gorō Miyazaki's From Up on Poppy Hill, set for a North American theatrical release on March 15, 2013.

From Up on Poppy Hill recording session (source)

 

The article, published today, adds to the list of names previously revealed by various media sources.  As it stands, the cast includes Gillian Anderson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Bruce Dern, Christina Hendricks, Ron Howard, Chris Noth, Aubrey Plaza, Anton Yelchin, Sarah Bolger, Beau Bridges, Jeff Dunham, Isabelle Fuhrman, Emily Osment, Charles Saxton, and Alex Wolff.  Gary Rydstrom, director of the English language versions of Tales from Earthsea and The Secret World of Arrietty, returns as director for this project, along with Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall, who served as executive products of Ponyo and The Secret World of Arrietty.

Recording took place as recently as August 24, 2012 (source)

 

As reported previously, GKIDS will handle theatrical and home video distribution of the film in North America, making in the first time a new Studio Ghibli title will not be released by Disney.  I was personally able to confirm a North America theatrical release date of March 13, 2012 in New York and Los Angeles, with "more cities opening every week after that."  Here's hoping that the film enjoys a wide release and long run so that fans everywhere get a chance to enjoy what appears to be another heartwarming classic from Studio Ghibli.

Another two Blu-rays in Japan

By the end of the year, animation fans in Japan will be able to add two more classic animated masterpieces from Studio Ghibli to their Blu-ray collections.

Hayao Miyazaki's 1989 heartwarming classic Kiki's Delivery Service (Majo no Takkyūbin) and Isao Takahata's 1991 gentle drama Only Yesterday (Omoide Poro Poro) are scheduled to make their Blu-ray debut in Japan on December 5, 2012.

Although we can probably expect a Kiki's Delivery Service Blu-ray release from Disney in the not-so-distance future, seeing Only Yesterday in high definition might be a little trickier if you live in North America.  The film is one of only two Studio Ghibli titles to have never been dubbed in English or released on home video in North America, the other being the 1993 television movie Ocean Waves (Umi ga Kikoeru), directed by Tomomi Mochizuki.  It wasn't until last year that these films had a proper North American debut, premiering theatrically for the first time in the United States at the IFC Center's Studio Ghibli Retrospective, an event made possible after GKIDS acquired theatrical distribution rights to Studio Ghibli's back catalog from Disney in 2011.

GKIDS is set to handle both theatrical and home video distribution of Gorō Miyazaki's From Up on Poppy Hill in 2013, so there may be the slightest possibility that they will do what Disney never did and finally release Only Yesterday on home video in North America.  Until then, the best option may be to import Only Yesterday if you wish to have a complete Studio Ghibli Blu-ray collection anytime soon.

Grave of the Fireflies Blu-ray coming to North America

Sentai Filmworks will release Isao Takahata's 1988 animated masterpiece Grave of the Fireflies on Blu-ray in North America this November.

 

The company, which describes itself as "one of the fastest-growing anime companies in North America," previously announced that they had acquired the North American distribution rights to the film and released a digitally-remastered DVD in March of this year.  The Blu-ray edition is scheduled to hit store shelves on November 20, 2012 and is currently available for pre-order on Amazon.com for $21.99.

 

Also available from Sentai Filmworks in November is Makoto Shinkai's 2011 film Children Who Chase Lost Voices (Hoshi o Ou Kodomo), which will be available on Blu-ray and DVD and will feature both the original Japanese language track with subtitles as well as a newly-recorded English dub.

 

 

If you are a Studio Ghibli fan and aren't already familiar with this film, you should definitely check it out.  As you can see from the cover art alone, the look of the characters is very "Ghibli-inspired" and the story reminds me a lot of some of the fantastical worlds created by Hayao Miyazaki in his films.  Both the Blu-ray and DVD editions are up for pre-order on Amazon and scheduled for release on November 13, 2012.

New cover art for Grave of the Fireflies DVD

As reported last month, Sentai Filmworks has acquired the North American home video license for Grave of the Fireflies and will release the film on DVD on March 6, 2012.  Recently, cover artwork for the new edition has been posted on the Amazon.com pre-order page.

 

Although the new cover is similiar to that of the previous DVD edition released by Section23 Films in 2009, the inclusion of film ratings by critics on the cover is a nice touch and I like the overall sophisticated look of the updated design.  It seems as though Sentai Filmworks holds this title with respect and I hope they have the option to release the film on Blu-ray in North America once it is released in Japan sometime in the future.

Let's hope that by getting this title back on the shelves, Sentai Filmworks will create new legions of  Studio Ghibli fans who haven't already discovered the works of Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki.  This film was one of the first few I watched after discovering the studio and it definitely deserves to be seen all over the world.

Is Disney preparing to dub Kokuriko-zaka Kara in English?

Walt Disney Studios may be in the process of prepping Gorō Miyazaki's 2011 film Kokuriko-zaka Kara for an English language dub.


Japanese theatrical poster for Kokuriko-zaka Kara

Den of Geek! published an interview last week with producer and long-time Steven Spielberg collaborator Kathleen Kennedy, who served as producer on Disney's English language dubs of Ponyo and The Secret World of Arrietty, due in North American theaters February 17, 2012. 

In the interview, Kennedy discusses her years of work as a producer as well as Spielberg's recent films War Horse and The Adventures of Tintin, and briefly touches on her collaboration with Disney and Studio Ghibli on the English dubs of their two recent films:

"They came to us because, for a wide variety of reasons, they wanted to understand why Miyazaki’s movies were so popular in Japan, and didn’t necessarily translate to an American audience. And I can’t say that, by any means, we’ve come up with the answer, but I think that each time - and we’re going onto the third collaboration with them - we learn something. And that’s really been what the process has been, we’ve been trying to help them bridge the gap with the people that are doing the marketing and distribution of their movies in the United States."

At this point, I think it's safe to assume that the "third collaboration" she mentions will be on Kokuriko-zaka Kara, Goro Miyazaki's second film, released in Japan on July 16, 2011.

It is still way too early to tell whether Disney plans a theatrical run of the film in North America or if they will go the Tales of Earthsea route, which was released direct-to-DVD alongside Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind's North American Blu-ray debut last March.  If they do go the home video only route, let's hope it's straight-to-Blu-ray this time around, since by then the film will definitely have already been released on the format in Japan.

Lupin III and Panda Kopanda DVD release dates

Discotek Media has announced via Facebook the release dates for their upcoming DVD releases of Lupin III: The Complete First TV Series and Panda! Go Panda!

Previously released in North America on DVD but now out of print, Panda! Go Panda! will return to store shelves on April 17, 2012.  Distotek has confirmed that both short films, Panda! Go Panda! and Panda! Go Panda! The Rainy-Day Circus will be included in this new DVD release.



Next up is Lupin III: The Complete First TV Series, scheduled to make its North American DVD debut on June 26, 2012. No word yet on whether the set will feature an English dub, but it is probably more likely to feature the original Japanese audio with English subtitles.

I'm really glad that Discotek Media has acquired these licenses and is dedicated to getting out of print titles back on the shelves and bringing other titles to North America for the first time.  Now if they could only acquire the rights to Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro and release it on Blu-ray here we'd be all set!

Happy Birthday, Hayao Miyazaki

Today marks the 71st birthday of animator and Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki.

Born on January 5, 1941 in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan, Miyazaki became an artist at an early age.  Fascinated with aviation, he began drawing airplanes and started what would become a life-long obsession with flight, a theme that is heavily incorporated into many of his films.  During high school, he devoted his efforts to becoming a manga artist, but after seeing Japan's first full-length animated feature, The Tale of the White Serpent, he discovered that animation was his passion.  The rest, as all Ghibli fans are well aware, is anime history.

To me, Hayao Miyazaki and his films are like a fine wine, getting better with age and becoming more valuable as years pass.  Although he's been in and out of retirement a few times in recent years, Miyazaki is still pushing forward at 71 and breaking new ground at Studio Ghibli.  Early reports indicate that he is already hard at work on the next feature film he will direct, his eleventh since directing Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro in 1979.

I look forward to the cinematic tales Miyazaki still has to tell in the years to come and hope for the continuation of what has already been a successfully long career in animation.  Happy Birthday!