Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Miyazaki's Future w/ Disney

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the wonder-where-this-will-go dept.

An anonymous reader sent us an interesting little article about Miyazaki and Disney. Disney of course owns the rights to distribute his films (like to pick a gigantic example Princess Mononoke) to worldwide audiences. Apparently lackluster profits from Mononoke may jeopradize future Miyazaki titles release in the US, which would be terribly unfortunate considering that in the end, the DVD release of Mononoke was absolutely wonderful (although its a somewhat dark film for Mouse) This is all tied to Spirited Away, his latest film which is apparently doing great things at the Japanese Box Office.

2 of 170 comments (clear)

  1. What a shame... by Captain_Frisk · · Score: 5, Interesting

    What a shame it is that the big corporations have to market to the lowest common denominator. I too own the DVD of Princess Mononoke, and I love it. I think it really stinks that instead of getting quality movies released, Disney puts out crap like Atlantis, Spy Kids or most recently the Princess Diaries, because they know that people will pay for them.

    I read an article over at c|net yesterday discussing the idea of "critic proof" movies (they related it to Windows XP), movies that are commercially successful even though the critics hate them, like Tomb Raider, and most action movies. I dislike that they are willing to release movies like this. It seems like nearly everything released recently falls under this category. I haven't been to the movie theater in months.

    Captain_Frisk

  2. Weak theatrical release of Mononoke. by supabeast! · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Given the weak treatment Disney gave the theatrical release of Mononoke, I can see why Miyazaki would be concerned. Disney spent a ton of money doing one of the best anime dubs ever, and then released the movie to a handful of arty theatres, most of which were located in major cites. Most of the US population never even had a chance to go see the movie.

    On top of that, advertising was weak, with short commercials restricted to slimly targeted timeslots.

    I almost wonder if Disney did this with Mononoke because they did not realize until AFTER buying the rights that it would be competing with Disney's own animated films, which of late have been generally poor compared to older films, and also bear a heavy semblance to anime style. Perhaps Disney is pushing Miyazaki's work to the back burner to protect the films where they get exclusive profits.