The next Studio Ghibli Blu-Ray movies have been announced - Kiki's Delivery Service and Omohide Poro Poro. Both films will be released on December 5, 2012 in Japan.
Omohide Poro Poro, as you know, is my favorite animation film, ranked #11 on my 50 Greatest Movies list. The HD format is going to do wonders for Isao Takahata's masterpiece; its rich colors and visual splendor will be a sight to behold. This is a visually spectacular movie, endlessly varied and nuanced, perfectly weaving Tarantino-pop with Ozu melodrama.
Kiki's Delivery Service is a sweet and charming movie, a perfect follow-up to My Neighbor Totoro, and Ghibli's first box-office hit. Miyazaki doesn't get nearly enough credit for this film, but it's a wonderful story about the end of childhood and the transition into adulthood, and it's very funny. I do hope we finally get true subtitles at last, instead of the now-ancient "dub-titles." That would be a very welcome change.
Poro Poro, of course, will never be released here in North America, unless someone like Sentai Filmworks or Criterion steps up, but it should be released in all other territories. Disney will happily pick up Kiki, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if they released it alongside Totoro sometime next year. Those were the movies Disney wanted when they first courted Miyazaki, which is good news for us.
5 comments:
I haven't seen Omohide Poro Poro nor do I know much about it. Why don't you think it will ever be released in North America? That being the case, where can I find it to watch (all of the sites on your Downloads page seem to have been taken down).
Bakabt is your friend.
And can't wait for Kiki on Blu. That's great news. :-D
When one finds out a bit more about it the reason becomes quite evident: specifically that it's adult-aimed slice of life with no fantasy elements and what profit it would make – though significant for a small publisher like Discotek or Sentai – is seen as not worth the effort from the perspective of the US Disney, who still have the home video rights (and have never released a DVD of it).
As of now, legal ways of seeing a home video of Omohide with English subtitles would be importing the (region 4 and PAL) Australian, (region 2 and PAL) UK, (region 3 and NTSC) Hong Kong or (region 2, NTSC and expensive) Japanese DVDs. That, or renting GKIDS' print of it, or seeing it on tour (from what I can glean from their Twitter feed the programme is currently playing in Pleasantville in New York State and Salt Lake City, with San Francisco and Cleveland getting them in September).
I agree with you on "Omohid Poro Poro." The scene toward the end when she remembers the unkempt boy walking through the streets of Tokyo with his father really gets to me. It's one of those "epiphany" moments that Takahata and Miyazaki employ so well in their films. Plus, the music, ah, the music and the animation help to tell that story -- I cannot wait to see the scene of them winding their way up the hill in that little Citroen, the fog over the hills and the traditional folk songs playing in the background, all in bluray. Glad to see a breathtaking scene will be done a good amount of beautiful justice!
I just got my Only Yesterday Blu Ray about a month ago and it looks fantastic.It even has better grain than the last offerings, which is a good thing IMO.
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