Here is a nice rarity, a "movie" poster for Future Boy Conan. It's a bit misleading because there was not movie version of Conan. This theatrical release is, in fact, a collection of highlights from the 1978 television series. In other words, it's a cynical cash grab.
There's no doubt Hayao Miyazaki had nothing to do with this, just as Isao Takahata had no part (and fiercely opposed) in similar "movie" versions of Heidi and Marco. These were tv series, and they were structured and paced for that format. There's simply no way you can cram these lengthy stories down into a two-hour highlight reel.
This is just something movie studios did to sucker the public in the days before VHS and DVD. Today, of course, you can just repackage a DVD once every year and charge a premium for it. At least we got this cool Future Boy Conan poster out of the deal. Okay, it's really not so cool. But it's a rare collector's item, and it would look pretty good hanging from my wall. So there.
2 comments:
how come mysterious cities of gold and nadia are both available with english subs on R1 dvd and conan aint?
very silly!
That's long been a mystery. In the end, it comes down to money. US publishers don't believe a 30-year-old anime series would sell, no matter whose name is on the box. Or perhaps the license fees required by Nippon Animation are too great. Or perhaps the US anime business is no longer profitable.
I would love to hear some voices within the anime community share their opinions on the matter. I'm only looking at it from the outside.
In the end, it's simple market economics. If you want to build the supply, you have to build the demand.
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