Japan Anime Blockbuster Gets U.S. Release

[edonline]

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=7930447&src=rss/Entertainment

Japan Anime Blockbuster Gets U.S. Release

Thu Mar 17, 2005 04:47 AM ET

TOKYO (Reuters) - The second-most popular film in Japanese history is set for a U.S. release in June, but it's unclear whether American audiences will fall for its magical charms.

"Howl's Moving Castle," an animated fantasy, is the latest work from Hayao Miyazaki, whose previous film "Spirited Away" was Japan's biggest-ever box office hit.

"Spirited Away" went on to win an Oscar and critical plaudits around the world, but failed to make a dent at the U.S. box office, pulling in only $10 million, compared with 30.4 billion yen ($292 million) in Japan.

"Animated films are seen as a family outing in America, but 'Spirited Away' had a PG (parental guidance) rating and was really more of a cultural experience," said a spokesman for Toho, the distributor for "Spirited" and "Howl" in Japan.

"Howl's Moving Castle," which made a new box office record for its opening weekend in Japan, is set for a cautious release in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco on June 10, spreading to 60 further cities the following week.

Based on the book of the same name by British author Diana Wynne Jones, the film tells the story of a teenager named Sophie, who is turned into a 90-year-old woman by a witch and then finds herself sharing a bizarre mobile castle with a sorcerer and a fire demon.

The English-language version will be voiced over by Hollywood actors including Christian Bale and Lauren Bacall.

Toho has not released box office figures for "Howl's Moving Castle" in Japan.

($1=104.17 yen)

[Lazy Boy]

Good news. I'll be sure to see it eventually. Too bad the Disney crapfests always overshadow Miyazaki's superior work.

[CMAGUS]

It's a miayzaki film it looks amazing and will make alot of money or it better make alot of money.Why they won't give it a full release is beyond me I mean Disney does have an exclusive deal with studio Ghibli.It's sad if spirited away was full it would have made tons even thoug it wasn;t it still won best animted film.

[Shockwave]

Good news. I'll be sure to see it eventually. Too bad the Disney crapfests always overshadow Miyazaki's superior work.


I second that.

Disney has really gone to hell the past few years.

[Cronos]

a new Miyazaki film?

I'm so there

[vision_afar]

I so hope this will get released here as well. I'd love to see it.

[GingerNjack]

Yes! A friend was just telling me about this movie! Sounds pretty cool. I'm slowly getting more into japanese anime.

[Edie0027]

*bump*

I'm bumping this since the limited release is next week. But only 2 more weeks for us regular folk who can't make it to one of the limited release theaters! anyway-- i saw a clip on www.comingsoon.net and it was so well done...i am ready to see this...

[Fisting Ackbar]

^^^ Yeah, might as well make this the official thread (perhaps a moderator could change the thread title?)

Not familiar with that many Miyazaki movies and I have the feeling it won't play in my area, but I'm pretty psyched about this one.

[Lazy Boy]

What pisses me off is the marketing -- I've only seen the trailer once (attached to Kung Fu Hustle). I know Miyazaki has a fan base, but couldn't Disney do something to build a better connection with audiences who may not be aware of how stunning his films are?

[Criminal Rock]

I downloaded the film off limewire (dubbed), but it was excessively dark, and I couldn’t see... so I guess I’ll have to wait until theater release to get the full affect.

[Edie0027]

Originally posted by Lazy Boy
What pisses me off is the marketing -- I've only seen the trailer once (attached to Kung Fu Hustle). I know Miyazaki has a fan base, but couldn't Disney do something to build a better connection with audiences who may not be aware of how stunning his films are?

I heard the New York Times had a decent sized ad this past weekend...although of course it would be nice to see more! I also saw a bunch of stuff on some movie sites-- this is one i saw http://chud.com/news/3205

I know it's no TV commerical, but everything I have seen so far has been overwhelmingly positive, which only gets me more excited for the film. I am trying my hardest to go see it during the limited release this weekend. anyone else going this weekend?

[Lazy Boy]

The only place it's playing this weekend near my way is the El Capitan in Hollywood. Sure, make it hard for me to see it, but shove 3-D Larva Boy and Whatever into every theater possible. Aaargh.

[Edie0027]

Only one place? They are playing it at a few theaters near me...I am definitely trying to go tomorrow...

worst comes to worst, it's only another week you'll have to wait...

[Lazy Boy]

I checked for the 17th...it's still playing at El Capitan. I figure they give it two weeks before expanding it a bit into mainstream theaters.

[Edie0027]

did anyone see it yet? i was supposed to go tonight, but my friends cancelled....might go alone-- not sure-- want to know if it is mandatory that i go immediately! anyone go this weekend?

[Lazy Boy]

Rating: 7/10

The work of director/animator Hayao Miyazaki transcends the usual CGI, pop-cultural reference animated films, and I believe that it does so by looking at the world in Japanese eyes, even though the setting may be transplanted from a mostly European one. In Howl's Moving Castle, the beauty of the Swiss Alps-like location is something we've seen before, but yet haven't. We expect Julie Andrews to emerge over the top of a green hill, but instead, we get a mute, bouncing scarecrow named Turniphead (no reference to Lost!). Perhaps you could call this "The Sound of Miyazaki," but titles are insignificant, in the original language or translation. The beauty of the images in his latest film are worthy of being framed in a museum, yet there is an overwhelming sense of familiarity with his prior films.

A flaw I see in Miyazaki is his stubborn inability to make a film with childlike eyes, without crowding it completely with politics. Like his prior films, Howl's concerns warring countries and the insistence (on the director's behalf) of reconnecting with nature. What should be a tale of Sofie conceding inner beauty over outer appearance turns into an overstuffed didactism -- this is the first time I could feel Miyazaki was lecturing, instead of letting the story's message come through, and perhaps he and Michael Moore have too much in common. The animation is as gorgeous as ever, but Miyazaki (adapting from an English novel) doesn't capture the elementary power of love which has been a focus point, mostly in the beautiful Spirited Away. Howl is a blank, dull character, peppered by mood swings, which makes me think that some anti-depressants are more needed than a simple hug or kiss.

An interesting thing about anime is the fact that, while the original Japanese language is preferable, the dubbing connects Eastern and Western societies more so than the dubbing in a live action film from, say, China. Dreamworks' obnoxious insistence on hiring "big stars" over quality voice actors for their films has been a crutch during the years. Despite my frustrations over Disney's handling of Studio Ghibli, I can't protest their delicate choice in actor's and dubbing. Christian Bale is perfect as Howl -- perfect in the fact that Howl is hard to get a handle on, and Bale's flat voice is soothing, yet ambiguously dull to make us intrigued. Billy Crystal opts not for the Robin Williams level of show off voice acting -- he subjugates his vocal range in the name of character, not pizzaz, as Calcifer. The most important performance in the film is Jean Simmons as the old Sofie -- aged and hunched beyond her years, she also suggests the infinite childlike possibilities of youth, developing the character into maturity even though she appears on her last leg.

There is a sad beauty in the animation, and I must admit this extends to the fact that there is a serious lack of good hand drawn animation in today's society. Because of an emphasis on poo jokes and movie references, I fear that this antiquated way of animation, with its striking fantasy/realism mixture, will go the way of the dinosaur. Yet, for every moment of non-ironic silence that Miyazaki extends to his characters, audiences who are willing to find such good stuff will do so. He is one of the few links to Euro-Asian-American culture, and while his newest work is not his best, it is a bold reminder that anime does exist outside of Pokemon and Dragon Ball Z.

[Lazy Boy]

BUMPITY BUMPITY BUMP, as the Trashcan Man says.

Maybe the difficulty I had with this particular movie was the fact that Miyazaki was (a) on board as director only shortly after the original guy left and (b) the English novel by Diana Wynn Jones is difficult to adapt.