Studio Ghibli Collection Discussion

[Paul Arnette]

Come join those of us that have given up on US Blu-ray Disc releases of these films here:

http://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=191106

[MOONPHASE]

Originally Posted by kstebor

Here's some somewhat disappointing news. Section23 films has a release date for their new remastered edition of Grave of the Fireflies. However, it appears to be DVD-only

http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2...ction23-films/

That's been known for awhile now. I know ADV Films(which is now Section 23 and Sentai Filmworks) released it on DVD a couple of years ago and now there is a remastered version coming out.

It's probably DVD only for either no Blu-ray version in Japan and/or Sentai Filmworks wasn't able to get the license to do so for the time being and will have to wait until it's ok'd.

I think are Ghibli movie of the year will be Arriety since Disney seems to only want to bring out 1 Ghibli movie per year on Blu-ray to America unless a miracle happens where we get at least 1 or 2 other movies besides Arriety.

[MJW]

Originally Posted by MOONPHASE

I think are Ghibli movie of the year will be Arriety since Disney seems to only want to bring out 1 Ghibli movie per year on Blu-ray to America unless a miracle happens where we get at least 1 or 2 other movies besides Arriety.

I think that since Arrietty is performing decently in theaters (#9 this weekend and in the top 5 for highest grossing anime releases in North America ever), Disney might step up their game a bit in terms of Blu-ray releases.

They like to "strike while the iron is hot," so I am hoping that the critical and commercial success of Arrietty will push them to put out a few Blu-rays at once, hoping consumers not already familiar with Ghibli might pick up a few more titles when they head out to get Arrietty on Blu-ray. At least, that is what I hope they will do, since they could just assume that all the DVD releases that are already out would serve that purpose as well.

[critterdvd]

I don't know why but I just have a gut feeling that when Arriety is released on blu later this year that at least one or two of the "major films" (ie "Spirited Away," "Howls Moving Castle," "Tortoro") will be released as well....

[svenge]

Originally Posted by critterdvd

I don't know why but I just have a gut feeling that when Arriety is released on blu later this year that at least one or two of the "major films" (ie "Spirited Away," "Howls Moving Castle," "Tortoro") will be released as well....

Only one of those three films you mentioned have been released on BD in Japan yet (Howl's Moving Castle, released in November 2011, too recently to get a US release).

If anything, Laputa (the Ghibli film out on JP BD the longest, since Dec. 2010) would be released first. Perhaps they'd also do "My Neighbors the Yamadas" (also out since Dec. 2010), but since the US DVD for it sold so poorly that Disney's let it be used as a DMR reward, I don't think so.

Here's a list of all Ghibli films w/ status on Blu-ray (spoilered due to length)

[Show spoiler]
Nausicaa - already out in the US
Laputa - Dec 2010 JP release, no US BD
Grave of the Fireflies - No JP BD yet
Totoro - No JP BD yet
Kiki's Delivery Service - No JP BD yet
Only Yesterday - No JP BD yet
Porco Rosso - No JP BD yet
Ocean Waves - No JP BD yet
Pom Poko - No JP BD yet
Whisper of the Heart - Jul 2011 JP release, no US BD
Princess Mononoke - No JP BD yet
My Neighbors the Yamadas - Dec 2010 JP release, no US BD
Spirited Away - No JP BD yet
The Cat Returns - No JP BD yet
Howl's Moving Castle - Nov 2011 JP release, no US BD
Tales from Earthsea - Nov 2011 JP release, no US BD
Ponyo - already out in the US
Arrietty - will definately get US release in due time
From Up on Poppy Hill - No JP BD yet (likely will be released there later this year)

[MJW]

Originally Posted by svenge

If anything, Laputa (the Ghibli film out on JP BD the longest, since Dec. 2010) would be released first. Perhaps they'd also do "My Neighbors the Yamadas" (also out since Dec. 2010), but since the US DVD for it sold so poorly that Disney's let it be used as a DMR reward, I don't think so.

Although I hope we get both, I think Laputa would be a good choice to cross-promote with Arrietty. They can market it as another family film, with the children as main characters, the adventure they go on, etc.

I hope that Disney wouldn't skip My Neighbors the Yamadas because it sold poorly. Unfortunately, I don't think any of these titles are big sellers but there is still a demand for them.

[kemcha]

There are a couple of sites that everyone should check out, if you're a Studio Ghibli anime fan:

http://www.onlineghibli.com/
http://www.ghibliworld.com/
http://ghiblicon.blogspot.com/

[svenge]

Originally Posted by MJW

I hope that Disney wouldn't skip My Neighbors the Yamadas because it sold poorly. Unfortunately, I don't think any of these titles are big sellers but there is still a demand for them.

When it comes to the US and Ghibli titles, it's all relative. The films by Hayao Miyazaki are much more "universal" than the ones by Isao Takahata, which really are rather Japan-oriented.

The only one of his 4 Ghibli films (Grave of the Fireflies, Only Yesterday, Pom Poko, and Yamadas) that has ever gained any traction in the US is Grave of the Fireflies. Of course, that's because human suffering caused by war is sadly universal. Only Yesterday is about a mid-20's OL ("office lady") who's reflecting back on her childhood in 1960s Japan, Pom Poko is about tanūki (racoon dogs) fighting encroaching development and is rather dense in Japanese mythology, and Yamadas is based on a 4-koma comic strip. None of those 3 translate well over here, even to the subgroup of Americans who are anime fans.

[Darth Anakin]

Originally Posted by svenge

When it comes to the US and Ghibli titles, it's all relative. The films by Hayao Miyazaki are much more "universal" than the ones by Isao Takahata, which really are rather Japan-oriented.

The only one of his 4 Ghibli films (Grave of the Fireflies, Only Yesterday, Pom Poko, and Yamadas) that has ever gained any traction in the US is Grave of the Fireflies. Of course, that's because human suffering caused by war is sadly universal. Only Yesterday is about a mid-20's OL ("office lady") who's reflecting back on her childhood in 1960s Japan, Pom Poko is about tanūki (racoon dogs) fighting encroaching development and is rather dense in Japanese mythology, and Yamadas is based on a 4-koma comic strip. None of those 3 translate well over here, even to the subgroup of Americans who are anime fans.

Who you calling a subgroup and how do you presume to know what my taste in anime is like?

[MJW]

Originally Posted by svenge

When it comes to the US and Ghibli titles, it's all relative. The films by Hayao Miyazaki are much more "universal" than the ones by Isao Takahata, which really are rather Japan-oriented.

Yeah, I just hope that since Disney already invested time and money to create English dubs for these films that they'll continue to move forward with releasing them as new forms of media come out (in this case, Blu-ray).

I have seen all of the films now up to and including Arrietty, and I will buy each of them on Blu-ray, day one. It's so hard to wait for them to come to North America but I'm going to continue waiting and hope for the best.

What confuses me is that Disney released Nausicaa 8 months after the Japanese release but it's now been 14 months since Laputa/Yamadas was released in Japan. If they were planning on releasing these films slow as molasses this entire time, why were they more prompt with Nausicaa? Maybe it was low sales on Nausicaa's part that has led us to this new, slower schedule? I can't imagine Disney hinging the whole Ghibli catalog on the success of the Nausicaa release...

[svenge]

Originally Posted by Darth Anakin

Who you calling a subgroup and how do you presume to know what my taste in anime is like?

I know you're joking, but it does deserve a serious answer. For purposes of international media marketing, Americans are a group, thus American anime fans would be a subgroup. Also, claiming that a certain (sub)group has certain tendancies in terms of its favorites does not rule out individuals having tastes running counter to them. It's like being dentist #5 when four out of five dentists agree on something trivial.

Originally Posted by MJW

What confuses me is that Disney released Nausicaa 8 months after the Japanese release but it's now been 14 months since Laputa/Yamadas was released in Japan. If they were planning on releasing these films slow as molasses this entire time, why were they more prompt with Nausicaa? Maybe it was low sales on Nausicaa's part that has led us to this new, slower schedule? I can't imagine Disney hinging the whole Ghibli catalog on the success of the Nausicaa release...

Perhaps they just delayed whatever Ghibli releases that might have been released otherwise to get a presumed sales push from Arrietty's home video debut. Of course, that's the most optimistic scenario.

[MJW]

Originally Posted by svenge

I'd say it's more likely they just delayed whatever Ghibli releases that might have been released otherwise to get a presumed sales push from Arrietty's home video debut.

I really hope and pray that that is the case. I've been waiting forever for the next title to be announced, and I've got all my money on a title to go alongside Arrietty when that hits Blu-ray.

If we get an announcement for Arrietty and there is no mention of any catalog titles, I'll probably end up in a mental hospital.

[svenge]

Originally Posted by MJW

I really hope and pray that that is the case. I've been waiting forever for the next title to be announced, and I've got all my money on a title to go alongside Arrietty when that hits Blu-ray.

If we get an announcement for Arrietty and there is no mention of any catalog titles, I'll probably end up in a mental hospital.

You could always go for the HK Blu-rays in that case. They're all Region-A, English-subbed with 1080p transfers (except for Ponyo's 1080i60) and lossless JP audio. The only downside is that any extras that would come with them would be unsubbed, and they run ~$35 each. But still it's better than paying ~$75 for the JP releases...

[Darth Anakin]

Originally Posted by svenge

I know you're joking, but it does deserve a serious answer. For purposes of international media marketing, Americans are a group, thus American anime fans would be a subgroup. Also, claiming that a certain (sub)group has certain tendancies in terms of its favorites does not rule out individuals having tastes running counter to them. It's like being dentist #5 when four out of five dentists agree on something trivial.



Perhaps they just delayed whatever Ghibli releases that might have been released otherwise to get a presumed sales push from Arrietty's home video debut. Of course, that's the most optimistic scenario.

I have unique anime tastes I'd say, I tend to like those with mecha and/or samurai of some kind. Top 5 is still -
Robotech
Inuyasha
Dragon Ball Z
Ronin Warriors
Yu Yu Hakusho
There are other anime I like of course, those are just the top 5. I'm not your typical American though, I'm a Korean that was adopted by Americans when I was 9 months old and I deeply prefer anime to American animation for the most part.

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by svenge

Perhaps they just delayed whatever Ghibli releases that might have been released otherwise to get a presumed sales push from Arrietty's home video debut. Of course, that's the most optimistic scenario.

Yep, it's the Tron/Muppets defense:
"Don't worry, Disney's probably saving the originals till the new one comes out on disk!"

It worked once, and we were burned on the other, so optimism's a tied ballgame.

[kemcha]

I've been collecting Japanese anime since the early 80's and there is a lot of bad blood between Studio Ghibli and previous distributors of his earlier films.

When Disney started negotiating with Studio Ghibli to release his films on home video, I know that Studio Ghibli, in particular, Hayao Miyazaki, have been very protective of their films and with placing stipulations on their films to whoever distributed them.

While I'm not privy to the actual discussions, the information on the agreement is that Studio Ghibli placed stipulations in their licensing agreement with Disney. Disney could not edit a single frame of footage of the actual content of any of the films. Matter of fact, the only thing they could do to the films is that they were allowed to produce an English subtitled track as well as an English audio/dubbed track.

I also imagine that each disk, prior to mass production of each disk, needs to be approved by Ghibli, similar to the Godzilla Blu-ray releases for North America. I don't know the story on the Blu-ray releases, but I imagine that Studio Ghibli is monitoring each film's release before the final version of each film goes into production for the Blu-ray release.

I know this all came about after New World Pictures acquired the rights to Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind and did a very poor job at editing the film and it wasn't regarded as a very good transfer or release of the film. Since NWP lost the rights to release the film, Miyazaki-san and Studio Ghibli have become very protective over their licensing agreements with whoever releases their films.

Matter of fact, Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki have asked fans to forget its existence (Warriors of the Wind) and later adopted a strict "no-edits" clause for future foreign releases of its films (years prior to Disney's licensing of the Studio Ghibli films).

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by kemcha

Matter of fact, Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki have asked fans to forget its existence (Warriors of the Wind)

(Yes, pretend this movie never existed:
http://impawards.com/1985/warriors_of_the_wind.html )

and later adopted a strict "no-edits" clause for future foreign releases of its films (years prior to Disney's licensing of the Studio Ghibli films).

The bond between Ghibli and Disney was also strengthened back during Disney's brief "snubbing" of US Ghibli after Princess Mononoke--
Anchor Bay had bought New World Pictures' 80's catalog, and if Disney wasn't going to release Nausicaa, Anchor Bay would release Warriors of the Wind! (And the Roger Corman-ized US New World version of "Angel's Egg" with the added live-action footage.)
Knowing they had a fan favorite, they planned to release WotW with the Japanese soundtrack, or possibly release the "complete" version with the WotW dub as the English soundtrack! (Sure, there'd be some missing bits, but it's a collector's item, darnit!)

Anchor Bay got a very, very intimidatingly BRIEF message from Ghibli later: "Anchor Bay does not own Nausicaa." Both disk plans were quietly scuttled, along with any hope for studios besides Disney.

[MJW]

Regarding the relationship between Ghibli and Disney, does anyone know how the "waiting period" between a Japanese and North American release works?

Is there a pre-set period of time that has to pass and then it is up to Disney to decide on a release date, or must they wait until Ghibli gives them the go ahead? I wonder if Ghibli keeps an eye on the sales in Japan and once they cool down, they allow a North American release, since the "threat" of reverse importing would be less by then?

There were 8 months between the Japanese and North American releases of Nausicaa, but 14 months have passed so far since the Laputa/Yamadas releases. Obviously, so far, there is no consistency, but I just thought I'd ask.

[Darth Anakin]

Originally Posted by MJW

Regarding the relationship between Ghibli and Disney, does anyone know how the "waiting period" between a Japanese and North American release works?

Is there a pre-set period of time that has to pass and then it is up to Disney to decide on a release date, or must they wait until Ghibli gives them the go ahead? I wonder if Ghibli keeps an eye on the sales in Japan and once they cool down, they allow a North American release, since the "threat" of reverse importing would be less by then?

There were 8 months between the Japanese and North American releases of Nausicaa, but 14 months have passed so far since the Laputa/Yamadas releases. Obviously, so far, there is no consistency, but I just thought I'd ask.

I have no idea what it is but apparently anime is a niche here so I would imagine that would affect the timing/frequency of these releases. Still hoping we get a lot more soon, a lot probably depends on how well Arrietty does, they may well tie in the release of another one to that one coming out on BD/DVD.

[svenge]

Originally Posted by Darth Anakin

I have no idea what it is but apparently anime is a niche here so I would imagine that would affect the timing/frequency of these releases. Still hoping we get a lot more soon, a lot probably depends on how well Arrietty does, they may well tie in the release of another one to that one coming out on BD/DVD.

At least on the theatrical front it's outperformed Mars Needs Moms in its first 4 days ($8.7M vs MNM's $7.7M), despite opening on only half the screens (1500 vs MNM's 3000)... I know that's a pretty low bar, but it's still something!