November 28, 2005 Australian Release Dates for Howl, Totoro, and Whisper
Madman Entertainment recently annouced March 15 as the release date for the DVDs. Howl's Moving Castle will see two releases, a "limited" edition (25,000 copies, two discs) as well as a standard single-disc version.
Thanks to Sylvester Ip of Madman for the news.
November 20, 2005 Dates Announced for R1 Release of Totoro, Whisper, and Howl
The website www.ultimatedisney.com has posted on their coming soon page that the R1 DVDs of My Neighbor Totoro, Whisper of the Heart, and Howl's Moving Castle will be released on March 7, 2006. (Scroll down to items 39-41 on their webpage to see the listing.)
Thanks to Paul Mayer from the Miyazaki Mailing List for the heads up.
November 19, 2005 Ocsar Advertisements Begin
Howl's Moving Castle. More details about the FYC process.
Thanks to Daniel Zelter for the news.
November 17, 2005 "Howl's Moving Castle" R2 Special Edition Missing English Subtitles
The Special Edition DVD (4 discs) contains the Japanese DTS-ES audio track on the first disc but no subtitles (Japanese or English). This had been an earlier point of confusion with different retailers listing different options. English subtitles exist on disc two but the Japanese audio track is only DD 2.0.
Thanks to Jeff Krispow for the news.
November 16, 2005 Japanese Royal Wedding and "Castle of Cagliostro"
Princess Sayako, a daughter of Japanese Emperor, got married yesterday. She wore a white dress for the wedding ceremony.
According to some of news articles, it could be inspired by Clarisse's wedding dress in the Castle of Cagliostro. One of her friends commented
that the princess was an avid Miyazaki fan, especially of Cagliostro, and admired Clarisse as she was a princess as she was. Some of the TV news showed a drawing of Lupin and Clarisse, which the princess drew when she was in junior high.
Thanks to SK for one of the articles.
November 16, 2005 "Howl's Moving Castle" R2 DVD Images
Ghibli World has several packaging shots of the DVD and extras.
A R1 release hasn't been announced but should take place in the first half of 2006.
November 12, 2005 Next Studio Ghibli Film to be Directed by Miyazaki (but not the one you think)
According to a talk held by producer Toshio Suzuki at Meiji University, Ghibli's next film will be directed by Goro Miyazaki, a son of Miyazaki. Goro Miyazaki had been the director of Studio Ghibli Musuem until recently.
He used to work for a landscaping company before he became a director of the museum. The rooftop garden of Studio Ghibli was done by him.
The film will be released in the summer of 2006. Details will be announced on December 13 by Toho.
According to Mr. Suzuki, the elder Miyazaki is "still fiercely against the idea."
November 10, 2005 Animated Oscar Predictions Begin
This article by the Hollywood Reporter outlines the various films jostling for a spot on the 2005 ballot. Howl's Moving Castle is mentioned but not given a high chance of winning.
Thanks to Daniel Zelter for the news.
November 9, 2005 Miyazaki Interview at Venice International Film Festival
A video of Miyazaki's interview at the Venice International Film Festival is now available at Shigesato ITOI's website.
The first video (3:50) is a message from Itoi. The second video (12:33) is the first part of the interview. The next three files are parts of the second video, for those who want to download them separately.
There will be new video added everyday until the 18th, 9 videos in total. The videos will be available until the end of November.
The video is in Japanese with no English subtitles.
November 9, 2005 Totoro Books Released in the US
Viz today released a new English language version of The Art of Totoro in North America along with a reprint of the English language Totoro Picture Book that was first published in the US in 1992.
Thanks to Monte McC. for reminding us.
November 8, 2005 TCM Airing Subs and Dubs
Toon Zone is reporting the dub/sub schedule for the upcoming Studio Ghibli showings on TCM:
Thursday, January 5
8:00pm: Spirited Away (2002 - English-language version)
10:15pm: Princess Mononoke (1997 - English-language version)
1:00am: Spirited Away (2002 - Japanese-language version)
3:15am: Princess Mononoke (1997 - Japanese-language version)
Thursday, January 12
8:00pm: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984 - English-language version)
10:00pm: Castle in the Sky (1986 - English-language version)
12:15am: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984 - Japanese-language
version)
2:15am: Castle in the Sky (1986 - Japanese-language version)
Thursday, January 19
8:00pm: My Neighbor Totoro (1988 - English-language version)
9:30pm: Porco Rosso (1992 - English-language version)
11:15pm: Whisper of the Heart (1995 - English-language version)
1:15am: My Neighbor Totoro (1988 - Japanese-language version)
2:45am: Porco Rosso (1992 - Japanese-language version)
4:30am: Whisper of the Heart (1995 - Japanese-language version)
Thursday, January 26
8:00pm: Only Yesterday (1991 - Japanese-language version only)
10:15pm: Pom Poko (1994 - English-language version)
12:30am: Only Yesterday (1991 - Japanese-language version)
2:45am: Pom Poko (1994 - Japanese-language version)
Thanks also to Lisa L. who first alerted us about the showing of the subs.
November 5, 2005 Films at the London Children's Film Festival
In London at the London Children's Film Festival two Studio Ghibli Films are being shown this month.
My Neighbor Totoro (Tonari no Totoro)
Barbican Sunday, November 13 - 2:15, Barbican Cinema
(There are also Schools-only screenings at the Rio and Ritzy Cinemas, but bookable only by schools)
Porco Rosso (Kurenal no Buta)
Sat November 12 - 1:30, Rio Cinema
Sun November 13 - 2:00, Cineword Haymarket
Wed November 16 - 4:00, Genesis Cinema
Thanks to B Pulham for the news.
November 2, 2005 New Studio Ghibli Museum Shorts Announced
According to the Studio Ghibli Museum site the three new short films will be screened at the museum starting January 3, 2006. They will be screened one by one, but the detailed schedule is not available yet.
They are:
"Yadosagashi (Looking for a Home)" 12 minutes, original story, written, and directed by Miyazaki.
A spirited girl, Fuki, takes a journey to look for a new home. She puts everything in her big backpack, and leaves. How will she deal with strange things she encounters one after another? There are only a few lines in this film, and all the sounds (music, sound effects, and lines) are done by human voices. Letters to express the situations and sounds according to the scenes will appear on screen.
"Hoshi wo Katta Hi (The Day I Cropped a Star)" 16 min. Original story by Naohisa INOUE, written and directed by Miyazaki.
A strange story in an imaginary world, Iblard. A boy, Nona, is walking in a desert alone. He meets a strange woman, Ninya, and starts living in her farm. One day, Nona gets a seed of a star in return of vegetables, and decides to grow it.
"Mizugumo Monmon (Water Spider Monmon)" length undecided, original story, written, and directed by Miyazaki.
Monmon, a water spider, one day meets a pond skater girl. Monmon falls in love with her. Will his love be ever fulfilled?