Hayao Miyazaki is one of those filmmakers whose name you should know even if you have no patience for anime and couldn't tell an Akira from a Gundam. Many of us without a dedicated Tokyopop shelving unit in our homes probably first heard of Miyazaki when Miramax brought his Princess Mononoke to American screens in the late '90s, complete with actors like Gillian Anderson and Billy Crudup voicing the English dialogue and script adaptation work by Neil Gaiman. A few years later his Spirited Away made even more of an impression, taking home an Oscar for Best Animated Feature.
Miyazaki is a master fantasist with a brilliant visual imagination, and his movies show just how gorgeous traditional animation can be amongst today's sea of interchangeable CGI family films. Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment is bringing Miyazaki's Ponyo to Blu-ray and DVD March 2nd, the first of his films to be released on Blu-ray. It's a great chance for the curious to dive in headfirst, because Disney will also be releasing special editions of Miyazaki's earlier films Castle in the Sky, Kiki's Delivery Service, and My Neighbor Totoro (details here).
I missed Ponyo during its theatrical run this past summer, but after Mononoke and Spirited Away I'll definitely be giving it a chance. Here's how the press release describes the story:
Walking on the beach near his home, a five-year old boy named Sosuke (voiced by Frankie Jonas) finds a beautiful goldfish trapped in a bottle. He releases the tiny creature and, sure that she is no ordinary fish, names his new friend Ponyo (Noah Lindsey Cyrus). As Ponyo and Sosuke grow closer, she reveals to him that she is the daughter of a powerful wizard (Liam Neeson) and a sea goddess (Cate Blanchett), and magically transforms herself into a real human girl. But by crossing from her watery world onto land, Ponyo has created a dangerous imbalance in nature. As the moon begins to draw closer to the earth, sea levels rise and a giant tsunami threatens to destroy Sosuke’s home. Ponyo’s father marshals all his might to find his missing daughter, as the two children embark on an adventure of a lifetime to try and save the world.
The discs are as loaded with special features as you'd expect. Here's the rundown:
Bonus Features
The World of Ghibli -- Allows fans to immerse themselves in the amazing worlds from each film created by legendary filmmaker, Hayao Miyazaki in this multi-layered interactive experience. Lands to explore include:
- PONYO’S Land
- KIKI’S Land
- CASTLE’S Land
- TOTORO’S Land
Behind the Studio -- Unprecedented access to all the background, inspiration and process behind the making of Ponyo and the inner workings of Studio Ghibli through a series of documentaries. They include all new interviews with Hayao Miyazaki and composer Joe Hisaishi. Also included in this feature are:
- Creating Ponyo
- Ponyo & Fujimoto
- The Nursery
- Behind the Microphone: The Voice of Ponyo
- Producers Perspective: Telling the Story
- Scoring Miyazaki
- The Scenery in Ghibli
- Original Japanese Trailer
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