Ghibli Blog News Roundup

* The Tokyo International Anime Fair is March 24-27. Studio Ghibli will have a booth, where they will feature Kokuriko-Zaka Kara, the Arrietty the Borrower DVD, and the Frederick Beck exhibition at Tokyo's Museum of Contemporary Art. No word as of yet whether the Arrietty Blu-Ray will also be shown.

Update 9:30am: The Tokyo International Anime Fair has been canceled, due to the earthquake. This news comes from the official website, and was reported this morning on Anime News Network.

* Japanese network NTV will air a special documentary on March 21, "Studio Ghibli Story." According to NTV, a never-before-seen alternate ending to Princess Mononoke will be shown, although it is uncertain whether this will be in the form of a script, an image board or storyboard. We will try to have some footage when it airs.

* The Ghibli Museum will extend its current screening of Hayao Miyazaki's latest film, Mr. Dough and the Egg Princess, until May 22, due to popular demand.

* The Ghibli Museum's newest exhibit, dedicated to Sylvain Chomet's The Illusionist, is now open. The film will play in Japanese theatres as part of the Ghibli Museum label. You can view the official webpage here.

* Fine Molds will be releasing a scale model kit of the giant robot from Castle in the Sky in Japan this April. This looks very nice! They also have a figurine of Pazu. Now I want to watch the Blu-Ray again (which looks spectacular, btw).

* Hayao Miyazaki's book, "Houses Where Totoro Lives," received a new revised edition, featuring a new interview and image boards of "A-san's Garden." The garden is a park located at the site of the "Totoro House," a replication of the home in My Neighbor Totoro, which was destroyed by fire. This segment from a Japanese documentary includes footage fro the Totoro House.

* Miyazaki's favorite book, Tsuneichi Miyamoto's "The Forgotten Japanese," was recently translated into English and is now available at Amazon. The translator and folklorist, Jeffrey Irish, wrote an essay in the March issue of Ghibli's Neppu Magazine, March issue.

* T. Ishikawa, our Tokyo correspondent, writes to say that he and his family are alive and well in Saitama, which is nearby Tokyo. It also happens to be where the Miyazaki family lives. And, yes, I have been tempted to send him there with a rescue package from Hickory Farms, or that Wisconsin cheese shop at the Mall of America.

We're glad that Ishikawa-san is safe. Not many Ghibli fans in the West realize it, but this guy is probably responsible for more news from Japan than any single individual. He's our "Man on the Inside." Maybe I should probably get him a Ghibli Blog press pass and send him to free screenings?