Slashdot Mirror

• General Overview
• Voice Actors
• Translating
• Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
• Whisper of the Heart
• Spirited Away
• My Neighbor Totoro
• Howl's Moving Castle

Not really. The distribution deal originally included all the movies made by the Studio from Nausicaa to Yamada (I know, I know, Nausicaa was made before the Studio was formally stablished).

The deal also stated that Disney would take a part in the production (money, not creative input) of further films... So far, they've contributed money to Yamada, Spirited Away, Cat Returns and the upcoming Howl's Moving Castle.

Nausicaa.net has the details

Disney did Spirited Away for the US market

As well Mononoke (dub script by Neil Gaiman, no less). Mononoke (Web site, DVD), IMHO, was his finest work, and anyone who has not seen it should rush out and grab the DVD.

Trademarks of these films tend to be: children (usually girls) as main characters; flight as a major theme (both magical and realistic, often in the same film e.g. Kiki's); powerful older women (both good and evil); technology as a force of decay or at least at odds with nature.

I would say that his films are the finest examples of children's storytelling to hit the big screen. So much so, in fact, that even jaded adults often find the films captivating and meaningful.

There are some Region 2 releases with English subs, like Nausicaa

You'll have to import them from Japan though.

*sigh*

Try the Nausicaa.net FAQ:

Q: I heard that cuts were made in "Warriors of the Wind" to cover Nausicaa's bare bottom. Is it true?

A: That's a nasty rumor which just won't die. Even in a recent article by Reuters, she was called "a bare-bottomed heroine on a glider" @_@; Nausicaa *is* wearing pants. That's not a mini skirt she is wearing. It's her coat. Notice that the men in the valley are dressed as Nausicaa is. And they are not Scottish. ^_^

The FAQ

FYI: Patrick Stewart will be doing one of the voice of Yupa in the upcoming US release of Nausicaa.

Totoro died, I have no reason to live anymore.

I have all the DVDs, from China, here at home (home=Vietnam until the end of the year). Which one do you miss ? Try to find one : The Cat Returns, the last one that never went out outside of Japan. More childish, but with the incredible wit and spirituality that you can find in any of his animations.

Don't know if you know these, but www.pathea.com and www.nausicaa.net are both excellent websites dedicated to anims in general, and Miyazaki in particular...

But still this is no good for my future 3-4 yo children ; it has been proved by experience (most of my 8 bros and sis, basically) that Miyazaki cartoons frighten the youngest kids... :)

jdif

Disney's 2D department is in limbo because recent scripts were weak. Their animators are still great!

Cynical businessmen have looted the Disney legacy, with classy projects such as "Peter Pan 2", "Hunchback 2", "Cinderella 2", "Aladdin: The Series" etc.

Disney dug its own grave, believing in their homemade "sure" formula for success. The formula is deader than dead. The audience didn't want to be fooled any longer and chose the better films: Those made by Pixar, where you can still see the spark and joy of the people creating these films.

If you're looking for what modern Disney could be, look for the films of Miyazaki. It's still a mystery to me why the old films from the back catalog of Ghibli is still being ignored by Europeans and Americans.

You really think your daughter and her friend didn't know they were less than the real deal? Kids aren't stupid.

You're right, but I think the part they hadn't been told (in a way they'd care about) was why it wasn't a Good Thing. Just because Wal-Mart won't notice a missing pack of gum, doesn't make it right to take the five-finger discount.

On the other hand, just because Disney owns the distribution rights to Miyazaki's Whisper of the Heart, doesn't make us criminals for owning a fansub of the still-unavailable film.

Justice isn't just knowing the difference between right and wrong -- it's knowing when they overlap. Just like freedom isn't just being able to do what's allowed -- it's being able to go someplace you maybe shouldn't, sometimes.

but why do you have the username of a princess but claim to have a penis?

From Nausicaa.net:

Mononoke means "The spirit of a thing". Basically, the Japanese blame mononoke for every unexplainable thing, from a major natural disaster to a minor headache. A mononoke could be the spirit of an inanimate object, such as a wheel, the spirit of a dead person, the spirit of a live person, the spirit of an animal, goblins, monsters, or a spirit of nature.

I thought Concrete Road was owned by Ghibli and thus part of the Disney deal ;-p

While Mononoke has superior animation, Nausicaa has great animation for its time period and is overall superior (IMHO). The ending in particular is much better in Nausicaa

It's a shame that it hasn't made it over here yet legitimately, though you can buy a bootleg DVD set of this and a bunch of other Studio Ghibli films (that's the publisher) in a few places online.

Nausicaa.net seems to be succumbing to slashdotting, but here's the first bit of a plot synopsis - warning, the full summary does contain spoilers.

It has been a millennium since a global war known as the "Seven Days of Fire" destroyed human civilization. Only a tiny remnant of humanity survives, huddled in small enclaves across the continents. The Fukai, a thick jungle whose spores and plantlife are poisonous to humans, covers much of the Earth's surface.

Feeding on the pollutants of the former human civilization, the Fukai continues to expand, enveloping the outposts of mankind and consuming them. Giant mutated insects are now the dominant form of life, living both in and above the Fukai. Of these, the Ohmu reign supreme - seventy-meter long pillbug-shaped guardians of the Fukai.

One of these islands of humanity is known as the Valley of the Wind. Protected from the spores by strong winds from the sea, these winds also power a forest of windmills to perform work and pump water from underground wells. Nonetheless, the inhabitants of the Valley must still be vigilant to ensure that the fungi do not gain a foothold amongst their crops and water supply.

Be warned that this may have spoilers, but take a quick skim through here for a synopsis. It's linked to pretty clearly on the Nausicaa site in the post.

What sort of challenges did you face when you wrote the script for the dub of Princess Mononoke?
I think your question is a bit too open-ended. I was wanting to ask a more specific question:

Mr. Gaiman, after the time, effort, and research you put into the dub of Princess Mononoke , were you disappointed by the film's performance at the US box office? Do you feel that the film was mishandled by Miramax, or were US audiences not quite ready to have their expectations of animation stretched that far?

I would have thought that anyone fluent in english (which she is) would be able to read the post without much difficulty.

Actually, since I'm not British, the final word of the canonical scramble threw me off:

Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by it slef but the wrod as a wlohe. ceehiro.

I read the rest of the text correctly, but I had a devil of a time figuring out the reference to the Miyazaki film Spirited Away, also known as Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi !

Actually, to be fair, Grave of the Fireflies is one of the very few 'non-standard' anime that people /are/ more likely to have heard of; it's been pushed through enough art-house circuits that it's at least slightly more likely to be known.

That does not, however, negate the general point you made; to build on the terminology in the post I made earlier in this thread, an overabundance of chaff in a genre does turn people off from it as it burns them on out looking for the wheat buried among it.

With 8 million 'panty-shot' anime or recycled-plot series coming out, films like Whisper of the Heart are sadly likely to be overlooked. Heck, even the really beautiful and engrossing Twelve Kingdoms, despite getting translated, is likely going to not get a great deal of notice.

The same is true with books, as well; I'm reading an excellent book by a relative newcomer author, Sarah Ash, but I'll bet you that many people -- having been burned by bad books by newcomers to the fantasy genre -- will skip this one and stick to the authors they already know and like. And that's a shame, because -- while I only just picked up the book, and am only a few chapters in -- so far 'Lord of Snow and Shadows' is a surprisingly engrossing and well-written book.

And really, that's what's to be lamented. The push by publishers and distributors to focus on quantity over quality, to the point that until you've read -- or gone looking for reviews -- a book or watched an anime or whatever, you can't tell the chaff from the wheat. Choice is good, but it does burn some people out and make them stick to the authors/series/works/whatever that they know, not risking the chaff.

Actually, to be fair, Grave of the Fireflies is one of the very few 'non-standard' anime that people /are/ more likely to have heard of; it's been pushed through enough art-house circuits that it's at least slightly more likely to be known.

That does not, however, negate the general point you made; to build on the terminology in the post I made earlier in this thread, an overabundance of chaff in a genre does turn people off from it as it burns them on out looking for the wheat buried among it.

With 8 million 'panty-shot' anime or recycled-plot series coming out, films like Whisper of the Heart are sadly likely to be overlooked. Heck, even the really beautiful and engrossing Twelve Kingdoms, despite getting translated, is likely going to not get a great deal of notice.

The same is true with books, as well; I'm reading an excellent book by a relative newcomer author, Sarah Ash, but I'll bet you that many people -- having been burned by bad books by newcomers to the fantasy genre -- will skip this one and stick to the authors they already know and like. And that's a shame, because -- while I only just picked up the book, and am only a few chapters in -- so far 'Lord of Snow and Shadows' is a surprisingly engrossing and well-written book.

And really, that's what's to be lamented. The push by publishers and distributors to focus on quantity over quality, to the point that until you've read -- or gone looking for reviews -- a book or watched an anime or whatever, you can't tell the chaff from the wheat. Choice is good, but it does burn some people out and make them stick to the authors/series/works/whatever that they know, not risking the chaff.

This San? Clearly, the feds just have to look for a guy riding a red elk...

Well, I may never understand all the cultural references in Miyazaki-san's Spirited Away , but at least now I understand what Rin was doing in the scene where she is moving a barrel-shaped boat along, seemingly by doing nothing more than twisting what I thought was a rudder.

"Sculling" -- my vocabulary word of the day. Thanks!

Look at the IMDB top 50 animation features. Pixar and Studio Ghibli combined share most of the top ten popular user votes. Disney is further down the ladder, their new stuff fails to captivate the audiences the way the other two studios mentioned do. This is no coincidence -- these studios wins out against their competition because of creative talents and skillful directors, the technology employed is not the answer.

Studio Ghibli and Pixar are masters at production design and storytelling, and their works have appeal to children and adults alike. You could argue that Pixar has put out a few 'buddy' pictures following a very safe and mainstream formula, but generally both Ghibli and Pixar pursues original works that aren't derivative.

Disney on the other hand, is content with stealing from other sources and perpetually rehashing their own tired 'success' formulas, often compromising style, pace and adult interest with jarring diversions and noisy, needless extra characters crammed in by accountants and suits in order to sell a few more McDonald's toy tie-ins.

Ghibli and Pixar's stuff is immensely marketable, but that seems like an emergent property, something coincidental rather than the very reason for the production to exist. Compared to Disney, Ghibli and Pixar's studio structures seem to have much thinner strata of lawyers, accountants and other suits for ideas to percolate through, which means more direct creative control from directors and production designers.

This produces richer and much more satisfying features than the bland and safe works that always result from too many suits in a creative design process.

The secret weapon of Studio Ghibli is Hayao Miyazaki. The secret weapon of Pixar is John Lasseter. Tech doesn't have anything to do with it.

Now all a woman needs to go along with this is a Lum costume.

Y'know, I said that too.

Then Spirited Away shows up at my little middle-of-nowhere two-bit fiveplex. It's one of only three theaters I know of in the entire friggin' *state* that are showing it. (scroll down to Iowa)

Do I have a clue in heck why they picked it up? No.

Does Northwest Iowa have more than fifteen anime fans? Probably not.

Do I care? *HECK* no!

I got to see it on a big screen with great sound in a language I can understand, and it was great! So, yeah, point being (not to gloat), there's hope for a Nashville showing yet. If Orange City can get an anime film, it can happen *anywhere*. (grin)

My favourite would be Mimi wo sumaseba/Whisper of the heart (produced, written and storyboarded by Hayao Miyazaki, by the way...).

are available from nausicaa.net: http://nausicaa.net/miyazaki/sen/theaters.php Tell them if it's playing in your area.

Please note that the 6- and 10-disc "Studio Ghibli Collection" and "Archives of Studio Ghibli" are bootlegs--pirated copies, not official releases. (cf. Nausicaa.net 5oct01 entry and Nausicaa.net FAQ) pg

Please note that the 6- and 10-disc "Studio Ghibli Collection" and "Archives of Studio Ghibli" are bootlegs--pirated copies, not official releases. (cf. Nausicaa.net 5oct01 entry and Nausicaa.net FAQ) pg

lost their Japanese identity adopting capitalism and that the western people enslaved Japanese people under the hierarchical structure of capitalism.

Have you taken a history course where the history of Japan was featured extensively?
My impression was that most of Japan was dominated by Feudalism.
I thought the Western things, and modern technology were things that make the Japanese forget their ancient culture.

Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi

It is important to mention that, whilst Ghibli accepted the award, nobody came to the ceremony to collect their Oscar.

Miyazaki is a well documented Marxist (look at Mirai Shounen Conan and the book it is based upon, The Incredible Tide, for proof), so I doubt he would attend an awards ceremony at a heart of American capitalism. Not to mention that he is hugely anti-war anyway.

Whilst he very much deserves the award, there are other more poltical agendas at work here.

Not true. Disney owns worldwide distribution rights to much of studio Ghibli's work, including Spirited Away(Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi). Disney released it in july 2002 undre Buena Vista Home Entertainment

Well, yes, in fact Disney is releasing "Spirited Away" on DVD April 15 (along with two other films. Read all about it -- Sig.

Check the Video Release list on Nausicaa.net. Everyone complaining about Nausicaa should calm down and realize that the DVD hasn't even been released in Japan. Besides, the manga is everywhere and tells 300% more story. -- This is a sig.

Check the Video Release list on Nausicaa.net. Everyone complaining about Nausicaa should calm down and realize that the DVD hasn't even been released in Japan. Besides, the manga is everywhere and tells 300% more story. -- This is a sig.

Check the Video Release list on Nausicaa.net. Everyone complaining about Nausicaa should calm down and realize that the DVD hasn't even been released in Japan. Besides, the manga is everywhere and tells 300% more story. -- This is a sig.

It's also possible that if Spirited Away sees another theatrical release, Disney will delay the DVD release for however long the movie is in theatres, plus a few months. While I personally hope they release the DVD on schedule AND put it on screens out there. anime news network and nausicaa.net will probably have information from disney about this in the next few days.

When an anime movie wins best foreign language move wake me up.

Just FYI, here are some other awards Spirited Away won. Note that many are purely film awards, where Spirited Away beat out non-animated features:

• Best Film; 2001 Japanese Academy Awards
• Golden Bear (tied); 2002 Berlin International Film Festival
• Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Feature Production; 2002 Annie Awards
• Best Directing in an Animated Feature Production; 2002 Annie Awards
• Best Writing in an Animated Feature Production; 2002 Annie Awards
• Best Music in an Animated Feature Production; 2002 Annie Awards
• Best Animated Feature; 2002 New York Film Critics Circle Awards
• Special Commendation for Achievement in Animation; 2002 Boston Society of Film Critics Awards
• Best Animated Feature; 2002 Los Angeles Film Critics Awards
• Best Animated Feature; 2002 Critics' Choice Awards
• Best Animated Feature; 2002 New York Film Critics Online Award
• Best Animated Feature; 2002 Florida Film Critics Circle
• Best Animated Feature; 2002 National Board of Review
• Best Original Score in the Category of Comedy or Musical; 78th Annual Glaubber Awards
• Motion Picture, Animated or Mixed Media; 7th Annual Golden Satellite Awards
• Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature; 45th San Francisco International Film Festival
• Special Mention from the Jury; 2002 Sitges Film Festival
• Best Asian Film; 2002 Hong Kong Film Awards
• Best Film (tied); Cinekid 2002 International Children's Film Festival
• Best Animated Feature; Online Film Critic Society
• Best Animated Feature; Dallas-Forth Worth Critics
• Best Animated Film; Phoenix Film Critics Society
• Best Family/Animation Trailer; Fourth Annual Golden Trailer Awards
• Award Winner, Film; 2003 Christopher Awards

Miyazaki has directed an unusually large number of very nice animated pieces, and Studio Ghibli is well known as delivering some of the highest quality films out there, live or animated. I hope that this may do something to bring more mainstream appreciation to animation as an adult story telling medium in the United States.

As a note, if anyone is interested in seeing a list of other films by Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, they can look at nausicaa.net.

Please don't forget (for people who don't like giant battling robots), Great Teacher Onizuka , an intelligent comedy about a young Japanese schoolteacher and his antics to teach his class of misfits some life lessons, or anything by Studio Ghibli, such as the film recently nominated for the Academy Awards, Spirited Away , and its predecessors, such as Princess Mononoke and the like. (Also devoid of giant battling robots, or anime pr0n) More info on Studio Ghibli stuff at this excellent fan news website

The Miyazaki directed film was Castle of Cagliostro and is not part of the Studio Ghibli/Disney deal (primarily because Studio Ghibli didn't exist when it was made and doesn't have the rights to that movie). It's already released in R1 DVD by Manga Entertainment.

Disney does not have all the rights to Miyazaki's films. Go here (nausicaa.net) for which films were included in the deal.

It's been reported that the VHS copies do NOT have the red tint. No word on the DVD copies, but it's a good sign...

The other two I didn't see so let me know what I am missing.

This is going to insult some Anime fans, but...

Go watch something like Grave of the Fireflies and then come back and tell us how that's an adolescent fantasy.

Since everyone seems to think the bootleg versions are official releases, here are the lists of (legal) available versions of Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky, and Kiki. If you have anything else, you got scammed.

Since everyone seems to think the bootleg versions are official releases, here are the lists of (legal) available versions of Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky, and Kiki. If you have anything else, you got scammed.

Since everyone seems to think the bootleg versions are official releases, here are the lists of (legal) available versions of Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky, and Kiki. If you have anything else, you got scammed.

You'll be glad to know that neither Hayao Miyazaki nor anyone else at Studio Ghibli received a single yen from your purchase of that bootleg.

The vast majority of Studio Ghibli products released in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and other southeast Asian countries are not licensed. These locations are notorious for their lax (or non-existent) enforcement of copyright laws, so be very careful when purchasing any video product manufactured or sold in this area.
There have also been numerous reports of various Studio Ghibli DVDs manufactured in Hong Kong or Taiwan being sold at stores, online shops, or on Internet auctions. As far as we have been able to determine, these are pirated copies. To our knowledge, only IVL in Hong Kong and Buena Vista Home Entertainment in Taiwan sell authorized or licensed Studio Ghibli videos/DVDs. Visit the Pirate Anime FAQ for more information on spotting bootlegged items.
The DVD set from an outfit called "Anime Cartoon International" (now known as "Manga International", not to be confused with "Manga Entertainment") is a definite bootleg.

Bootleg

Heck, I wanted to show it to my little cousin, but then decided not to since she might ask me to explain what the movie was about. (BTW, I'm serious. Can someone please explain to me what the movie meant?)

Mr. Miyazaki has a nice explanation. It's basically a story about keeping in touch with one's past, and it's nicely told IMHO.