More Miyazaki DVDs coming in 2004 (1 Viewer)

[PaulP]

Why wouldn't Disney release Pom Poko? It's part of their Studio Ghibli deal, and in that deal it states that they can in no way alter the films. So since it's already tenatively scheduled for late 2005, why doubt it will come out?

 

[ChristopherDAC]

I don't say that they would alter it; but seriously, Disney today are so almighty concerned about their family-friendly image [and, let's face it, with being conformist and not "subversive"; even Aladdin got so much FLAK] that they had to be contractually restrained from slicing-and-dicing the Ghiblies they've handled. I seriously doubt they're going to put the Magic Kingdom logo in front of that! for some years after Eisner leaves at least.

 

[John Garcia]

I don't see why Disney has to stamp their name on ANY of these movies; it ticks me off. I'm very interested in seeing Totoro and Howl's Moving Castle.

 

[TheLongshot]

So since it's already tenatively scheduled for late 2005, why doubt it will come out?

Because of the aformentioned content. I'm not sure how Disney would react to huge testicles in an animated feature that they can't cut due to the contract.

I also think "My Neighbors The Yamadas" is also going to be a hard sell, becuase 1) It is basically a collection of shorts (due to the source material being a comic strip) and 2) it is very Japanese.

Jason

 

[Richard Kim]

I don't say that they would alter it; but seriously, Disney today are so almighty concerned about their family-friendly image [and, let's face it, with being conformist and not "subversive"; even Aladdin got so much FLAK] that they had to be contractually restrained from slicing-and-dicing the Ghiblies they've handled. I seriously doubt they're going to put the Magic Kingdom logo in front of that! for some years after Eisner leaves at least.

Well, they released Princess Mononoke, which had lots of graphic violence (albeit under Miramax), so it's still plausible for Disney to release PomPoko.

 

[PaulP]

I'm sure Disney knows what it has rights to. And John, Disney doesn't stamp their name on these. Every DVD clearly states "Walt Disney presents a Studio Ghibli film". Anyway, I highly doubt any of the Ghibli films will be a hard sell for Disney. All they have to put on the cover is "from the makers of Spirited Away" - which, by the way, is also VERY Japanese.

 

[John Garcia]

I know, I own many of these films. I saw Spirited Away in the theater. It has nothing to do with these films being a "hard sell"; they can stand on their own. DISNEY is still on the cover... Princess Mononoke, as noted, was a Miramax release rather than "Disney presents". Now they want their name clearly associated with these films because Spirited Away won an oscar? This is the equivalent of stamping their name on it to me. No, they aren't trying to take credit for it, but is there really a need for them to make a big deal out of their involvement in the US release simply because the movies clearly have an audience?

- which, by the way, is also VERY Japanese.

I don't get what you mean by this. Do you think I would be posting in this thread if I hadn't SEEN these movies and enjoyed them?

I think my favorite Ghibli film so far is still Grave of the Fireflies.

 

[PaulP]

What I mean is that Spirited Away is very Japanese, as you said Pom Poko is, which would make it a hard sell for Disney. It might not sell the way Spirited Away did, but it'll do okay.

 

[PaulP]

DavisDVD has the covers up and I'm not very impressed.



P.S.: This thread title needs updating.

 

[TheLongshot]

Actually, I like the Yamadas cover. The Pom Poko cover needs a little work, but I do like the art. I'm glad Disney isn't photoshopping covers for these.

Jason

 

[PaulP]

Yeah I mostly meant Pom Poko. Look like a 2-minute cut-and-paste job.

 

[RafaelB]

At least this wave will be more consistent in look and feel with the Nausicaa wave than the first wave of Ghibli films (Kiki, Laputa, Spirited).

I'm going to be very curious to see how people react to those Pom Poko Pandas....

Rafael.

 

[Joel C]

Well, the two films no one thought they'd ever release are out, and we STILL don't have Totoro, which I am desperate to see (I'd watch the Fox version but my brother sold it when it was supposed to come out in 2004). Now they're saying "Spring 2006" with Howl's (which I want to see in Japanese, now that I've seen the dub).

Also, a new interview at nausicaa.net indicates there are "no plans" to dub or release Only Yesterday! If they are doing stuff like Yamadas, Whisper and Cat Returns (which was entertaining but by FAR the weakest Ghibli I've seen), why not this well-liked Takahata film?

 

[PaulP]

I'm sure they'll release all Ghibli features. I read somewhere they also gained rights to Ocean Waves as well now. I'd like to see Disney release also the Ghibli shorts and non-features.

P.S.: I was surprised when I recieved my order from Amazon yesterday. My Neighbors the Yamadas isn't a 2-disc set.

 

[RafaelB]

So, I finally watched Yamadas and Pom Poko and actually came away enjoying both. Yamadas took a little while to get used to the animation, which is quite nice and muted and surreal. The humour is very much in the Peanuts/Simpsons vein and just 'feel-good' IMO.

Pom Poko I was more impressed by, which may be b/c my expectations weren't so high (I had tried watching it in japanese with no subtitles 4 years ago and I simply lost interest), but I found it to be very touching and pretty funny. I really like the animation and the action surrounding the 'pouches' was taken as matter-of-factly and I think would provoke some laughter but 'fits' into the rules of that world.

Now bring on TOTORO and WHISPER OF THE HEART!

Rafael.