The Future of Ghibli US Releases

ChibiOne writes "Nausicaa.net is reporting very interesting news regarding the US release for the works of (Hayao Miyazaki's) Studio Ghibli. Steven Alpert (VP at Tokuma International, parent of Studio Ghibli) spoke after the screening of "Porco Rosso" in New York and revealed several new release plans. AnimeOnDVD has a complete report." It says "every Ghibli feature film should be released in the US by the end of next year" as well as a widescreen re-release of Totoro. Here's hoping!

Comments

Was at the screening on Friday

[nyamada]

Porco Rosso was stunning and the english dub was really quite decent.

If any of you get the chance, please try to see Miyazaki's work on screen -- I've seen Porco Rosso before on DVD and it's about 10x better on film --

Re:Was at the screening on Friday

[Anonymous Coward]

too bad the audio was done poorly. and wasn't there a rumor that that was Mizyazaki's last work. i hate that dude!

Re:Was at the screening on Friday

[nyamada]

1) It's not Miyazaki's last work -- it was released in Japan in 1992. He's currently working on "Howl's Moving Castle", which is slated for release in Japan in July.

2) The audio was fine -- were you at the same screening I was? -- rich, convincing stereo sound --

Has Studio Ghibli ditched Disney yet?

[WIAKywbfatw]

Because I would like to watch one of their productions without selling my soul to the Most Evil Corporation from Hell.

Re:Has Studio Ghibli ditched Disney yet?

[Anonymous Coward]

i agree that disney has turned into a money greedy corporation, but i am curious. anyone familiar on when exactly this took place? what was it like in the 50s? 60s?

Re:Has Studio Ghibli ditched Disney yet?

[MooCows]

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

You'll have to import them from Japan though.

Re:Has Studio Ghibli ditched Disney yet?

[WIAKywbfatw]

i agree that disney has turned into a money greedy corporation, but i am curious. anyone familiar on when exactly this took place? what was it like in the 50s? 60s?

I can't tell you when it took place but I can tell you that my feelings about Disney have less to do with their marketing and willingness to put their characters on anything that can be sold for a profit and more to do with shit like this.

Let's face it, George Lucas, Peter Jackson et al don't exactly spurn marketing and sales opportunities but I've never heard of extras playing stormtroopers or uruk-hai having to share smelly, diseased jock-straps and other "previously enjoyed" underwear.

Re:Has Studio Ghibli ditched Disney yet?

[F34nor]

They became EVIL when they undermined the US Constitution with the Sunny Bono Copyright Extension act. The creation of intellectual oligarchy is by far their worst crime.

Re:Has Studio Ghibli ditched Disney yet?

[WIAKywbfatw]

You see, that's where you and I differ. I don't think that campaigning for a copyright extention is as evil as a MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR PROFIT COMPANY* exploiting its workers even more than normal by making them share smelly, diseased underwear. I find both undesirable, but only one of them morally reprehensible.

(* Sorry, I hit Michael front page editorialising mode there for a second. I guess people would have totally missed my point if I hadn't felt the need to shout it at them.)

Re:Has Studio Ghibli ditched Disney yet?

[hype7]

Because I would like to watch one of their productions without selling my soul to the Most Evil Corporation from Hell.

Well, if that's not possible, I know of another sort of Ghibli that's at least as enjoyable ;)

-- james

Re:Has Studio Ghibli ditched Disney yet?

[Bloomy]

I've heard they've been behind more copyright extensions than just that one, though that may have been read here on Slashdot, so grain of salt.

What's more galling is that I read they held off on releasing the Jungle Book in the late 60's until Kipling's copyrights expired. And their "reimagining" of Treasure Island as Treasure Planet makes me want to use misuse "raping and pillaging" of the public domain the same way they misuse piracy to describe copyright infringement.

Re:Has Studio Ghibli ditched Disney yet?

[F34nor]

Ok you're missing the forest for the trees here.

1. Disney is one company, one cadre of workers right? So if they are evil to their workers (which is debatable but I will accept your premise for this argument) then it is a local problem for the board and the shareholders to work out.

2. Disney is responsible for the hygiene of their workers and if they place them at risk they are opening themselves up to lawsuits by their employees. This is a self-correcting issue.

3. Disney is being dumb if they skimp on laundry only to pay out the ass for healthcare.

Now on to the real issues of evil.

1. This country was founded to fight oligarchy and concentration of power into and unreasonable small group of people.

2. This country was founded on the free exchange of ideas.

Disney is a corporation. This means the officers have limited liability. Since the 14th amendment was read as giving human rights to property they now have free speech. This means they have more rights than an individual. Strange case in a country devoted to the individual and individual rights hunh? So they are able to be Evil without any real threat of going to jail for it. So then can
1. Use that evil behavior to generate money.
2. Use that money as a form of political speech.
3. Use that speech to pass a law that it totally anathema to the ideas of the framers of the constitution.
In effect they made themselves an oligarchy based on IP. In this case a chicken scratch on a pierce of napkin by Walt. Copyright was invented so that people didn't starve to death after writing a novel and having it stolen by printers. It was extended so the widow and kids didn't starve too. Walt's fucking dead and his kids are millionaires. Disney deserves no more than the original 7 years dictated by the framers. To make matters more offensive Mickey Mouse is as much as symbol of the US as the American flag or Apple pie, HE IS PART OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN! We have paid for him a thousand times over. He is our property. What makes this all the more offensive is that Disney is devoid of original ideas, all they do is mine the public domain for material, which they then copyright and prevent others from using it. If they weren't a soulless corporation (back to the rights of the individual) then I'd say they're hypocrites.

If you disagree with me you don't understand what the revolutionary war was actually about and what we won by it. I frankly don't worry too much about what Disney does to its workers because that part of law is well covered by local, state, and federal laws and is overseen by OSHA as well. But when a corporation starts fucking with my rights and the constitution its go time.

Re:Has Studio Ghibli ditched Disney yet?

[WIAKywbfatw]

I think a company's first reponsibilities are to its workers and shareholders. Everyone else comes second.

I'd be pissed if my employer was more worried about making billions more from copyright extensions, widgets or whatever than providing me with a safe working environment. Wouldn't you?

Re:Has Studio Ghibli ditched Disney yet?

[ll1234]

The Japanese DVDs are released by Buena Vista Home Entertainment Japan, which is owned by. . . hold on to your seat. . . Disney. For those that want to wash their hands from any Disney-related company try the R3 (Hong Kong) releases, they're done by IVL.

Re:Has Studio Ghibli ditched Disney yet?

[F34nor]

I adressed that issue. I'd be far more worried if my company was subverting the undrpinnigs of 200 years of freedom. You can always quit your job, you can always sell you stock, and on and on. You cannot always leave your country to find a better one, esp when you live in the greatest country in the world.

You are talking about a tiny issue that can be fixed with one telephone call, I am taking about having your freedoms taken away.

Re:Has Studio Ghibli ditched Disney yet?

[WIAKywbfatw]

Sorry, but I missed the bit where the workers getting screwed were more concerned with some copyright law than they were with their own health.

If I remember correctly, Disney doesn't allow its workers to join unions, and we aren't exactly talking about the best paid jobs in the world, so your legal restitution route is all but useless most of the time. To people concerned with putting food on their kids' plates, keeping a steady job and not getting fired for being a troublemaker are more important issues than whether or not copyright lasts for death plus 70 years, 90 years or even a million years.

People in the real world have real world problems. The rights and wrongs of copyright laws aren't often among them.

Re:Has Studio Ghibli ditched Disney yet?

[ultranova]

I've never heard of extras playing stormtroopers or uruk-hai having to share smelly, diseased jock-straps and other "previously enjoyed" underwear.

I guess Disney just can't match Saruman's high ethical standards.

Oh well, the White Hand should have many vacancies open. Go for it, Mickey !

"I used to work in Disneyland, smile and nod. Now I work for Saruman, smile and chop !" - Uruk-Hai berserker, former Disney employee.

Re:Has Studio Ghibli ditched Disney yet?

[Anonymous Coward]

IMHO, Disney became EVIL when they hired a convicted child-molester to direct one of their films (Victor Salva, director of 'Powder').

Re:Has Studio Ghibli ditched Disney yet?

[Anonymous Coward]

You sir, are a perfect example of the people who don't deserve freedom, and yet have good men and women die everyday to preserve your right to be a greedy, selfish pig.

Thank God there are still some people who put the good of society before their own selfish interests, but you are not one of them. More pity for you.

Re:Has Studio Ghibli ditched Disney yet?

[F34nor]

IF Disney doesn't allow it's workers to join Unions thay have to organize and strike as a single unit. That's how you win rights and consessions.

Re:Has Studio Ghibli ditched Disney yet?

[WIAKywbfatw]

You sir, are a perfect example of the people who don't deserve freedom, and yet have good men and women die everyday to preserve your right to be a greedy, selfish pig.

Thank God there are still some people who put the good of society before their own selfish interests, but you are not one of them. More pity for you.

Thanks for taking the time to check the "Post Anonymously" box, whoever you are. Funny how you infer that I'm a coward but how it's you rather than me who doesn't have the courage of his convictions enough to stand up and be counted for your personal beliefs.

I don't work for Disney. I'm fortunate enough to be able to choose who I work for, and to work in an industry where I'm not exploited on a daily basis. But I'm not so naive that I don't realise that there are others less fortunate than me that don't have the same opportunities and rights, even in the most advanced of nations.

I believe that even the lowliest worker should be respected and treated with dignity, especially by their employers. Working in a hot stuffy Mickey Mouse suit might not be mentally taxing but I bet it's hard work, and it sure as hell is an important job as far as the public's perception of Disney goes: get it right and you've made some kid's dream come true, get it wrong and you've ruined the holiday of a lifetime.

Irrespective of how I feel about copyright extensions (as I pointed out previously in this thread, I don't like them) it says something about our society that looking out for the interests of those less fortunate than ourselves is labelled "greedy" and "selfish".

How exactly, pray tell, am I not putting "the good of society before [my own] selfish interests" when I point out that a global corporation that practically has a licence to print money (and, indeed, does) fails to provide even basic protection for its workers?

The least you can say about people who regard copyright extensions as being more contentious an issue than the blatant exploitation of their peers is that they have their priorities wrong. But when those same people start clothing their argument in terms of freedom, well, then you know that they're missing the whole point: failing to respect the people who work so hard to make you such a handsome profit and treating them in an undignified and demeanful manner is behaviour that's more synonymous to slavery than anything else.

Please, spare me your pity. If you can't see that ideology is less important than reality then you're delusional and it's you that needs pitying.

Re:Has Studio Ghibli ditched Disney yet?

[AhBeeDoi]

If you disagree with me you don't understand what the revolutionary war was actually about and what we won by it.

I'd say that tirades against dissenting opinions also show a lack of understanding of the principles behind the revolutionary war.

Re:Has Studio Ghibli ditched Disney yet?

[Anonymous Coward]

I believe that even the lowliest worker should be respected and treated with dignity, especially by their employers.

Anyone stupid enough to come to work and put on a used jock strap isn't "lowly", they are "retarded".

"Disney won't allow them to organize"... again, they are retarded. The only thing that stops them from organizing is themselves.

These are small issues of local importance. Stupid people who won't take their fates into their own hands. Copyright extension, otoh, is a global issue with ramifications that will touch your children's children. I pity them, I pity you, and I pity a world that cares more for their breads and circuses than they do for what is right.

Re:Has Studio Ghibli ditched Disney yet?

[WIAKywbfatw]

Anyone stupid enough to come to work and put on a used jock strap isn't "lowly", they are "retarded".

"Disney won't allow them to organize"... again, they are retarded. The only thing that stops them from organizing is themselves.

These are small issues of local importance. Stupid people who won't take their fates into their own hands. Copyright extension, otoh, is a global issue with ramifications that will touch your children's children. I pity them, I pity you, and I pity a world that cares more for their breads and circuses than they do for what is right.

Oh, I see, so in your eyes, anyone who takes a lowly job to feed their family is "retarded"? Nice worldview you've got their, bub. You talk about copyright extensions in terms of "what is right" but why don't you tell me what's right about a society where a multi-billion dollar behemoth like Disney can treat workers so shabbily on a daily basis and get away with it? Does it make you proud that you live in a society where employee protection is so weak that employers can pull stunts like this?

I find it sad that we're having a discussion where people value copyright more than they value more fundamental human rights. It says everything about your attitude that you resort to labelling hard working ordinary people as "retarded": clearly, you'd rather insult and ridicule them than live in a society where they (and everyone else) was afforded fair protection from exploitative employers.

What's even sadder is that you drag out the "children's children" line: sorry, but I think that you're living in a dream if you think that copyright will be their main concern. We're living in an age where environmental breakdown is visible, where social programmes (health, education, pensions) are critically close to collapse, and where nations talk to other nations using direct force rather than diplomacy and you think that our children's children are going to turn to us and bitch at us about copyright? I'm sorry, but I think that they're going to inherit a mountain-worth of crap from us and you're bitching about a mole-hill.

Now , Mr Anonymous Coward, unless you want to show a modicum of manners by logging in and showing me just who I'm talking to, this discussion is over.

Disney dismay

[Snart Barfunz]

I wish there were some way for these to be released through another studio - somehow the Disney association devalues them for me. But it's great news that the dual language DVD is coming out. I prefer to watch Miyazaki's movies in Japanese with English subtitles, rather than hearing voices which don't fit the characters, or lip-synch properly.

Re:Disney dismay

[_bug_]

I prefer to watch Miyazaki's movies in Japanese with English subtitles, rather than hearing voices which don't fit the characters, or lip-synch properly.

I agree with you in the sense that I like watching the with the original Japanese and English subtitles, but you've got to be kidding me on that lame lip-sync excuse.

Any decent anime that's been dubbed within the last 10 years has gone through some excruciating processes to get the English dialogue to sync with the lips. More so, I dare say, than the original Japanese dialogue would. There was an especially interesting situation with Neil Gaiman writing the English script for Mononoke. Some of the script had to be rewritten (by others) to get the voices to sync with the lips.

A few years ago I was given a VHS copy of Serial Experiements Lain vol2 which had been manufactured without subtitles for whatever reason. So it was an English box but only the Japanese audio track. I watched it anyway, having already seen the series, I figured it'd be interesting to actually watch, and not read. It became obvious very quickly how the Japanese dialogue did not sync with the lips.

I started turn subtitles off on a few other series I have on DVD and started noticing this was not unique to my copy of Lain.

I think a lot of English-speaking viewers have this misconcieved notion that an English dub won't lip-sync well whereas the Japanese version does. However, I don't think those who feel that way ever took the time to actually look at the lip syncing. They were probably too busy trying to read subtitles.

Perhaps a few years ago the voice acting on the majority of anime wasn't as good as the original Japanese track. Perhaps this is still true. Japanese voice actors do seem to get more emotion out of their voices, although there are certainly many bright spots in American dubs.

The English dub for Lain, I thought, was very well done. So much so that I actually prefer the American dub over the original Japanese. The same goes for Lodoss War. Cowboy Bebop, on the otherhand, I can't stand the English voice cast. I don't think anyone but Aoi Tada could ever do the voice of Ed. The same goes for Escaflwone, Akira, Nazca, etc...

Point is this: lip syncing isn't an issue, and to make it one is just a lame excuse to make up for having no reason at all to stick with Japanese dialogue other than simple personal preference. There's nothing wrong with that, btw, you don't need to make excuses for that.

Secondary point is this: English dubs can be pretty good* and you ought to give them a chance.

*Ignore the whole Gillian Anderson as Moro, the English director for Mononoke just totally missed on that one.

Re:Disney dismay

[_bug_]

doh! i before e except after c.

spellcheck.

it'd be nice to have an edit feature in /.

then i wouldn't look so lame with mispellings while trying to make my point

Re:Disney dismay

[_bug_]

misspelling mispellings was on purpose. it's funny. laugh.

Re:Disney dismay

[Wyzard]

FWIW, the dubs are pretty good. I prefer to watch most anime in the original Japanese (notable exception being the Kenshin TV series -- I like his English voice better) but it's nice to know that if you want to watch a movie with people who aren't used to reading subtitles, you can set the dialogue to English and not worry that the quality will be lacking.

The US release of Spirited Away includes a second disc which contains, among other things, a look into Disney's work in adapting the movie. They were very careful about preserving the meaning of the dialogue in translation, only making small changes in places where the American audience might otherwise misunderstand. For example, when the injured Haku drops the stolen magic seal, the protective spell comes out of it in the form of a little slug-like thing. Some people in the translation team got confused at first because the slug-like thing looks a bit like a seal (the animal) so they changed "seal" to "wooden seal" in the dialogue to make it clear which object is meant. Especially after watching that, I don't think the Disney name detracts from the release at all.

Re:Disney dismay

[Robotech_Master]

The reason anime lips don't often sync to the Japanese dialogue is that, in many to most cases, animation over in Japan is dubbed exactly the opposite of how it is over here. In America, the voice track is recorded first, so that the animation can be perfectly synced to the mouth movements. In Japan, the movie is animated first, leaving about what they think is enough mouth movements for the dialogue, then the actors have to match their words to the movements as best they can (and most Japanese directors aren't terribly finicky about this. For an example, watch the Japanese making-of documentary on disc 2 of Spirited Away...there's a bit that covers the voice recording--and it's done in a movie theater style auditorium, with the actors matching their movements to the animated images on a big screen!

Re:Disney dismay

[YaRness]

for me, i always give the subtitles the benefit of the doubt with respect to a better translation. i'm sure it's different per case, but it seems to me it's easier to translate to text than to translate to audio that has to fit a particular timeframe.

Re:Disney dismay

[Sangui5]

Especially after watching that, I don't think the Disney name detracts from the release at all.

While I can agree that many newer english dubs (WHR, Noir, and Haibane Renmei come to mind) are rather good, Disney's dubs are not amoung them. I'm sure others can generate a more complete list of Disney doing a terrible job, but I'll stick with one particularly glaring example: the opening of "Castle in the Sky".

Watch it with the translated subtitles on, but the English soundtrack. There's an awful lot of dialogue, but no subtitles to match? Are the subtitles broken or something? Try the beginning again with Japanese language. Nobody is saying anything. The dub has new dialouge spun out of whole cloth. This isn't a creative interpretation of what was being said, changing the word structure to get the lips to sync, or even a sloppy job. This is purposeful and deliberate mangling of Miyazaki's work.

Perhaps the flak Disney took for these changes (and others in Mononoke-hime) convinced them to remain more faithful to the original script in Spirited Away, but I don't trust them. I'll listen to a little bit of the English dub just to see the quality of the voice acting (which, is of higher quality than usual, but not as good as the newer stuff ADV or Bandai is putting out) and to see if I can match voices to famous actors, but that's it. Watching the entire thing when I can't be sure if what I'm hearing is genuine or mangled isn't worth it.

That, and Disney is just evil anyway. Well, Michael Eisner's Disney is at least.

Re:Disney dismay

[Jeff DeMaagd]

Well, Disney is the only anime distributor in the US that can get partly acceptable theatrical penetration.

Bandai, Manga, Pioneer and ADV barely get the things in ten screens in the US, I think Disney gets about 150 in the US and at least ten in Canada. IIRC, Disney also gets dub and subtitle prints out.

Disney is IMO also pretty well on par with dubbing quality with Ghibli products. Every dub has its miscasts, some show it more than others.

Re:Disney dismay

[tepples]

Misspellings don't matter much on Slashdot; even the editors make them.

ObTopic: I hate Disney too. In fact, if I were a fan of Studio Ghibli's films, I would region-mod my DVD player just so that I could buy DVDs from regions where Disney isn't distributing Ghibli.

Re:Disney dismay

[Snart Barfunz]

You have a point in that dubs are getting better. But having, in my misspent youth, spent many, many hours doing onion skin drawings, painting cels, working a rostrum camera - oh well, guess I'm just old fashioned. Having said that, Miyazaki's lip sync is as tight as everything else in his movies, and it's not just that the Japanese voices express emotion but that it's different emotion - less cloying, to my ears. But anyway - I used the word 'prefer' - I don't know why expressing a preference counts as a lame excuse.

Re:Disney dismay

[SenorCitizen]

Secondary point is this: English dubs can be pretty good* and you ought to give them a chance. *Ignore the whole Gillian Anderson as Moro, the English director for Mononoke just totally missed on that one.

English subs can be pretty good, but usually aren't. Take Princess Mononoke, which you used as an example. I can't stand the monk guy's accent - way too amerrrrrrican for anime. They should know better - thick English accents just don't suit the Japanese surroundings.

On second thought, maybe they should Babelfish a secondary script - Audio 3: Engrish would be damn funny..

Re:Disney dismay

[DeadScreenSky]

I just thought I would point out that one of the films you mentioned, Akira, actually has the lips match up really well in the Japanese version. This is because they took the more American approach and recorded the dialogue first (though they did still keep the superior Japanese approach of recording characters together and not all separately). Kaneda is a particularly good character to see this in, as he physically overemotes so much.

The special edition extras disc actually shows parts of the voice recording, which is fascinating.

Pretty light on details.

[andih8u]

So who's going to be distributing this? Will it be a major studio with wide theatrical release? Or a quest to find a theatre that's playing it? All in all, they'll still find out that US audiences in general still won't be interested in it as most people still regard anime as "cartoons", so a theatrical release will be a money loser for them.

Re:Pretty light on details.

[nyamada]

Disney is distributing this -- they have a deal with Studio Ghibli for all their works, I believe.

I believe that it will _not_ get theatrical release in the US, but will be released straight to DVD, as was "Castle in the Sky" and "Kiki's Delivery Service". More's the pity.

Re:Pretty light on details.

[tuffy]

So who's going to be distributing this?

Disney will. Some films might get a limited theatrical run but all will eventually wind up on DVD with new dubs and the original language track intact - much like the last three Ghibli films Disney put out ("Kiki's Delivery Service","Castle in the Sky" and "Spirited Away")

Re:Pretty light on details.

[MooCows]

Disney is distributing.

And I've you would've bothered to RTFA: ;)

a) all the films will be out by the end of 2005, b) Nausicaa is next, c) some films (which were not stated) may get a theatrical release, d) Howl's Moving Castle *will* be Japanese theaters in July and in the US later e) Mononoke will get a second theatrical release in the US in subtitled form.

Re:Pretty light on details.

[DevNova]

While many here have major complaints against Disney, I've been more or less pleased with what they put out (at least with Pixar of late). As for Disney's deal to release Studio Ghibli films, I think the last three DVD's have been wonderful packages and are all very well done.

Say what you will about Disney, their "stamp of approval" on these films means MUCH greater exposure to those who would never have even considered looking twice at these titles. That has to be a plus.

Re:Pretty light on details.

[meringuoid]

I saw Majo no Takkyubin at the cinema. One-off showing to promote the DVD. What the buggers didn't mention was how completely appalling the DVD subs were - English for Hard of Hearing only. Not only dubtitles, dubtitles with SOUND EFFECTS! Yuk!

I'm told Tenku no Shiro Rapyuta has the same flaws. So did Mononoke Hime, but at least Gaiman's translation was close enough that it didn't annoy much. It's just the moments where nobody's talking, yet the subtitles keep on rolling...

Re:Pretty light on details.

[meringuoid]

note to self: if they screw up Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi in the same way, buy the Aussie edition...

Re:Pretty light on details.

[aardvarkjoe]

I'm told Tenku no Shiro Rapyuta has the same flaws. So did Mononoke Hime, ...

You were told incorrectly. There are two sets of subtitles on the DVDs; one is for hearing impaired (literal transcription of the English) and one is a translation of the Japanese, which often differs from the English dialogue quite a bit -- Especially in the case of Laputa, the only Ghibli movie so far which I think that the dub was poorly done.

Re:Pretty light on details.

[Masami Eiri]

Spirited Away's subs were fine. Laputa's were slightly out of time, however.

Re:Pretty light on details.

[meringuoid]

True for region 1. I neglected to mention that I'm in the UK, and Disney screwed up our releases. I am baffled as to why, since by all reports they did a fine job in the UK. Yet the fact remains that my Kiki DVD has no literal English sub, only the sub for the deaf. Doubly baffling is the fact that the _storyboard_ special feature has the proper literal sub...

If they mess up Spirited Away, then I'll start importing from Australia. Madman seem to take subs seriously, and they make region 2+4 DVDs. Nice.

Re:Pretty light on details.

[BigDork1001]

I got to see Mononoke in the theater the first time and it was an awesome experience. It was my first time ever seeing anime on the big screen and it just blew me away. It definatly helped that I went with a large group of friends who are all really into anime. Mononoke remains one of my favorite anime movies to this day.

I also got to see Escaflowne in a movie theater and too was a great experience. Too bad more anime isn't shown in theaters.

Re:Pretty light on details.

[meringuoid]

Gah. Correction: 'By all reports, they did a fine job in the _US_.' Then they buggered up in the UK, giving us a DVD identical in all respects save the subtitle. Bizarre.

Re:Pretty light on details.

[Sangui5]

I posted in more detail above, but the Laputa dub makes up additional dialogue. This isn't a creative translatoin, this is a minute and a half of dialogue in English where there is none in Japanese. A good long stretch of it right at the beginning. Check it out yourself if you don't believe me.

Ghibli releases

[platypussrex]

If you are not familiar with Ghibli, these are some of the finest animated movies out there, and some would even argue some of the finest movies of any kind. Disney did Spirited Away for the US market, so that's what the Disney comments are about (which have been modded off-topic in some cases... mods with no clue).

Interesting to compare the dubbing done by Disney to the subtitling done by various fans. I have seen at least three sets of subs, all of which vary a bit depending on the translator. Sometimes Disney's dub makes sense, and sometimes it is just plain strange. Hopefully the new realeases will be better translations, although personally I prefer to hear the original language and read subtitles.

Re:Ghibli releases

[F34nor]

True that.

I like to turn off the sound, turn on the subtitles, put in a Destination Goa CD and smoke about a pound of... well you know. There is nothing like dark psy-trace and Anime.

Which takes US to the greatest ideas of a friend of mine had before he turned into a IV meth junkie. (btw any drug TIMOTHY LEARY says is bad is REALLY FUCKING BAD even if every Anime was made using it.) Add multiple techno sound tracks to Anime DVD's. Blood, Naussca, Akira, and et al. all need to have a Goa, Techno, Jungle, Break beat, & ambient sound track. Fuck Asian sub-pop and etc. give me some banging shit.

Re:Ghibli releases

[OracleOfTangent]

The one thing the Disney dubs do have on most other anime is that the voice actors doing the dubs actually act to some degree, so the dubs are actually tolerable, and sometimes even enjoyable, to listen to. The voice acting in most dubbed anime is so strange and stilted that it's painful. It's true, though, that if you want an accurate translation of the original script, that you should watch the films subtitled.

Re:Ghibli releases

[bellings]

if you want an accurate translation of the original script, that you should watch the films subtitled.

Why would the subtitles be any better translation than voice dubbing? If you really wanted an accurate translation of the original script, you should read the original script in japanese.

Re:Ghibli releases

[meringuoid]

Lilarcor the talking sword as Haku the river god. Any other reasons needed?

Re:Ghibli releases

[ajs]

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.

Re:Ghibli releases

[bellings]

I think I understand the point you're trying to make, but I don't know if I agree. I don't believe that animated japanese movies are enjoyed only by painfully clueless people who live in their mother's basement, unable to carry on a normal conversation.

The question was, "why would a sub be an (intrinsically) better translation than a dub?" I imagine there are intelligent people out there who could give valid reasons. Just because most anime fans on this site come off even more clueless than the normal slashdot horde doesn't mean they're all incapable of delivering a coherent answer, as you implied.

Re:Ghibli releases

[MonkeyDluffy]

Subtitles can be more accurate than the dubs for a number of reasons. One is that dubs may modify the script so that the dialog corresponds to the lips moving - so they may have to add or shorten the actors lines. Another is that sometimes there is a tendency of sanitizing/deculturalizing the dubs, while the subtitles for the same movie/show are a more correct translation of the japanese. By sanitizing I mean that sexual or volent dialog may be cleaned up, and by deculturalizing I mean cultural references may be changed to something more "westernized", or language jokes changed to different puns or jokes in english. Subtitles are assumed to be for the purists, and dubs are assumed to be for kids (hence the sanitization) and casual viewers.

-MDL

Re:Ghibli releases

[meringuoid]

Well, in addition to it being hard for me to get over Japanese characters with strong American accents (which might just be a British thing - it's probably perfectly natural if you're American) there's still another matter. Dubs tend to be more Disneyfied, while subs stick more closely to the Japanese. They add dialogue in times when nobody's saying a word. As an example, compare Jiji the cat in the English and Japanese versions of Kiki. In English he's played pretty much for laughs, has _lots_ of extra lines and sounds suspiciously like Troy McClure.

There's no reason in principle why dubs can't be faithful to the Japanese - Mononoke Hime was pretty damn good - but in practice they frequently aren't.

Re:Ghibli releases

[dead sun]

One of the reasons is that there are varying lengths to a variety of words in Japanese and English. The dialogue may take 10 seconds to say in Japanese and boil down to about five English words (minor exageration). When this happens, you have to fluff up the English a bit or it looks like a bad Godzilla dub. We're talking no sound for a couple seconds and the mouth is still moving.

A subtitling is under no such pressure. If the subtitle takes its sweet time to say the same thing, or puts the sentence into the five words it really means, well, it does. You read, you comprehend, you get sound with the mouth moving, even if it isn't perfect. (You don't think the Japanese always lines up perfect, do you?)

There's also another thing that fansubbing does at least. That is to use a few Japanese words (well, their romanizations) in the sub itself. The average watcher is generally pretty clueless to it, so I don't think it'd be a mainstream (read: Disney) thing, but it adds a lot when these little things are carried over because they have a different feel to them than the English translations tend to. Especially the suffixes used with names, sensei, sama, chan, kun, etc.

When these are translated to what they mean, like little Yahiko in the Kenshin DVD subs (can't stand the English voices) instead of Yahiko-chan like in the fansubs it makes my skin crawl. Little Yahiko is not something that anybody'd think to say in English except maybe in the instance of "poor little Yahiko" which would have waaay been better in the Kenshin instances because chan is used as mocking Yahiko. Anywhere else and you don't really think to call a child little, so "Thank you little Chihiro" is right out, where "Arigato Chihiro-chan" is, well, proper (even if I may have killed the spelling). So it invariably gets dropped in the dubbing process. This leads to a different problem, you lose the information of the relation of two characters by not using these methods of address. Sama and sensei are terms of respect, and to call Yahiko by the term Yahiko-sama means you have respect for them. Instead it's just lost, or translated into a Mr. Yahiko, which in a lot of cases sounds dumb and doesn't imply the same respect.

Just my two cents on the whole dubbing process. And before anybody thinks I'm being too harsh, let me say I have a lot of respect for the people that dub in both the original Japanese and the English releases. I've been working on a fandub with some friends (bad idea, but fun to try) and, while it's coming along, it is incredibly time consuming and difficult to get the voices to sound consistantly in character, let alone capture what's being said in approximately the proper length of time and sound like you mean it. I imagine there are similar problems getting from Japanese script to English subs, just to make the lines sound right when reading, but I think there's less pressure to change things to fit the length of time that mouths are moving and thus the sub can be more true to the original Japanese.

Re:Ghibli releases

[QuoteMstr]

My friends and I like to watch that movie with both dubbing and subtitles turned on. The funniest scene with that combination is when the family is first entering the cave. The dubbed character asks "what's this?" and the subtitle answers "it's a cave!"

Totoro!

[nonmaskable]

...let's hope the great job Disney has done so far continues. In particular, no matter what, do not buy the Fox 'Totoro' - everything about it sucks.

Sad treatment for a movie acclaimed by many as one of the best movies of all time.

Re:Totoro!

[Robotech_Master]

In all fairness, the only thing that really sucks about it is the lack of letterboxing. The dub itself is an outstanding one...probably the best dub that Carl Macek has ever made. (They probably had to stand over him with a bullwhip to force him to do it. "No!" *whipcrack* "You do *NOT* dub in random dialogue to match mouth movements!" *whipcrack* "You do *NOT* dub in random dialogue when people's heads are turned!" *whipcrack* "You do *NOT* take liberties with the translation!")

The lack of original-language/subtitles is mildly annoying, but given that the target audience for Totoro is kids who can't read yet anyway, I don't feel bad about getting it for my nieces' enjoyment. It was cheap enough anyway.

Re:Totoro!

[nexusone]

The Fox version only suck's if you are a strick Anime nut who nit picks every translated line.

My kids love Totoro and most I know who have watched it, loved it. I myself think it is not a bad translation.

My big grip with Disney is there taking so long in releasing there versions to the US market.
I waited almost 5 years for Kiki's delivery service from the time it was slated to come out.

But if you want to talk about a terrible hack job on one of Miyazaki's movies, see if you can find a copy of the "Warriors of the Wind" a really bad translation of "Nausicaa vally of the Wind" .
This translation is so bad, Miyazaki ask's that people try to forget it.

Re:Totoro!

[nonmaskable]

Sorry, I should have been more specific.

The video and audio quality is unbelievably bad in comparison to the Disney work (it actually hurts to say anything nice about Disney) and as you point out the lack of subtitles.

I don't have a problem with the dub - it is pretty good.

Pom Poko?

[SmileeTiger]

Any idea if Pom Pokow ill be released? I couldn't see an anime where raccoons run around with exposed *ahem* bits. Perhaps Disney will nuter them?

Re:Pom Poko?

[BJH]

They're not raccoons.

Re:Pom Poko?

[Wildfire Darkstar]

IIRC, "Pom Poko," though released by Studio Ghibli, was not directed by Miyazaki. Disney's deal only covers Miyazaki's work, not anything else produced by Ghibli. It's been a while, though, so I may be wrong here.

Re:Pom Poko?

[ll1234]

"Pom Poko" is included in Disney deal, see http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/disney/ for a complete list of films included in the deal.

Re:Pom Poko?

[ChibiOne]

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

Re:Pom Poko?

[Anonymous Coward]

Tanooki, then? Looks like almost the same thing to me, but, I think we've all played SMB3 some time ago and remember the difference between the two suits (and they *were* neutered in that game, heh)

I don't know. I'm still recovering from misreading the title as something about releases of Gigli *shudder* ...

Re-relase Totoro Please!!!

[kyoko21]

I have about 7 region 2 Ghibli DVDs. They are cool. Except for Totoro. The english subtitles were not actually done by Ghibili, but instead, they are the actual scripts for the english audio tracks. The english audio tracks were ok, but unfortunately, the english audio track has added lines in places where there moments in the scene they felt "too quiet" so they added lines in. So when you watch the DVD with the Japanese audio and the english subtitles, you would see lines that you have no audio for. (BTW, this was done by Disney...blah).

Please Ghibili! Re do the Totoro DVD!!!!

Re:Re-relase Totoro Please!!!

[alienmole]

Could you give an example of the extra dialog? I have a Totoro DVD that's part of a pirated Ghibli Box Set, and I've never noticed any problem with the Totoro subtitles. Maybe I'm just dense. To compare, these DVDs have subtitles in Japanese, Chinese and English.

The box set is great, and I'd recommend it to anyone, except for the fact that the money doesn't go to Ghibli. To assuage my conscience, I've bought the English versions of both Mononoke and Spirited Away, and saw the latter in theaters. I've never even bothered watching the English Mononoke DVD.

OTOH, I think it's dumb that these studios won't just satisfy demand and sell to people who want to buy their products, with or without English dubbing.

Re:Re-relase Totoro Please!!!

[alan_dershowitz]

This was not done by Disney--this was done by Ghibli at the behest of Disney. Jo Hisaishi came back to redo some music and add some more, which he seemed really happy to do.

Part of the Ghibli-Disney distribution agreement was that Disney could not make changes to their movies. In reality, this means that Disney can pressure Ghibli to make changes to their own movies.

I don't know if Miyazaki approves of this, but he probably doesn't care as long as it's not changing the actual movie. The agreement also doesn't seem to cover strict translation. Note in Kiki's Delivery Service, the change in reference from Kiki drinking coffee to drinking cocoa (everyone drinks coffee in japan, but kids don't in the USA.)

Re:Re-relase Totoro Please!!!

[kyoko21]

I believe the Boxset is different than the DVD that I have.

The one that I have is this one. I had purchased it while I was traveling in Japan last summer and actually even bought a cheapo region 2 dvd player to ship home... hehe. (Yeah, I know it's pretty pathetic).

To give you an example, just a few minutes into the movie, when the girls arrive at their new home upon getting off the truck with their father, they venture to this stream where they see some fishe in the water. As the girls look down into the stream, the view is shifted so that what you see on the screen is just the fishes swimming in the stream, and the only audio is the water rushing through the bed. If you have the Japanese audio track enabled, this is what you hear. If you have the english audio enabled, however, they actually are speaking an additional lines which are not present in the Japanese audio track. Now, I don't know what all the legal mumbo jumobo is between Ghibli and Disney, but if that isn't changing the movie, then I don't know what is. I mean they are adding in lines into the movie that weren't there in the first place. I thought at first I was going nuts and there was a problem with my DVD player or my TV. After much investigation I found that the subtitles that were provided on the disc is indeed just the script for the english audio track. Thus, instead of watching subtitles for a supposed Japanese translation, I am merely reading the English Dub scripts. Perhaps the dub scripts are just as fine, with the added lines. But I am not certain. I will have to go back to my fansubs of Totoro which is now over 10 years old... lol.

So please!!! Re-release the Totoro DVD :-)

Re:Re-relase Totoro Please!!!

[BigFire]

Jo Hisaishi was never very happy with how the score of Laputa turns out. He went through his electronic music period at the time, and that movie was used as an experiments. He was more than happy to rescore and reorchestrate the soundtrack for the R1 English dub release.

Re:Re-relase Totoro Please!!!

[alienmole]

Thanks for the info. I realized I didn't completely absorb your earlier post - your DVD includes an English audio track, whereas mine only has Japanese audio, but has an English subtitle track.

I just checked the scene you mentioned (I have Totoro on my hard disk ;) There are no subtitles while the water is being shown. The only subtitles correspond to the Japanese audio track:

"Mei, there's a bridge."
(Mei responds on the audio track, but there's no subtitle)
(View of stream with fishes swimming)
(Cut back to sisters)
"Fish."
"See, it flashed again"

> So please!!! Re-release the Totoro DVD :-)

Sure - there can never be too much Totoro! ;)

Re:Re-relase Totoro Please!!!

[kyoko21]

If they re-release the DVD I wonder if they will be cool like a lot of the new Japanese DVD and release a toy... say... hmm....*roll eyes*... Cat Bus? :-) Then I could have something nifty to put in my office.

Re:Re-relase Totoro Please!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, the current American release of Totoro was done by 20th Century Fox, if you feel like blaming someone. I imagine that it was the script and dub track from this that ended up in the Ghibli release.

It's also somewhat odd when watching the subtitled version seeing "Mai" and hearing "Mei"...

Re:Re-relase Totoro Please!!!

[alienmole]

There are some nifty-looking Totoro plush dolls out there, but the good ones are expensive.

Of course, a dedicated fan might do a Cat Bus conversion on his car!

WHEW!

[JeanBaptiste]

I first read that as 'the future of Gigli US releases'

got a little freaked out for a sec there...

Pom Poko?

[SmileeTiger]

Any idea if Pom Pokow ill be released? I couldn't see an anime where raccoons run around with exposed *ahem* bits being released by Disney. Perhaps Disney will nuter them?

Go Go Gadet Grey-Market!

[Valdrax]

You could always buy the region-free collection from Hong Kong. It has (fair) English subtitles, and contains 11 movies, though for some reason they call "I Can Hear the Sea" "Ocean Waves." The translations are better than many Hong Kong DVDs I've seen, though nowhere near the standards that Disney has set. I'd highly recommend the boxed set since it contains several movies that Disney isn't going to bother releasing on DVD in America, including "Porco Rosso," which is still my favorite animated movie of all time.

There's another set out there with only 7 movies on 4 discs, but I don't know anything about it.

Re:Go Go Gadet Grey-Market!

[Pope]

I'd highly recommend the boxed set since it contains several movies that Disney isn't going to bother releasing on DVD in America, including "Porco Rosso," which is still my favorite animated movie of all time.

You need to read the linked article again. Porco Rosso is being release, they did a whole new dub and everything. Geez...

Re:Go Go Gadet Grey-Market!

[Valdrax]

You're right. I finally got around to reading it right after I posted this. This is great news, since previously the rumors were that Disney had done the dub but had decided to just sit on it and "Castle in the Sky" and never release them after being underwhelmed by previous theater releases.

That's good to hear, and...

[oujirou]

...if you have a chance, try and see Porco Rosso in Spanish or, even better, in Italian dub. It adds to the spirit of the movie so much.

Re: Dub/Sub

[Anonymous Coward]

"Hopefully the new realeases will be better translations, although personally I prefer to hear the original language and read subtitles."

I definitely agree with you about the subtitle issue. Some of the English voice actors don't put the same emotion in it as the Japanese did.

Japanese dialogs

[Anonymous Coward]

In japan, the voices are recorded after animation is finished, so, lip-synch is not as well done as in western animation.

"You are so lucky..."

[mekkab]

"You get to watch John Lasseter's sicophantic introduction to every Miyazaki DVD over the course of an entire year!"

(this joke will only make sense to those who have seen the Disney Ghibli releases)

Re:"You are so lucky..."

[Anonymous Coward]

Ugh. Every time I play one of those disks I want to stab him in the eye.

Yes, I know miyazaki and ghibli are wonderful, thats why I bought the disk. Now shut up.

Oh well, thats what the "skip" button is for.

Re:"You are so lucky..."

[nexusone]

A good reason to by a DVD burner and software for editing videos!!!!

Re:"You are so lucky..."

[mekkab]

A good reason to by a DVD burner and software for editing videos!!!!


Truer words where NEVER spoken! Trust me- the day I figure our this DVD+/-R/RW whatever stuff (i.e.- good burners are $60!) is the day I'm editing out all the crap intro stuff and all the WEAK "bonus features."

Re:"You are so lucky..."

[Anonymous Coward]

Even better is some of the DVD extra stuff showing Miyazaki being presshanded and mugged with by Lassiter.

Miyazaki's body language and facial expressions (and complete cluelessness of Lassiter to it) are great.

Re:"You are so lucky..."

[SquadBoy]

Since Pixar just told Disney to go piss up a rope somehow I think not.

Never heard of the "skip" button have you?

Re:"You are so lucky..."

[mekkab]

uhm, err, I'm not sure if I've programmed it into my RM-VL900 yet! ;)

Re:"You are so lucky..."

[AnonymousKev]

I do use the Skip button -- I just want the ability to set "Skip Sychophantic JL intro" as the default!

Who's brilliant idea was than anyway? When I hit Play, I want the movie to start. If I want to watch lame intros and commentaries, I'll select that option from the menu.

Re:"You are so lucky..."

[RickHunter]

Oh dear lord, those are painful. Especially since there doesn't seem to be any way I've found yet to prevent them from at least trying to play. Once they start, you can skip past them, but they're not a usual scene... So you can't jump past them by starting at the "Start of Movie" scene instead of "Oh, I'm such an amazing artist, taking the work of a great man and raping it, aren't I such a fucking moron" scene.

Re:"You are so lucky..."

[WuphonsReach]

Err, it's not at all hard. If you know how to work a CD-R(W) burner, you can work a DVD burner. Good dual-format burners are $80-$100 (close enough) and there are all sorts of programs to do the ripping/cutting/burning. (Google around in the alt.video.dvd.* USENET groups.)

Bebop

[Anonymous Coward]

Hang on a second. Spike's English voice actor is pretty damn good. I actually prefer his voice to the original, and that's saying something. Usually I would take the Japanese voicing with English subtitles anyday, but don't dismiss the entire English dub as awful.

Good news bad news

[chiyosdad]

Now, I love Ghibli as much as most people, and it's great that more people will be exposed to it, but I'm not looking forward to the consequences this will bring. Imagine what would happen if these movies attain the popularity they deserve in the states. Will hollywood producers say, "we should stop putting out utter shit, and think about ways to improve the quality of our films to match and surpass Ghibli films", or will they say "holy cow, people are into that bug-eyed japanese shit? We better ride this fad out and milk it for all it's worth"? You're going to have an army of clueless directors using "anime-style animation" to tell mediocre stories about uninteresting characters, and they're going to ruin a perfectly good artform.

Re:Good news bad news

[goat_attack]

I don't think the quality of "anime-style" animation has much of a reflection on the quality of anime itself. Besides, plenty of crappy anime exists, you don't see most of it because it never gets brought over to the US by distributors, and anime is doing just fine in Japan.

I think Disney's already adapted a bit of the anime look for Lilo and Stich, they do seem to have oversized eyes.

Studio Ghibli all region DVD collections

[yulek]

I have the 4 disk 7 film (Laputa, Grave of the Fireflies, Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, Porco-Rossi, Princess Mononoke, and Spirited Away) all region Studio Ghibli limited edition collection. It's very high quality and it's all widescreen. The dubbing is quite decent (for e.g. Princess Mononoke uses the U.S. theatrical dubbing which was quite good) but more importantly all the movies have the japanese versions as well (unlike the Disney releases). And the subtitles are actually quite good.

There's also the 6 disk, 12 movie collection which adds Nausicaa, Only Yesterday, Whisper of the Heart, Pompoko, Ocean Waves, and On Your Mark, but doesn't include Spirited Away (this is a newer collection and my guess is the omission of this film from the collection is due to Disney...) Although I can't speak of it's quality I can't imagine it being anything but as good as the 4 disk one.

You can get these collection on eBay. Just search on Ghibli. But you'll end up buying them from distributors like this anyway (they heave the 7 and 12 film collections).

I'd seriously considering grabbing the 7 movie version just to have a non-Disney version of Spirited Away.

These have to be the most imaginative, creative, and beautiful films ever made. The power of animation taken to full advantage (imagine a live version of Totoro? ugh, i just got a bad premonition...)

I can't recommend each and every one of these films enough for anyone with a shred of imagination.

Re:Studio Ghibli all region DVD collections

[meringuoid]

I realise this is /., and I realise what we usually think about large corporations and copyright, especially Disney, but seriously: this is Miyazaki we're talking about. These are pirate.

So speaketh the man with divx versions of every last Miyazaki film. But I'm buying legit DVDs as they come out, conditional only on there being a decent literal subtitle...

Re:Studio Ghibli all region DVD collections

[yulek]

yeeech. i feel so violated, so monumentally naive now. i honestly didn't think these were bootlegs :(

for what it's worth tho, the 4 disc "collection" i have has non of the technical problems mentioned on the bootleg page you point to (although the menus _are a weird hodge podge_). i've watched all seven films and the quality is excellent with no ghosting or blanking out.

but yeah, if i'm not serving time in prison for owning this set by then, i'll pick up the official releases...

thanks for the wake up call.

Re:Studio Ghibli all region DVD collections

[Dr. Mojura]

I realize you didn't know you had bootlegs (from your other post), but I'm curious as to how you could have believed that a legit 7 disc DVD collection would sell for $32; especially official Japanese versions. I had purchased an official Japanese version of Spirited Away on DVD from a distributor in Japan before it was released here, and it cost me $50, not including shipping. If you really want to avoid Disney, and purchase a release from Japan, you have to be prepared to spend more than double what you would pay here.

I had to re-purchase Spirited Away, as all of my DVDs were stolen, and I bought the 2-disc US version, not wanting to shell out another $50, and actually I can't remember anything being on the Japanese release (also 2-disc) that's not on the US one.

Re:Studio Ghibli all region DVD collections

[yulek]

I realize you didn't know you had bootlegs (from your other post), but I'm curious as to how you could have believed that a legit 7 disc DVD collection would sell for $32

4 disc, actually, but I understand what you mean. I guess I was just psyched and figured they must not be well enough appreciated or something. Like I said elsewhere: monumentally naive...

I had to re-purchase Spirited Away, as all of my DVDs were stolen, and I bought the 2-disc US version, not wanting to shell out another $50, and actually I can't remember anything being on the Japanese release (also 2-disc) that's not on the US one.

That's true for Spirited Away, I guess (although if I remember correctly, the Disney version has that horrible collection of "coming soons" and other ads when you first load the disc that all their releases pain me with) but definitely not for Totoro. It was great to watch Totoro in the original japanese, finally. Most importantly that song in the end is horrible in English :)

lip-sync=shorthand?

[alienmole]

I agree with you that lip-syncing per se isn't a problem, but I think when people say that, they're often using it to summarize a whole range of things - like the OP said, voices that don't fit the character, for example. Also, translated dialog is often a bit stilted, if it's not done really well, and I find reading such dialog less jarring than hearing a voice saying it.

Re:lip-sync=shorthand?

[AhBeeDoi]

I agree with you that lip-syncing per se isn't a problem, but I think when people say that, they're often using it to summarize a whole range of things - like the OP said, voices that don't fit the character, for example.

General Patton was a little guy with a high and squeaky voice, a stark contrast from the commanding and very masculine voice of George C. Scott, the actor who protrayed him in the movie Patton. Often times, the entertainment business is not so much about fulfilling fantasy as it is about reinforcing our prejudices.

Ghibli and Miyazaki

[yulek]

Miyazaki is just one of the founding members of Studio Ghibli. He's become somewhat of an icon here in the U.S. and as such is attributed as the creator of all Ghibli films.

Grave of the Fireflies was directed by Isao Takahata who also did Pom Poko, Yamada and Only Yesterday for Ghibli.

Miyazaki is definitely the driving creative force at Ghibli but it's important to give credit to Takahata. Grave of the Fireflies is one of the most powerful animated films ever made.

Re:Ghibli and Miyazaki

[SubtleNuance]

Ive been watching a tonne of Anime lately (bebop, ghibli flicks, hacksign) and I can tell you, Yamada is some of the best -- the animation is stunning, the story genuine and simple (in a pleasant, unpretentious way... understanted and sublime). really terrific -- be sure to see it.

Re:Ghibli and Miyazaki

[Anonymous Coward]

Grave of the Fireflies is one of the most powerful animated films ever made.

A little too powerful - I can't even watch it any more. Every time I get to the scene where they move in with that woman (Aunt? Family friend?) and her family I get so furious with the adult characters that I have to stop watching.

Re:Ghibli and Miyazaki

[Hobart]

Hahaha, American anime fans? Give credit to anyone other than Miyazaki at Ghibli, or Anno at Gainax? Surely you jest.

Oh, they said Ghibli

[youngerpants]

I thought they said Gigli; what the hell are they doing releasing that again! /got nothin

Re:Oh, they said Ghibli

[Anonymous Coward]

Apparently the 3 people that originally saw Giglie wanted to see it again. They're the same people that slow down to look at a car wreck on the freeway.

Surprised by Mononoke rerelease

[Robotech_Master]

Don't get me wrong; I like Mononoke quite a lot. But it's Miyazaki's darkest film, made for a teenaged set, not a kiddie set like Spirited Away, the movie for which he won an Oscar. Add to this that the rerelease is in a foreign language, with subtitles (which is usually the kiss of death for theatrical showings)...why are they even bothering? It'll probably show on about three screens and about six people will see it, and Disney will end up another $10 million in the hole. That's not going to do a lot of good for Miyazaki's reputation.

Re:Surprised by Mononoke rerelease

[AceCaseOR]

Funny, but subtitles weren't exactly the kiss of death for "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", and it got an extremely wide theatrical release with the film subtitled in a foreign language. Also, practically over half of "Once Upon A Time In Mexico" was in Spanish and subtitled, and that movie did well at the box office too. True, Miyazaki-san's work most likely won't get a release as wide as those films, but, we'll see.

Besides, if they lose money from the theatrical release, the difference will be made up with the release on DVD.

Re:Surprised by Mononoke rerelease

[Robotech_Master]

Crouching Tiger (and, to a certain extent, Iron Monkey which was also released subbed) was a bit of a fluke, even if you don't subscribe to the argument that it was a live-action movie and not a CARTOON, which is "kid stuff". Crouching Tiger had a kind of mass appeal, particularly to the "artsy" crowd, which unfortunately Mononoke didn't. Once Upon a Time, well, people already know what to expect from Rodriguez, due in no small part to all the English movies he's made (as well as the Spanish).

Re:Surprised by Mononoke rerelease

[Politburo]

Add to this that the rerelease is in a foreign language, with subtitles (which is usually the kiss of death for theatrical showings)...

Maybe, except the most popular film in theatres at this time is not in English. The Passion of the Christ is in Aramaic and Latin, with subtitles. Add to that the successes of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Life is Beautiful and you begin to see the "subtitles die at the box" mantra fade away.

Re:Surprised by Mononoke rerelease

[Robotech_Master]

I'd be happy if subtitled films became more popular (and who knows, what with the college anime fandom generation growing up and becoming money-spenders, perhaps they are) but I'm still hesitant to believe that they're gaining widespread acceptance on the strength of just a few isolated examples. Passion is such a hit partly because of who made it and partly because of the controversy surrounding it. Crouching Tiger had mass appeal based on containing story elements for both men and women to swoon over, and was made by a director whose prior (English) projects had been well-received in the art-house set. Life is Beautiful I haven't seen, but it may just have been a good enough movie to succeed in spite of being subtitled.

Until every Jackie Chan movie that comes out is released in its original format instead of rescored and hack-dubbed, I'm hesitant that just any movie--especially one bearing the stigma of being a cartoon--can be a hit that way.

Re:Surprised by Mononoke rerelease

[Lord_Dweomer]

"Add to this that the rerelease is in a foreign language, with subtitles (which is usually the kiss of death for theatrical showings)...why are they even bothering?"

One of the things that is going to happen is that as the American anime fans numbers grow, so to will the acceptance of subtitles. I don't have statistics to back this up, but by having a very good feel on the pulse of the community I would have to say the most preferred format is subtitled. I know there is some well dubbed anime out there, but it is by far the minority. What is so wrong with subtitles? It conveys the message more accurately because its not constrained to matching up with the mouth movements and can even provide notes about cultural references.

us release?

[MoFoQ]

man, I can only imagine how horrid the dubs are. I've seen pretty much all of Studio Ghibli's older works in Japan so I have no real need to watch the US release.

Besides, a majority of anime released in the US have issues. I don't know what exactly they do to it (video processing wise), but the colors get washed out and some times, I swear, they tried to change it and make the mouths match the english dubbed track by manipulating the frames or frame rates. Not to mention the weird intermix of interlace and progressive feeds (might be the product of the frame "shuffling"). (I noticed this especially in one of the Fushigi Yuugi OVA DVDs and in the Trigun DVDs)

This is one of the reasons why I try to buy the original Japanese DVDs (or at the very least, the HK DVDs, as the HK release only appends stuff to the Japanese release instead of editing it like in the US release).

Why is everyone so happy?

[dancingmad]

Why is everyone so elated about this? I picked up the three movie set of Laputa, Spirited Away, and Kiki the day they came out as I love Studio Ghibli's movies. And frankly, Disney screwed them up real nice.

The packaging is substandard. Those of you with Region 2 DVDs know, the Japanese DVDs are much better put together. The menus are beautiful watercolors, the DVD covers look real nice. Unlike the American DVDs, which look pretty cheap.

Additionally, Disney put in a lot of crap on Laputa and Kiki, including commercials for one or the film. I can see a small anime company feeling the need to do something like that, Disney ought to know better.

Despite that, there weren't many decent extras on Laputa and Kiki discs. Some crap with the American voice actors, but nothing of real interest. Sen to Chihiro had a great Japanese documentary on the creation of the film, though.

But the big bugaboo with the three discs is that, at least on the release I got, there were major typographical and grammatical errors. For example, several times as combinations are shown as a;. Other typos and mistakes are abound.

I love these films, I wish Disney would show them some respect. They're nto shovelware, they're beautiful creations of art.

I hope the rest of the Ghibli canon (including Umi ga Kikerou, Ocean Waves) is treated better.

Re:Why is everyone so happy?

[dancingmad]

Oops, forget to mention that the commercials (and a crappy intro by the head of Pixar) play before the movies. They can be skipped, but they play automatically. The Lacster interview just seems to be validating the films for an American audience.

Re:Why is everyone so happy?

[ll1234]

"Ocean Waves" is not coming to the US, at least not from Disney, they passed on buying the rights. I suppose another company could purchase the film, but its been available for over a decade without a peep of interest.

Re:Why is everyone so happy?

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, when other companies are willing to let Studio Ghibli retain all creative control, then they might consider it. No other company would, only Disney would so it was not choice.

Re:Holy shit

[Anonymous Coward]

I know the feeling, I tried to make the same joke, I failed.

Apparently the children don't like it when you make jokes about their cartoons.

Not again...

[sacrilicious]

The Future of Ghibli

Oh no, not *another* awful movie with JLo and Ben Affleck... I guess those slick movie execs just never learn!

Sure its disney, but its also Lassiter right?

[hcduvall]

I have to say I was impressed with the dubbing job on Spirited Away. I like watching the original japanese, but I have a lot of friends who like watching it in dub to concentrate on the visuals first, and then sub-titled. And perhaps more importantly, we're pretty much all adults watching these kids movies (good for all ages, but meant for kids), and the dubs for them, not us.

That and it seemed from the extras on the discs that the people doing the dubbing really do care about a good job. But they need to get out more or do some background research or something...when I heard about the aformentioned "seal" exchange I couldn't help thinking...duh? The translation team got confused with the concept of asian signature seals? Thats a little sad...

Now if they'll just redo Castle in the Sky...

[Cranx]

Now if they'll just redo the english dubbing of Castle in the Sky and get some voice actors that don't make you try to scratch your skin off, and get rid of that uber-cheesy non-stop TADADA! music that drones ENDLESSLY, I'll be set.

Problems with the Fox Totoro; other options

[MEK]

We are used to the Fox dub voices -- and fond of them. Nonetheless, the overall average of the voiice acting quality is higher in the Japanese original. I hope Disney's dub is at least as good.

While the Fox dub preserved the original sound effects and music, it muted these -- quite severely at points. Environmental noises are very important in this film -- and they are all too often almost inaudible. However, the Fox dub did an excellent job in their translated re-recordings of the opening and closing songs.

The pan and scanning of the Fox release does make a big difference. In some scenes, important visual information is definitely lopped off.

The source used by Fox was a bit battered and faded (not their fault, I suppose -- and Ghibli/Tokuma did not make any new source available for the Fox DVD). The restored version of Totoro issued by Buena Vista Japan looks absolutely gorgeous -- and scenes that take place in the dark are vastly better looking.

Although the Japanese DVD LOOK utterly gorgeous -- it has the most annoying dubtitles imaginable. Not only do we have subtitles for conversations we don't hear taking place (or which are 10 times wordier than the Japanese dialog), but we get subtitles for noises (as with hearing impaired subtitles). The Korean DVD (R3, NTSC), on the other hand, looks just as good, is considerably cheaper -- and has excellent real sub-titles. It also has a very good Korean dub (the Korean father is the best one in any version). For those with little kids to entertain, the Korean might not work -- as it does NOT contain the old English dub. For anyone who doesn't need an English dubbed alternative -- the Korean release is highly recommended.

(There are also Taiwanese and Hong Kong releases. I don't have -- and haven't seen -- either of these, however).

MEK

Dub not so good

[Anonymous Coward]

I was at the screening as well.

While the print was excellent, I thought the dub was only so-so (compared to the rather good Mononoke and Spirited Away dubs). Michael Keaton as Porco is just wrong - we get Batman cool instead of Japanese Porco's more world-weary cool. Gina wasn't great, and I found Fio's english voice very grating.

But don't let me stop you from watching this movie - it is just fantastic.

The Ghibli/Tokuma-Disney Deal

[MEK]

This did include some of Takahata's films. True, "Grave of the Fireflies" was not included -- and it is not handled by Buena Vista, even in Japan. I believe "Yamadas" (an utterly wonderfully, woefully under-appreciated film) WAS initially included -- but Disney waived its rights as far as the US is concerned (Buena Vista Japan retained domestic rights, however). "Pom Poko" and "Only Yesterday" (the latter being my favorite Ghibli film of all) are included in the Deal with Disney.

Kondo's "Whisper of the Heart" was also included -- and supposedly the English dub has been done already. It is being held up, sadly. The reasons have nbot been disclosed -- but it is suspected that their is a problem with copyright issues -- John Denver's "Country Roads" plays an important role in the film. Another non-Miyazaki/non-Takahata film "Ocean Waves" was not acquired by Disney for US distribution.

MEK

Re:The Ghibli/Tokuma-Disney Deal

[Daetrin]

Another non-Miyazaki/non-Takahata film "Ocean Waves" was not acquired by Disney for US distribution.

"Ocean Waves"? Is that the english title for Umi ga Kikoeru (literally "I Can Hear the Sea" i believe) or is there another Ghibli movie out there that i'm unaware of?

Re:The Ghibli/Tokuma-Disney Deal

[MEK]

Yes. "Ocean Waves" is the English title for "Umi ga kikoeru". This was the last Ghibli film we tracked down -- and we were pleased to find it was a wonderful little film. Its only problem -- it needed at least another half hour to fully develop (and make use of) its characters.

MEK

Hewitt (English Adaptors) Interview

[ll1234]

Nausicaa.net held an interview with Cindy and Don Hewitt a few months ago that covers a lot of interesting material such as:

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

Had you read the interview when it came out you would have already known a new "Totoro" dub was in the works. ^_^

Not so, not really close at all

[Srin Tuar]

If you watch it with subtitles, the whole ending sequence was wildly redone for the english dub.

The english version left me somewhat confused- it didnt really sync up well with what the characters were doing. I had to rewatch it with subtitles.

I think disney had a problem with the ending: perhaps they didnt like the way that the good guys and bad guys werent clearly delineated towards the end, so they chose to make yubaba seem more spiteful and adversarial to the last. (and chihiro strangely overbold)

Madman (Australia) got there first ...

[tdelaney]

Madman December Newsletter

I don't know who's doing what where though - mastering, dubbing, subbing, etc - it may well be that the Madman releases will be sub-only (SBS-subtitled I would presume) if there isn't already a dub, or Madman may be getting the dubbing done in the US, or it may be part of the US deal ... I don't know.

"Prepare Yourself for the Biggest Announcement of the Century!

We are absolutely thrilled to announce the acquisition of a treasure trove of Studio Ghibli anime feature films.

After the success of the acclaimed Madman release of Spirited Away, Studio Ghibli has entrusted Madman with the DVD releases of 10 of their classic films including their newest feature - The Cat Returns.

Stay tuned and connected for updates and news on release dates and other details about this exciting announcement. In the meantime, make room on your shelves for all of these Ghibli Classics...

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
Laputa: The Castle in the Sky (1986)
My Neighbour Totoro (1988)
Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)
Only Yesterday (1991)
Porco Rosso (1992)
Pom Poko (1994)
Whisper of the Heart (1995)
My Neighbours the Yamadas (1999)
The Cat Returns (2002)

Studio Ghibli's animated features are world-renowned for their intricate stories, multi-faceted characters and fluid animation. The painstaking attention to detail is evident in every cell of their largely handcrafted anime features. Its founders - Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata - have long been celebrated in Japan as visionary directors and icons in the field of animation.

Madman Entertainment plan to release all ten Studio Ghibli titles over the year between April 2004 and May 2005. Theatrical screenings and a Ghibli film-festival touring select locations will showcase the collection. Takahata's GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES - release date 11 February - will also form part of Madman's Ghibli Collection.

We hope you are as thrilled and excited about this announcement as we are... Stay Tuned!"

too bad

[Anonymous Coward]

I have quit collecting DVDs due to the immanent release of HD-DVD which will make all DVDs obsolete.

Sen to Chihiro in the UK

[nojayuk]

True for region 1. I neglected to mention that I'm in the UK, and Disney screwed up our releases.

If they mess up Spirited Away, then I'll start importing from Australia.

The UK Region 2 release is not coming from Buena Vista but from Optimum, the same bunch that arranged the (rather limited) cinema release in the UK last autumn. That's not to say they'll not fuck up too but they did release 35mm cinema prints in both sub and dub formats. Those prints are still running on the arthouse circuit (Edinburgh at the Filmhouse is late March, frex). It's a wonderful movie to see on the big screen.

Re:Sen to Chihiro in the UK

[meringuoid]

I'm going to see it in Malvern later this month. Saw the dub at the cinema when it was on its main release - and I have to confess I really quite liked it :-) I imagine the sub on the DVD will be the same as the one in the cinema, if it's being handled by the same people... but maybe that would be too sane?

Mixed feelings about Totoro re-release

[lofter59]

My Neighbor Totoro is the most important movie in our home. Both my kids (and I) have watched it fanatically as they have grown up. The english voices on the Fox release are quite good and I have a hard time imagining getting used to others. But I would very much like to see Totoro in the widescreen format.

I Normally Don't Read These Anime Topics But...

[Not The Real Me]

Sometimes I get a kick out of reading responses posted by verified V*I*R*G*I*N*S.

DVDs becoming obsolete - not necessarily

[Moonbird]

Well, consider this.

OT: Moro

[melquiades]

I really like Moro. It was a shift, but it worked well. Was it identical to the original? No. Did the character work? Absolutely.

It was actually Claire Daines I didn't like as San. In English she wasn't the savvy wild girl she was in Japanese ... she was just sort of bratty. But each to their own!

In spite of that, the English Mononoke came off beautifully; it really worked as a piece of storytelling. I know others are up at arms about the dub; I'm not.

If you like the Japanese releases

[Anonymous Coward]

The Ghibli DVD releases in Japan are also done by Disney as you should very well know. I don't know if you've seen them, but they are quite deluxe with several extras.

Disney puts out a good DVD. Get off your high horse and take your head out of your ass. Would you rather have Warner Bros make the DVDs and put them in the cheap cardboard keepcases?

Australian Ghibli DVDs

[Quizo69]

If you don't want to pay a Disney tax then import Region 4 Australian DVDs (PAL formatted though).

Madman Entertainment and the AV Channel are the local distributors for Ghibli productions, and they usually have dual audio versions.

Here's a review of the Australian Spirited Away compared to the US and Asian versions (remove whitespace):

http://207.136.67.23/film/dvdcompare/spiritedawa y. htm

The entire Ghibli catalogue is not yet available but it's worth keeping an eye out on Australian DVD review sites, such as:

http://www.michaeldvd.com.au/

for reviews and specs compared to the US counterparts.

Hope this helps.