GKIDS - Animated Films on Blu-ray Thread

[celticmoon]

The Secret of Kells (Brendan et le secret de Kells)
Cinedigm | Oct 5, 2010 | BD+DVD



The Secret of Kells Blu-ray
Official Thread: The Secret of Kells

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Chico & Rita
Cinedigm | Sep 18, 2012 | BD+DVD+CD



Chico & Rita Blu-ray
Official Thread: Chico & Rita (2010) - 09/18/2012 blu ray

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A Cat in Paris (Une vie de chat)
Cinedigm | Oct 9, 2012 | BD+DVD



A Cat in Paris Blu-ray

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Tales of the Night (Les Contes de la nuit)
Cinedigm | Jan 29, 2013 | BD+DVD



Tales of the Night Blu-ray
Official Thread: Tales of the Night (2011) - Jan 29, 2013

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The Rabbi's Cat (Chat du rabbin)
Cinedigm | May 7, 2013 | BD+DVD



The Rabbi's Cat Blu-ray

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The Painting (Le Tableau)
Cinedigm | Aug 27, 2013 | BD+DVD



The Painting Blu-ray

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From up on Poppy Hill (Kokuriko Zaka Kara)
Cinedigm | Sep 3, 2013 | BD+DVD



From up on Poppy Hill Blu-ray
Official Thread: From Up on Poppy Hill coming in 2013!

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Approved for Adoption (Couleur de peau: Miel)
Cinedigm | April 29, 2014 | BD+DVD



Approved for Adoption Blu-ray

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Ernest & Celestine (Ernest et Célestine)
Cinedigm | June 17, 2014 | BD+DVD



Ernest & Celestine Blu-ray

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A Letter to Momo (Momo e no Tegami)
Cinedigm | Oct 21, 2014 | BD+DVD



A Letter to Momo Blu-ray

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Nocturna
Cinedigm | Nov 11, 2014 | BD



Nocturna Blu-ray

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Patema Inverted (Sakasama no Patema)
Cinedigm | Nov 11, 2014 | BD



Patema Inverted Blu-ray

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Welcome to the Space Show (Uchū Show e Yōkoso)
Cinedigm | Nov 11, 2014 | BD



Welcome to the Space Show Blu-ray

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The Tale of Princess Kaguya (Kaguya-hime no Monogatari)
Universal Studios | Feb 17, 2015 | BD+DVD



The Tale of Princess Kaguya Blu-ray
Official Thread: The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013) - Available for pre-order on Amazon

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Song of the Sea (Le chant de la mer)
Universal Studios | Mar 17, 2015 | BD+DVD+DC



Song of the Sea Blu-ray
Official Thread: Song of the Sea (2014) - March 17, 2015

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When Marnie Was There (Omoide no Marnie)
Universal Studios | Oct 6, 2015 | BD+DVD



When Marnie Was There Blu-ray
Official Thread: When Marnie Was There (Studio Ghibli)

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Zarafa
Cinedigm | Nov 10, 2015 | BD



Zarafa Blu-ray

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Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet
Universal Studios | Feb 2, 2016 | BD+DVD+DC



Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet Blu-ray
Official Thread: Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet. Universal: February 2, 2016

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Extraordinary Tales
Cinedigm | Feb 2, 2016 | BD+DVD



Extraordinary Tales Blu-ray

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Boy and the World (O Menino e o Mundo)
Universal Studios | Jul 5, 2016 | BD+DVD+DC



Boy and the World Blu-ray

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Only Yesterday (Omoide Poro-poro)
Universal Studios | Jul 5, 2015 | BD+DVD



Only Yesterday Blu-ray
Official Thread: Isao Takahata's Only Yesterday (Studio Ghibli, GKIDS)

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April and the Extraordinary World (Avril et le Monde truqué)
Universal Studios | Aug 2, 2016 | BD+DVD+DC



April and the Extraordinary World Blu-ray

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Phantom Boy
Universal Studios | Nov 8, 2016 | BD+DVD+DC



Phantom Boy Blu-ray

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[celticmoon]

I know a lot of these films have their own thread, but some of them don't, so I thought it'd be nice to have a thread devoted to the animated films distributed by GKIDS, most of which have been getting home video releases recently through New Video Group/Cinedigm.

Considering the recent pace at which they are releasing many of these wonderful foreign animated films on BD, I think we can look forward to many more in the future. GKIDS are distributing films such as The Painting, A Letter to Momo, and Ernest and Celestine, and I think we can probably look forward to home video releases for these in a fashion similar to the above listed films.

On another note, I finally got to watch my copy of A Cat in Paris. This was a short, but quite charming film. Loved the art style and general design of the film--the whimsical illustrative nature very much reminded me of a children's picture book (which I love, as I collect children's picture books). The story was nothing spectacular, but it had an extremely good balance of dark, comical, and whimsical. I couldn't help but be charmed, even with the all-too-easy epilogue at the end. Also, the soundtrack was great.

As for the BD itself, very beautiful to look at, though the extras are very sparse.

[rickah88]

Good thread idea! I definitely preorder From Up On Poppy Hill, and would be curious if GKIDS is going to obtain more Ghibli titles.
Also nicely done OP! Very near and organized.

[celticmoon]

Originally Posted by rickah88

Good thread idea! I definitely preorder From Up On Poppy Hill, and would be curious if GKIDS is going to obtain more Ghibli titles.
Also nicely done OP! Very near and organized.

Doesn't Disney have the home video rights to all of the rest (besides Grave of the Fireflies), including some of the ones that they might (or probably) won't be releasing?

It would be nice if someone else could acquire the rights to the films like Only Yesterday... And a GKIDS/New Video Group release would be perfect.

On a non-Ghibli-related note, I really hope they release Azur and Asmar on BD.

[rickah88]

Originally Posted by celticmoon

Doesn't Disney have the home video rights to all of the rest (besides Grave of the Fireflies), including some of the ones that they might (or probably) won't be releasing?

It would be nice if someone else could acquire the rights to the films like Only Yesterday... And a GKIDS/New Video Group release would be perfect.

On a non-Ghibli-related note, I really hope they release Azur and Asmar on BD.

I'm not really sure. I just got into Ghibli releases last year, and was instantly hooked! Disney sure does a really nice job with the Ghibli line. If GKIDS/New Video Group does have access to more titles, I hope they do just as good a job as Disney.
Looking forward to hearing the specs of Poppy Hill when the reviews start popping up.(see what I did there )

[celticmoon]

French film, The Painting (Le Tableau) coming to BD in August!
http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=11344

The Painting (Le Tableau)
Release date: Aug 27, 2013



The Painting Blu-ray

[celticmoon]

These have been up and already mentioned in other threads, but:

The Painting Blu-ray Review

From Up On Poppy Hill Blu-ray Review

[MifuneFan]

The Painting looks really cool. I'm really liking Cinedigm' animated library, they all seem to be solid titles so far.

[Movie-Brat]

I own The Secret of Kells on DVD.

[MJW]

I have The Secret of Kells on Blu-ray, which looks great, and pre-ordered From Up on Poppy Hill a few months ago. I borrowed the A Cat in Paris Blu-ray from my library and that was also a great film with beautiful picture quality. I am looking forward to their release of A Letter to Momo, and even though I've never seen the film, I'll probably pre-order when it becomes available.

Originally Posted by celticmoon

It would be nice if someone else could acquire the rights to the films like Only Yesterday... And a GKIDS/New Video Group release would be perfect

I agree, I wish Disney, if they still own them, would pass the rights to the films they have done nothing with (Only Yesterday and Ocean Waves) to another studio so that we could finally see these films released on home video in North America.

[celticmoon]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

The Painting looks really cool. I'm really liking Cinedigm' animated library, they all seem to be solid titles so far.

Besides animated films from Japan, foreign animated film BD releases seem very few and far between. I'm glad GKIDS and Cinedigm have been very active in bringing these diverse films to BD within the past year, and hope to see more in the future (which we surely will).

It'd be nice if they could go back and pick up older films as well. For example, Michel Ocelot's other features still don't have BD releases in the US and I'm starting to lose hope.

[Sinthetic]

Surprised more people aren't talking about this range of animated films. What they have out already are some of the finest you can find outside of Ghibli (not including Poppy Hill) & Disney.

Kells is astonishingly made and stunning in HD. Chico & Rita is mature and exotic, well worth your time.

When A Letter to Momo and Ernest & Celestine come out, this will be at the top for me.

E&C is an absolutely beautiful story about a bear and mouse striking up an unexpected and forbidden friendship. It's extremely heartwarming stuff. Fantastic French film.

[scamander]

I would love to import some of their animated films, but unfortunately I can't find any info regarding the region locking on these discs. I even wrote to cinedigm a few weeks ago, but have never received an answer from them.

Can someone with access to these discs (especially A Cat in Paris, Tales of the Night and The Painting) check if they are region free? Thank you, your help is really appreciated!

[celticmoon]

Originally Posted by Sinthetic

Surprised more people aren't talking about this range of animated films. What they have out already are some of the finest you can find outside of Ghibli (not including Poppy Hill) & Disney.

Kells is astonishingly made and stunning in HD. Chico & Rita is mature and exotic, well worth your time.

When A Letter to Momo and Ernest & Celestine come out, this will be at the top for me.

E&C is an absolutely beautiful story about a bear and mouse striking up an unexpected and forbidden friendship. It's extremely heartwarming stuff. Fantastic French film.

I totally agree. Only Kells and Poppy Hill have gotten a decent amount of talk in these forums. I'm not one of those people who discredit the big budget CGI films from the major American studios, as I do love a lot of them and think that a lot of them are so much more creative and clever than a lot of people give them credit for. But I also think people need to know how much of a range of styles and subjects animated films can cover, and GKIDS/Cinedigm provide the perfect entry level options.

I'd really like to see Ernest & Celestine. I figured it would be getting a decently sized theatrical run in the US, but I haven't seen anything about that yet. I'm guessing it will get its qualifying run for the Oscars if it hasn't already, and then get an expanded release if it gets nominated for Best Animated Feature.

Originally Posted by scamander

I would love to import some of their animated films, but unfortunately I can't find any info regarding the region locking on these discs. I even wrote to cinedigm a few weeks ago, but have never received an answer from them.

Can someone with access to these discs (especially A Cat in Paris, Tales of the Night and The Painting) check if they are region free? Thank you, your help is really appreciated!

Is there a way to tell besides sticking them in players from the various regions?

[scamander]

Originally Posted by celticmoon

Is there a way to tell besides sticking them in players from the various regions?

If you have a BD Rom drive as well as the software AnyDVD HD, you can check the region codes of the discs. While not 100% safe, it would be already a help though, if you would check the region information that is printed on the back covers and the discs themselves. If it says ABC it is (supposed to be) region free, while a single "A" means it's not working on European and Asian Blu-ray players. Sometimes the information isn't correct, but it's better than nothing. Thank you

[celticmoon]

Originally Posted by scamander

If you have a BD Rom drive as well as the software AnyDVD HD, you can check the region codes of the discs. While not 100% safe, it would be already a help though, if you would check the region information that is printed on the back covers and the discs themselves. If it says ABC it is (supposed to be) region free, while a single "A" means it's not working on European and Asian Blu-ray players. Sometimes the information isn't correct, but it's better than nothing. Thank you

I checked a couple of them, and there is no region information printed on the back cover or on the discs themselves. I don't have a BD-ROM drive, so unfortunately I can't help you with that.

According to the database on this site, however, Secret of Kells is listed as "region free," and A Cat in Paris is listed as "A, B (C untested)." The rest are listed as "A (B, C untested)."

If you look at some of the other Cinedigm releases in the database, some of those are also listed as either "region free" or "A, B (C untested)." While most are untested in regions B and C, none of them are listed as locked to region A. So I think there's a good chance that all of their BDs are region free.

I think it might be worth shooting them another email though to be sure.

[Metallix87]

Just watched "From Up on Poppy Hill", and it was great. I'm really happy with GKIDS release of the film, and I'll be looking into their previous releases. I've seen "The Secret of Kells" in the past and thought it was fine, so maybe I should start with that one.

[Jafar]

Originally Posted by scamander

I would love to import some of their animated films, but unfortunately I can't find any info regarding the region locking on these discs. I even wrote to cinedigm a few weeks ago, but have never received an answer from them.

Me too. I remember sending a mail to Cinedigm regarding the region locking on "From Up on Poppy Hill" and "The Painting" too, but never heard from them either

Originally Posted by celticmoon

I checked a couple of them, and there is no region information printed on the back cover or on the discs themselves. I don't have a BD-ROM drive, so unfortunately I can't help you with that.

If you look at some of the other Cinedigm releases in the database, some of those are also listed as either "region free" or "A, B (C untested)." While most are untested in regions B and C, none of them are listed as locked to region A. So I think there's a good chance that all of their BDs are region free.

True. Based on the same information, I was also under the impression that they don't region lock their discs. Also their FAQ page says that their DVDs are region free (no mention of Blu-rays though). However, "From Up on Poppy Hill" region coding info added by a user here almost confirms it to be region locked

I hope someone would confirm, please?

[deltasun]

Just tested A Cat in Paris - it's region free.

[DecibelGuy]

If somebody can check the GKids Blu-ray releases of The Rabbi's Cat, The Painting and Tales of the Night to see if they are region free, I would really appreciate. Like Scamander, I live in Europe and it seems that the Region B releases of those movies do not have English subtitles.

Thankfully, The Secret of Kells and Chico and Rita were released in the UK, so I got those.

Thanks!