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Saturday, May 09
Film4’s Studio Ghibli Season is Here
Film4 will be showing a total of nineteen Studio Ghibli titles over the Easter holiday, and, whether you’ve seen them before or have yet to be exposed to the Ghibli legacy, they are not to be missed. The full line up is listed below, with some titles repeated so viewers can choose their preference between English dub or subtitles:
- Tues, 26 March at 6:30pm – Spirited Away (Subtitled)
- Weds, 27 March at 6:05pm – Princess Mononoke (Subtitled)
- Thurs, 28 March at 11am – The Cat Returns (Subtitled)
- Thurs, 28 March at 4:35pm – Porco Rosso (English dub)
- Fri, 29 March at 4:45pm – Kiki’s Delivery Service (English dub)
- Sat, 30 March at 4:55pm – My Neighbour Totoro (English dub)
- Sun, 31 March at 5:15pm – Arrietty (English dub)
- Mon, 1 April at 4:35pm – Howl’s Moving Castle (English dub)
- Tues, 2 April at 3:15pm – The Castle of Cagliostro (English dub)
- Weds, 3 April at 2:50pm – Ponyo (English dub)
- Thurs, 4 April at 11am – Ocean Waves (Subtitled)
- Thurs, 4 April at 2:35pm – Pom Poko (English dub)
- Fri, 5 April at 12:15am – Grave of the Fireflies (Subtitled)
- Fri, 5 April at 2:40pm – Whisper of the Heart (English dub)
- Fri, 6 April at 4:35pm – Spirited Away (English dub)
- Sun, 7 April at 3pm – The Cat Returns (English dub)
- Mon, 8 April at 2:25pm – Tales From Earthsea (English dub)
- Tues, 9 April at 12:55pm – Only Yesterday (Subtitled)
- Weds, 10 April at 1:10pm – Princess Mononoke (English dub)
- Thurs, 11 April at 11am – Little Norse Prince (Subtitled)
- Thurs, 11 April at 2:35pm – Laputa: Castle in the Sky (English dub)
- Fri, 12 April at 12:45pm – Howl’s Moving Castle (Subtitled)
- Sat, 13 April (time TBA) – Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (Subtitled)
More information is available on Film4’s website.
Studio Ghibli Gets its own Series of Zippo Lighters
A multitude of Studio Ghibli films are now featured on a collection of Zippo lighters. From classics such as Princess Mononoke and Laputa to the more recent on-screen adventures like Tales from Earthsea and Ponyo, the lighters are available online and range between $99.99 – $150.
Despite Ghibli’s popularity with young audiences, the studio has clearly branched out to more mature audiences in this particular merchandising. Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki is a smoker himself, having said in an interview in 2008 with Robert Whiting “Both of my parents were heavy smokers, though they didn’t die of lung cancer. So I’m OK. I scanned my lungs the other day and there was no problem.”
Even with the health issues surrounding smoking and the complaints from some fans and anti-smoking groups, it’s hard not to admire the artistry of these pieces. If it makes those against smoking feel any better, they could always be used to light candles.
Studio Ghibli Announces the Next Two Films From Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata
Studio Ghibli have officially announced their next two films for release; Kaze Tachinu (The Wind is Rising) by Hayao Miyazaki and Kaguya-hime no Monogatari (The Tale of Princess Kaguya) by Isao Takahata. Both films by the Ghibli co-founders are set for release on the same in Japan in summer 2013; the last time Miyazaki and Takahata released two films on the same day was the release of My Neighbour Totoro and Grave of Fireflies in 1988.
Miyazaki previously released a two-part manga mini-series back in 2009 called Kaze Tachinu, which focused on Jiro Horikoshi, the designer of Japan’s famed Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter plane of World War II. The film will work off this manga, and also Tatsuo Hori same-titled book.
Also in 2009, Takahata announced that the next film he would be working on would be based on Japanese folktale The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter about a princess named Kaguya who was discovered as a baby inside the stalk of a glowing bamboo plant.
Both films have clearly been a personal project for the Ghibli co-founders, and Miyazaki and Takahata have both written the screenplays for their respective films.
“Totoro” is the Most Popular Word on Japanese Twitter
BIGLOBE’s Twipple Trend information site has released the monthly Twitter stats. In July, “Totoro” was the most discussed word by Japanese Twitter users. My Nieghbour Totoro was rebroadcast on NTV in Japan with an amazing rating of 18.3%.
Studio Ghibli’s My Neighbour Totoro will be available on Double Play DVD/Blu-ray in the UK on 12 November 2012, along with Lupin III: The Castle Of Cagliostro and Grave of Fireflies.