April 27, 2008 New Feed Links
News updates have been switched to feeds from GhibliWiki, use one of the following links for the most up-to-date news:

RSS or Atom

April 25, 2008 Initial "Howl's Moving Castle" Storyboards
Howl's Moving Castle was slated to be directed by Mamoru Hosoda until Miyazaki took over for undisclosed reasons. But during his stay in the director's chair Hosoda created storyboards that have ended up on the auction block; GhibliWorld has the details.

Thanks to Peter van der Lugt for the news.

April 22, 2008 Studio Ghibli Brand Worth
NiikeiBP Consulting announced the findings of their Brand Japan 2008 survey with Studio Ghibli ranked second in the "B to C" (business to consumer) category behind Nintendo. In 2007 Studio Ghibli placed 12th.

Complete list (PDF)

Thanks to T. Ishikawa for the news.

April 21, 2008 Updated: More Hisaishi News, "Ponyo" Trailer Impressions
Miyazaki drew the promotional poster (bottom of the article) for the upcoming Joe Hisaishi concerts (August 4 and 5). GhibliWorld has an English translation of the interview (and Ghibli Asemamire episode 29).

Hisaishi will appear on the next Ghibli Asemamire radio show and discuses the concerts and the "Ponyo" soundtrack production.

In this Variety Japan report a theater owner said, ""When the trailer of "Ponyo" began, it caused a stir among the audience. It's obviously different from the reaction of other trailers."

No dialogue is present in the trailer but it does show Sosuke and "looks like a picture book".

A second trailer might be released on June 7 as "The Magic Hour", a film Toho is distributing and pushing hard, opens in theaters. Japanese film trailers also tend to be updated every 2 months.

Thanks to T. Ishikawa and Peter van der Lugt for the news.

April 18, 2008 Hisaishi News Roundup
Joe Hisaishi picked up the 2007 "Best Original Score for Television" award from the International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) for his work on the Korean television series TAE WANG SA SHIN GI (THE STORY OF THE GREAT KING AND THE FOUR GODS / THE LEGEND).

Hisaishi composed a piece in honor of Miyazaki birthday (January 5) and it plays in the evening in a room on the first floor of the Studio Ghibli Museum. This also occurred two years ago but in both cases no signs are visible and most visitors are obvious to the change.

Thanks to Gerry Chew and T. Ishikawa for the news.

April 16, 2008 News Bits
GhibliWorld latest Ghibli Asemamire summary is available.

This Variety article covers director M. Night Shyamalan's admiration for Miyazaki.

Thanks to Peter van der Lugt and Daniel Zelter for the news.

April 14, 2008 Even More "Ponyo" News Bits
Asahi Soft Drinks announced a special Ponyo summer advertisement campaign similar to the one for Tales from Earthsea. As the opening salvo Asahi is offering 20,000 people a chance to see a a special preview on July 5-6, 11-13 at 17 locations by lottery.

Summary of the press conference:

*Runtime is 1 hour 40 minutes
*Publicity shots of the film are limited to still images
*Actual film footage won't be displayed until just before the release date
*TV commercials won't run until June

Thanks to T. Ishikawa for the news.

April 11, 2008 Updated: "Ponyo" Release Date Confirmed
As correctly inferred earlier this month, Studio Ghibli announced July 19 as the official release date. A new poster and a 85 second clip from the trailer were unveiled during the conference. GhibliWorld has additional coverage.

Toshio Suzuki mentioned, "Production is really favorable, a first for such a thing. It is rather scary. Another scary thing is director Miyazaki has clearly evolved."

Other choice Suzuki quotes:

*On the trailer being a theatrical-exclusive: "There is considerably the demand from fans to want to enjoy a movie with a fresh feeling without a preconception. It is the one of my roles to realize the thought."

*"When I talked with Miyazaki's wife, she said, 'He'll make movies until he dies. He cannot live unless making a movie.'"

Thanks to T. Ishikawa and Peter van der Lugt for the news.

April 9, 2008 "Ponyo" Production Update, "Little Nemo" Test
GhibliWorld has a narrative on the current status on Ponyo and a trailer description. For the bulletpoint seekers:

*Key animation: 1060/1139 cuts (93%)
*Chief animator check: 1012 cuts (89%)
*Animation: 944 cuts (83%)
*Background painting: 1065 cuts (94%)
*Paint: 915 cuts (80%)
*Filming: 909 cuts (80%)

Studio Ghibli is aiming to complete 30 cuts a week.

The Totoro Fund ("preserving the beautiful natural habitat and cultural assets of Sayama Hills and its surrounding areas") has opened an English version of their website.

Cartoon Brew is showing a brief test clip of "Little Nemo in Slumberland" that was directed by Yoshifumi Kondo.

Thanks to Peter van der Lugt, T. Ishikawa, and Andy Holden for the news.

April 7, 2008 Ghibli Asemamire 27
GhibliWorld's coverage of the radio program is up. Yano Akiko was the special guest, she sang in My Neighbor's the Yamadas and did vocal work on some Studio Ghibli Museum shorts. The program's website has a picture of Akiko with a Ponyo plushie.

Thanks to T. Ishikawa and Peter van der Lugt for the news.

April 3, 2008 "Ponyo" Release Date Inferred
An official announcement has yet to be made, but the websites of two Japanese theaters are showing July 19 as the opening date.

Thanks to T. Ishikawa for the news.

April 2, 2008 Ghibli Asemamire XVI, "Ponyo" Image CD
Two bits of news from GhibliWorld:

*An English summary of the latest radio episode. Plans for the "Ponyo" trailer are discussed.
*Review of Joe Hisaishi's Image Album for the film.

Thanks to Peter van der Lugt for the news.

March 31, 2008 Studio Ghibli Booth, Hisashi Concert
GhibliWorld has photos of the Studio Ghibli booth at this year's Tokyo International Anime Fair.

Joe Hisaishi's official website announced that he will holds a large-scale concert in August. Titled "The memorial of the Gake no ue no Ponyo public release. Joe Hisaishi in Budokan - 25 years with Hayao Miyazaki" Hisaishi will be accompanied by a 200 piece orchestra and a 400 member chorus. Songs from all of Hisaishi's collaboration with Miyazaki will be performed.

Two performances are scheduled at the Nippon Budokan, August 4 at 6:30pm and August 5 at 3pm.

Thanks to Peter van der Lugt and T. Ishikawa for the news.