Hayao Miyazagi’s ‘Spirited Away’: A Review (1 Viewer)

[Jeff Kleist]

My Neighbor Totoro was released on VHS by Fox, not Disney

Disney will probably be re-releasing it this fall.

Actually, I believe Spirited WILL be released under the Disney logo. For precisely the reason they want it to succeed

Warner did some testing with "Thumbelina". Some audiences were showed the Warner logo at the beginning, others the Disney logo

The film tested much better as a Disney film

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

Actually, I believe Spirited WILL be released under the Disney logo.

As it stands right now, Buena Vista International is the distribution company on record that will be handling the North American release of this film. I would think that Disney would want their logo only on their own films.

~Edwin

 

[TheLongshot]

The Iron Giant failed for two reasons:

1) WB didn't do a very good job marketing it.

2) It was released on one of the busiest weekends of that summer. The Sixth Sense, Mystery Men, The Thomas Crown Affair, and Life Is Beautiful all came out that weekend, effectively squeezing it out of theaters.

If it weren't for that, it probably would have done well. Just about everyone who did see it enjoyed it.

Do I think that Spirited Away will be widely profitable in this country? Probably not, but it is baby steps in the right direction if it gets a proper release in the US with a proper marketing campaign.

Jason

 

[Jeff Kleist]

I think Spirited Away stands a solid chance at a 40-60million take in the US if it's marketed properly

Oh, and yes, the movie comes out in R2 in June or July (no official date yet)

 

[Steve Y]

The information about the test screening with the different logos is very telling... a large amount of a film's success is perception. Now would fifteen million be a "bomb"? How about ten million? Both returns would be more than Mononoke, and thus a minor victory. No one is expecting Lion King numbers here. (I think Jeff's estimations are admirably optimistic, though I don't have enough faith in the American movie-going public)

I would have loved this movie as a kid. Mononoke was a more "mature" movie; I love it but see why it couldn't win over the Wal-Mart family market. SA works on more levels though, is more "kid-friendly", has more humor, and in some respects is less ambiguous, etc. I have a hard time believing it will bomb as hard as the others.

But that's in large part to my own enthusiasm. I really really hate having to wait until the end of the year to see it again. As mentioned above I am pessimistic about the ability of the Disney Corporation or the American Family to make it a success, but I have a lot of faith in the movie itself. You should have seen the kids go crazy in the screening I attended. For those of you who haven't seen it yet, you might have to wait and see it yourself to understand why a part of me remains hopeful.

~Steve

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Well, I'm saying if marketed properly, it could make 40-50. I don't think it actually will, and will be suprised if it breaks 30

BUT

Since the movie right and dubbing couldn't cost more than say, 5 million, and maybe 5-10 in ads, that would be 10 million+ of gravy. Very good incentive for them to keep doing it.

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

Have I left any out?

For a better and up-to-date comparison, how about the recently released Metropolis, which will end its North American domestic run at around $600,000? Looking at how Metropolis did, it really doesn't bode that well for Spirited Away, does it? Let's hope for some better returns.
~Edwin

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Metropolis did not get a wide release. There are under 20 prints out there, and it did not play in some of the largest markets in the country (Philadelphia for one). It also didn't play outside of art houses

No one can expect a release that small to make a ton of cash. It did VERY well at the theaters it did play in.

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

Here is the latest on Spirited Away from The Wall Street Journal:

Lost In The Translation?
By Tom King
It’s an animated family movie, from a respected foreign filmmaker, brought to the U.S. by Disney. Sounds like a good option for a summer afternoon, right?
Maybe, except the film, “Spirited Away”, won’t be opening until a little past the prime movie season for kids. Current opening: September.
That’s just one hurdle Disney will face as it tries to sell this long Japanese film to American audiences. With the exception of “Pokemon”, Japanese animated movies have a dreadful American track record. “Princess Mononoke”, a previous movie from the creator of “Spirited Away”, was a bust in the U.S. in 1999, taking in a pitiful $2.4M. That one was distributed by Disney’s Miramax unit.
“Granted, there are certain aspects that will make it challenging” to sell U.S. moviegoers on “Spirited Away”, says Dick Cook, chairman of Walt Disney Studios. But he thinks its “visionary story and artistry” could make it a hit, noting the film recently toppled “Titanic” in Japan to become that country’s biggest movie of all time. The plot? A 10-year-old girl encounters strange creatures after her parents are turned into pigs.
BIG GUNS
The movie’s creator, Hayao Miyazaki, is called by some the Walt Disney of Japan. Yet, so far, his work hasn’t translated here. This spring, Disney acquired the U.S. distribution rights for a song, industry execs say, although it will spend millions on marketing and distribution.
Disney has brought in big guns to oversee the translation into English, including Kirk Wise, co-director of “Beauty and the Beast,” and John Lasseter, director of Pixar’s “Toy Story” movies. Mr. Lasseter is a longtime admirer of his Japanese counterpart, having met him more than 20 years ago.
A major issue that concerned Disney initially was the film’s length: At two hours and 20 minutes, it’s far longer than the 90-minute range of most U.S. cartoon movies. Mr. Miyazaki, eager to burnish his reputation in the U.S. after the failure of “Princess Mononoke” here, said he would go along with any cuts – if they were supervised by Mr. Lasseter.
At first, Mr. Lasseter thought he found a scene that could be trimmed… (scene in question not included in this quote for spoiler reasons). But Pam Coats, the Disney animation executive who has overseen the project, convinced him it was OK. In the end, the two executives decided not to cut a single frame. “I think little kids can sit there and watch a lot longer than we think they can,” Ms. Coats says. (Disney says one reason its own films are shorter is because longer ones cost more to make.) They also opted to keep the film’s original score of Eastern music. Says Ms. Coats: “The last thing we wanted to do was take this enormously popular film in Japan and bring it over to America and destroy it.”
They did, however, dub it into English, using actresses Suzanne Pleshette and Daveigh Chase, who voices the young girl in “Lilo & Stitch”. John Ratzenberger (Cliff from “Cheers”) voices a manager of a bathhouse.
Disney has already delayed the movie’s release. In a behind-the-scenes dust-up earlier this year, DreamWorks partner Jeffrey Katzenberg protested when he learned Disney planned to open “Spirited Away” on May 17 – one week before DreamWorks unveiled it horse cartoon “Spirit”. DreamWorks felt that Disney – which Mr. Katzenberg used to run – was trying to confuse moviegoers.
Mr. Cook denies this. He says that at the same time DreamWorks protected its title, Disney realized it was “rushing” the people who were dubbing its film. Now “Spirited Away” will hit screens Sept. 20 – after the kids are back in school. No problem, says Mr. Cook: “While we hope that we’ll be able to get kids, initially our audience is going to be adults who appreciate the art of animation.”

I guess the English dub version will be the only theatrical stateside release at this point.
~Edwin

 

[Stephen R]

Some good news for those who have a region-free DVD player: Spirited Away came out for both Region 2 (Japan) and Region 3 (Hong Kong) DVD today. Since I have the R3 one pre-ordered, I know for sure that its a 2-Disc set and has English subs and a DTS 6.1 Japanese audio track.
Of course, I'll also be seeing it in the theater when it makes it here, but it'll be nice to view it in its original language before seeing it dubbed to hell.