Totoro and Chihiro will travel the world with Netflix. The platform announced on Monday an agreement with the Japanese studio Ghibli, responsible for iconic films such as Princess Mononoke or My Neighbor Totoro, which will allow 21 of his feature films to be available internationally on the platform. Only Japan, the United States and Canada are outside the agreement. In these last two countries, the emission rights were purchased in October by WarnerMedia for its HBO Max platform, thus ensuring its presence when the service is available in spring 2020.
This announcement is about a change in the policy of the studio, which until recently resisted its animated films being distributed on digital platforms. “Today you can reach the public in many great ways. We listen to our fans and we have made the final decision to offer our catalog of feature films in streaming, ” said Toshio Suzuki, producer of the Ghibli studio. The films will be shown in Japanese, their original language, and dubbed into 20 languages and with subtitles in 28 languages.
The films will be available in their original language, Japanese, dubbed in 20 languages and with subtitles in 28 languages. Netflix will include them in its catalog in a staggered manner, with seven premieres every month starting on February 1. From that day you can see productions such as The Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, Nicky, the Witch’s Apprentice, Porco Rosso or Memories of Yesterday.
On March 1, it will be the turn of Princess Mononoke, The Journey of Chihiro, Arrietty and the World of the Tiny or The Story of Princess Kuguya. For the first of April films such as Pompoko, Whispers of the Heart, The Wind Rises, The Memory of Marnie or The Walking Castle remain.
Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata created the Ghibli studio in 1985 after having worked together on series such as Heidi, Marco and Ana of the green roof tiles . Such was the fame that his creations reached that in 2001 a museum was opened in Tokyo dedicated exclusively to the productions of the studio. In 2013 Miyazaki announced his retirement , and a year later, Ghibli temporarily suspended the production of feature films as a result of that march. But four years later, Miyazaki said he would be in charge of a new film , entitled How do you live? , and whose premiere is expected between 2020 and 2021.
Five films from the studio have received Oscar nominations, and Chihiro’s Journey (2001) won the best animated film in 2003.
Source: Ann