November 2001

November 28, 2001 Legit Taiwanese DVDs Now Available
Buena Vista's Taiwanese site shows "My Neigbor Totoro" and "Kiki's Delivery Service" as available.

"My Neighbor Totoro"
Format: DVD (NTSC)
Region: 3
Publisher: Buena Vista Home Entertainment (Taiwan)
Date: November 27,2001
Catalog #: BVHE-DS01109
Runtime: 86 minutes
Price: NT$650
Notes: Two Discs, Aspect Ratio 1.85:1, Dolby Digital 2.0(Japanese), Dolby Digital 5.1 (Chinese), English, Japanese, Chinese subtitles. Storyboards, Theatrical trailer of Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service. OP and ED without credits, and preview clips of all works from Studio Ghibli.

"Kiki's Delivery Service"
Format: DVD (NTSC)
Region: 3
Publisher: Buena Vista Home Entertainment (Taiwan)
Date: November 27,2001
Catalog #: BVHE-DS01108
Runtime: 102 minutes
Price: NT$650
Notes: Two Discs, Aspect Ratio 1.85:1, Dolby Digital 2.0 (Japanese, English) Dolby Digital 5.1 (Chinese), English, Japanese, Chinese subtitles. Theatrical trailers, and preview clips of all works from Studio Ghibli. A show of the painting which inspires Kiki.

The current exchange rate is $1 USD = $34.5 NT. Making the discs around $20 USD. Details are now on the Videos page.

Thanks to Marty Ho for the translations.

November 21, 2001 "Sen" Hong Kong Release Date and Legit HK DVDs
According to www.cinema.com.hk, "Sen" is opening in Hong Kong on December 12th with Cantonese dubtitle.

www.asiandvdguide.com is reporting that IVL is planning on releasing "My Neighbor Totoro" and "Kiki's Delivery Service" on December 11th with Chinese/English subtitles. A number of other films are planned for release in "June 2002".

Team Ghiblink has confirmed with Studio Ghibli, these are legitimate releases.

Thanks to Vincent Kieffer and Stephen Lau for posting the information to the Miyazaki Mailing List.

November 13, 2001 "Sen" Sets New Japanese Box Office Records and some US Release Tidbits
Bulleted items taken from this article as translated by Ryoko Toyama.

"Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi" passed "Titanic" to claim the top spot in the Japanese Box Office record book.
Over 150 theaters will continue to show "Sen" into 2002.
Tokuma is currently in the negotiation with both Disney and DreamWorks concerning the US release of "Sen".
Miyazaki-San commented on his next film, "there might be a chance, if it's (a film to be released) in the summer of 2004. I have to go into the totally different field (from where I've been) before."

"Sen"'s stay at the top might be short-lived, as "Harry Potter" looks to be a strong performer in Japan once it opens in early 2002.

November 13, 2001 Miyazaki to Visit France
Originally reported on AICN, a visit from Hayao Miyazaki is planned sometime around December 20 to coincide with the "Nouvelles Images du Japon" festival.

More information (in French) on the festival website.

Thanks to Olivier Mouroux for additional information.

November 11, 2001 "Gauche the Cellist" Theatrical Release in France
In a slightly odd move (since a DVD exists), "Gauche the Cellist" will open in theaters December 5th. The release won't be too wide, so please keep an eye on these sites:

Thanks to Alchemist for the information.