Affenheimtheater » ponyo

Howl’s Moving Castle, Tales from Earthsea and Ponyo Japan Blu-ray Disc

Ulrik — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 05:07:28 +0000

Studio Ghibli is about to start a massive assault on the credit card accounts of HD anime lovers on November 16th. Together with Disney Home Entertainment, the studio will release three of their titles on Blu-ray Disc in Japan.
While Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea is already available on Blu-ray Disc since 2009 and will only be re-released to match the package of the current Studio Ghibli BD releases, his 2004 feature Howl’s Moving Castle has never been available in high definition except for one obscure Mexican release. Judging from the screenshots taken from the Joe Hisaishi in Budokan – Miyazaki Anime to Tomo ni Ayunda 25 Nenkan Blu-ray Disc this should be a real treat! Hayao’s son Goro Miyazaki will get the chance to show off Tales from Earthsea (Gdo Senki), his first feature for the studio.
All three discs will include English subtitles and the English dub. French, Italian, German, Korean and Chinese language options are also available on some of the releases. See the Asian Blu-ray Guide listings below for more details.

Howl’s Moving Castle – Tales from Earthsea – Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (Re-release) @ Asian Blu-ray Guide

[via Can you Moe? & WTK]

Cover Artwork for Universum Anime’s upcoming Ponyo Blu-ray Disc unveiled

Ulrik — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 09:57:11 +0000

Nice one! Looks like German distributor Universum Anime decided to mimick the amazing cover style of Studio Ghibli’s Blu-ray Disc releases for their own upcoming Blu-ray Disc of Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo.

[Thanks to droppingpenny for the heads-up]

Ponyo: UK Blu-ray Disc Limited Deluxe Edition

Ulrik — Fri, 07 May 2010 10:47:42 +0000

The DVD Times has posted a first picture of the limited UK Blu-ray Disc Deluxe Edition of Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo coming from Optimum Home Entertainment on June 7th. At least package-wise, this edition should please those who don’t want to import the expensive limited Japanese Blu-ray Disc but want something more than the simple standard design of Disney’s US release. The fold-out digipak looks almost like the one used in the Japanese release but without the premium price.
Plus, the extra features listed in the article will have English subtitles. Maybe Optimum even manages to please audiophiles by beating Disney and including the Original audio in a lossless compressed track. ~~Currently this limited edition is only listed at HMV for 16.99GBP.~~ It’s now also available from Amazon.co.uk, thanks Marco!

Ponyo ab September 2010 in den deutschen Kinos

Ulrik — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 21:07:32 +0000

Frohe Kunde für alle, die ihr Animefutter gerne im Großbildformat und mit deutscher Synchro erleben möchten. Nach mehreren Verschiebungen ist bei AnimaniA zu lesen, daß Hayao Miyazakis Ponyo nun am 16. September 2010 dank Universum Anime in die deutschen Kinos kommen wird! Wer Ponyo in der deutschen Synchro in den eigenen vier Wänden erleben möchte muss sich noch ein gutes Jahr gedulden, eine DVD Veröffentlichung ist erst für März 2011 geplant…
[via @ConanUndCo]
Update: Passend dazu der deutsche Trailer zum Film:

Disney Home Entertainment promises more Studio Ghibli on Blu-ray Disc in 2010!

Ulrik — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 21:07:52 +0000

During an award ceremony for the Japanese Blu-ray Disc release of Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo, Walt Disney Home Entertainment made a very exciting announcement. As expected after the success of Ponyo on Blu-ray Disc, the studio announced to begin Blu-ray Disc releases of Studio Ghibli’s classics (probably in Japan) in 2010! Specific titles haven’t been mentioned, but based on some comments from Toshio Suzuki during his radio show, The Ghibli Blog assumes that My Neighbors The Yamadas (ホーホケキョとなりの山田くん) will be the second Blu-ray Disc from the studio.
[via GhibliWiki, thanks to AnimeOnBlu!]

Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea: English Subtitled Hong Kong Blu-ray Disc in January

Ulrik — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 10:47:21 +0000

Probably good news for those among us who finally want to see Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea in high definition without waiting for a local Blu-ray Disc release (March 2nd for the USA, June 6th for the UK) our paying the premium price for the mighty fine Japanese Blu-ray Disc.
Intercontinental Video Ltd. (IVL) has announced a lower priced Hong Kong Blu-ray Disc release for January 26, 2010 that won’t have Disney’s English dub but English subtitles and the original Japanese language track. According to IVL the disc will also include over four hours of bonus material but only with Chinese subtitles.
IVL has always been a great resource for Studio Ghibli fans worldwide during the DVD age since their releases were always on-par with the more expensive Japanese releases. YesAsia lists the release as Region A, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see. Since IVL is the exclusive distributor for Disney titles in the area, they probably have to follow their guidelines when it comes to region coding which Disney uses a lot for newer releases.
Preorder Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea HK Blu-ray Disc from YesAsia.com

Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea: Limited Edition Blu-ray Disc [Japan]

Ulrik — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 13:27:20 +0000

Sorry, but I’m a bit ~~lazy~~ busy today and so I’m only posting a few photos of the Japanese Limited Blu-ray Disc Edition of Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea I picked up from the post office today. If you got any specific questions, just drop them in the comment section and I’ll answer them asap.

Screenshots, Region Codes, Audio- and Subtitle Details for the Japanese Ponyo Blu-ray Disc

Ulrik — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:47:35 +0000

Here are some more fresh technical details from the Japanese Blu-ray Disc release of Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea that hit the Japanese stores today.
According to Blu-ray.com forum member kslee from Hong Kong, the English dub is indeed included in this release as an extra feature. However, it seems like this “North American version” can only be watched with Japanese subtitles, so it’s more like a bonus feature for curious Japanese buyers than a treat for English dub fans. English subtitles are (as expected) available for the Japanese language track.
Reliable Asian Blu-ray Guide informant AnimeOnBlu has tested the disc and it plays fine on Region A and B Blu-ray Disc players, Region C machines haven’t been tested yet. Also, the first few but amazing looking screenshots (just look at the details in the background artwork!) have been posted in the comment section by DCJuggler:

My limited edition has been shipped this morning, so it should arrive early next week.
Stay tuned for much more screenshots and some nice package shots to celebrate Studio Ghibli’s first full feature film on Blu-ray Disc!
Check out the full technical specs posted by DCJuggler below:
Length: 1:40:50
Total Bitrate: 34.02 Mbps
Video: MPEG-4 AVC Video / 23515 kbps / 1080p / 23.976 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio:
Japanese: DTS-HD Master / 6.1 / 48 kHz / 4537 kbps / 24-bit
Japanese: LPCM / 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
English: Dolby Digital Audio / 2.0 / 48 kHz / 256 kbps
French, Italian, Korean, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese: Dolby Digital / 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles:
English, French, Italian, Korean, Spanish, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Japanese

Ponyo: US Gift Set with Ponyo Plush

Ulrik — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 08:37:21 +0000

Disney producer Frank Marshall announced some cuddly details for the US video release of Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo. Perfectly fitting the missed Christmas sales, Walt Disney Home Entertainment will release Ponyo in a limited gift set that will include a plush toy of our favourite goldfish on March 2, 2010. The day-to-day Blu-ray Disc release will have to live without the fluffy companion.

The avid importers among you who pre-ordered the December Ponyo Blu-ray Disc releases from Japan or France don’t have to wait till march to get the Ponyo plush, J-List has the same plush toy in small and medium size ready to order.
[via The Blu-ray Blog, thanks to Brenden!]

Ponyo gets US DVD & Blu-ray Disc release on the same day as Japan [Update]

Ulrik — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 09:37:11 +0000

Good news for those of us who want to see Hayao Miyazaki’s latest Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea in glorious HD as soon as possible without paying a premium price for the Japanese Blu-ray Disc release.
According to Rope of Silicone, Walt Disney Home Entertainment will bring the significant cheaper US DVD and Blu-ray Disc release on the same day as in Japan, meaning December 8th. So the October date mentioned back in July was (just as espected) just some retailer related date.
[Oct. 20] Update: According to Disney producer Frank Marshall, Ponyo will be released in the US in March 2010! I asked him about the date Rope of Silicone stated but I didn’t receive an answer yet. Hard to believe that Disney won’t take advantage of the upcoming Christmas sales, especially since a French BD release for December was announced two days ago. [via The Ghibli Blog]

English subtitled Ponyo Blu-ray Disc to be released in December! [Update]

Ulrik — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:47:05 +0000

After the first announcements back in March, Walt Disney Home Entertainment Japan finally announced the release date for the Japanese Blu-ray Disc release of Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea! According to AV Watch, the first Blu-ray Disc release of a “real” Studio Ghibli film hit the shelves on December 8th, 2009! Just as hoped, the release is supposed to include English subtitles and (according to ANN) the English dub as well as French, Italian, Korean, Spanish, Mandarin and Cantonese dubs/subs.
On the same day, the delayed release of the hours long making-of will released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc as well.
Update: Amazon Japan has published an image of the Limited Edition Blu-ray Disc release:
Update #2: According to the GhibliWiki, the English dub will NOT be included on the Japanese Blu-ray Disc release!
Update #3: According to the GhibliWiki, Walt Disney Home Entertainment Japan and Studio Ghibli officially confirmed that the English dub will be included as a bonus feature with Japanese subitles.

Disneytized Theme for Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo

Ulrik — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 07:47:18 +0000

A few days before the US opening of Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo on August 14th, the disneytized title song, sung by Noah Cyrus and Frankie Jonas (voices of Ponyo and Sosuke), has popped up at the usual places on the net.

I’m gonna do myself a favor and won’t comment on this computerized saccharine version of the just cute (and down to earth) original. Use these two versions sung by Japanese kids to get the Disney version out of your system…
[via The Ghibli Blog]

Second US Trailer for Hayao Miyazaki’s PONYO

Ulrik — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 09:07:59 +0000

Walt Disney Pictures has released a second US trailer for Hayao Miyazakis Ponyo which in contrast to the first trailer doesn’t only show Ponyo as the supposed saviour of the world but also gives the other characters some more room. I might be wrong (and I can’t access my Japanese DVD right now) but wasn’t the “big and beauuuuuutiful” scene a bit different in the Japanese version?

Quicktime HD Direktlinks: 480p – 720p – 1080p

Hayao Miyazaki at Comic Con 2009

Ulrik — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 13:07:03 +0000

Last Friday, Hayao Miyazaki followed the invitation of Pixar’s John Lasseter and joined him at the Pixar Panel at the San Diego Comic Con where he spoke a few minutes about his work.

[See full post to watch this video]

[via Ghibli World, Video via Cinema Blend]

Ponyo coming to US DVD and Blu-ray Disc in October?

Ulrik — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 08:07:40 +0000

The always well informed GhibliWiki reports that, according the the August issue of the Preview retailer magazine, Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo will get an early home video release in the US.
The list states that Ponyo will be released on Blu-ray Disc, and DVD as a standard and a special edition on October 28th:

While these early release dates would be great, I’m a bit sceptical about them as Studio Ghibli was quoted in the past that their films will be released on Blu-ray Disc in Japan first before they’re available in the rest of the world and release date for the Japanese Ponyo Blu-ray Disc still is December 2009. The list also doesn’t mention if the mentioned dates really are the public release dates or rather just some retailer relevant dates.

Ponyo vs. The Sky Crawlers: A Conversation between Mamoru Oshii & Toshio Suzuki

Ulrik — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 22:17:15 +0000

Daniel from The Ghibli Blog has found a translated transcript of very insightful interview/discussion between director Mamoru Oshii (Patlabor, Ghost in the Shell, The Sky Crawlers) and Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki at welcome datacomp.
The main subjects of the discussion were (absent) director Hayao Miyazaki, Ponyo, The Sky Crawlers, jellyfishes, getting older and nothing less than the future of animation.
While the conversation already took place in August 2008 during Suzuki’s radio show [MP3 download] it’s still pretty newsworthy for us because Ponyo and Sky Crawlers are just arriving at our shores.
The discussion in the transcript reads a bit heated because of the sometimes pretty harsh words (especially towards Miyazaki) but if you listen to the radio show you can hear (even without knowing any Japanese) that this really was a friendly conversation between two old confreres. Another thing I noticed (and made my kinda ‘proud’) was the fact that Oshii criticizes the same thing about Ponyo like I did in my recent review:

Suzuki: Was the movie no good?
Oshii: No, it [Ponyo] was interesting to watch. What I mean by that is that Miya-san’s wild ideas are interesting to watch. The problem is that it wasn’t a real movie. It wasn’t put together like a proper movie. Not one bit.
(…)
Oshii: The movie didn’t explain anything about Fujimoto.

Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea Review

Ulrik — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 09:27:30 +0000

Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (Gake no ue no Ponyo) – Japan 2008

Even though I decided to take a step back when it comes to movie reviews, I somehow felt obligated to write a short review on Ponyo since I’ve been following Miyazaki’s latest since March 2007. Unfortunately after all this time and the emotional anticipation towards the film left me a bit ambivalent.
On the one hand there are many just wonderful and heart-warming scenes with a lovable bunch of characters (Ponyo learning how to be human should really bring a smile to everyone’s face) brought to us by some of the world’s finest animators making Ponyo the best looking Studio Ghibli film ever. But somehow I couldn’t help but feel cheated when the end titles suddenly started to roll and left me with a “What, that’s it?” feeling in my tummy. The intentionally simple kept story just ends too abrupt with Ponyo (in a way the perfect mixture of Totoro and Mei) and her new found human friend Sosuke rowing towards their destination they probably don’t even know of without facing any danger, challenges or real character development that should go hand in hand with a journey like that.
Another thing that just doesn’t felt right and is somehow unusual for a Miyazaki film was the fact that everything that happens to the world (chaos, fear and destruction) has no consequences for rebellious Ponyo even though she’s the one responsible. She even get’s rewarded by getting her wish come true without doing anything (except looking cute) to improve the situation. Maybe I’m the only one feeling this way since nobody (not even the affected townsfolk) really seem to care about the ongoing (in a way terrible) situation and the impending destruction of Earth. I guess it’s because of Ponyo’s irresistible cute aura…
All in all, Ponyo is “just” good and fun entertainment for a mostly younger audience, leaving fans of Miyazaki’s former masterpieces (Spirited Away and prior) somehow unsatisfied since it partly lacks the depth, emotional complexity and just this special something that goes beyond just showing wonderful scenes.
Don’t get me wrong, Ponyo is absolutely not a bad film but because of its flaws it just couldn’t make it into my personal Miyazaki Top 5 (in no order: Nausicaä, Mononoke-hime, Totoro, Laputa, Spirited Away). You should take the chance see it when it comes to a theater near you and don’t forget to bring the kids since Ponyo (next to Totoro) is a great way to hook them on anime early

See trailers, posters and more for Ponyo…

Alternative US Trailer for Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea

Ulrik — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:27:35 +0000

Disney has released a second or rather alternative trailer for Hayao Miyazaki’s latest film Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea. Sadly this one doesn’t show more of Studio Ghibli’s beautiful artwork but only adds a few seconds of (voice) actors name dropping Disney is famous for…meh.
Shouldn’t trailers concentrate more on…you know, the film? Maybe it’s just me, but the fact that Matt Damon lends his voice to a sailor never managed to lure me into the cinema…

[See full post to watch this video]

[via First Showing]

US Trailer for Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea

Ulrik — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 05:57:04 +0000

The US trailer for Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo (on the Cliff by the Sea) is now available over at Apple. ~~I can’t watch or embed it right now, so let me know what Disney shows us of “A World Where Anything Is Possible”…~~

[See full post to watch this video]

Quicktime HD: 480p – 720p -1080p

Disney to “tweak” Ponyo for US Release?! [Update]

Ulrik — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 08:07:34 +0000

I have a bad feeling about this…

Marshall also revealed that the changes are in conjunction with the master animator to ensure his blessing. “We worked closely with Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki-san and [Toshio] Suzuki-san, who is the producer. We speak daily, and they have been very involved in everything. It’s not a direct translation. We have tweaked the story so it is an understandable story for our audience. Melissa Matheson, who wrote E.T., came in and helped us shape the story. [...]”
Source: Scifi Wire

[via Nausicaa.net]
Update: Frank Marshall kindly replied to my question via twitter:

@aht_blog By “tweak” I just mean a few changes in the literal translation of the dialogue, so it makes sense in English…

Amazon lists first Studio Ghibli Blu-ray Disc releases!

Ulrik — Fri, 08 May 2009 22:57:40 +0000

Bloody hell Amazon, stop playing games with my heart if you don’t want to bring me to an early grave! IF you’re listing Blu-ray Disc release of Studio Ghibli’s masterworks like you just did with Spirited Away, Mononoke Hime, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea and Howl’s Moving Castle, please wait until you have proper release date!
[via GhibliWiki]

US Poster for Ponyo…the one on the Cliff by the Sea

Ulrik — Sat, 02 May 2009 08:07:43 +0000

“Welcome To A World Where Anything Is Possible.”

Wow, two thumbs way up to Walt Disney Pictures’ for the most creative and fitting tagline…ever! I guess the intern found the background and the font somewhere in the Finding Nemo archives…

[via AICN & @nipponcinema]

Six Clips and a new Trailer for Miyazaki’s Ponyo!

Ulrik — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 07:07:55 +0000

##NOLIGHTBOX##
Even in the internet age, Studio Ghibli is one of the few animation studios that’s still very passive when it comes to release promotion material on their latest films. Luckily some international distributors aren’t that close-lipped and so BVI France uploaded six clips from Hayao Miyazaki latest Ponyo (on the Cliff by the Sea) [Gake no ue no Ponyo] to their YouTube Channel. They also have a new french Trailer that shows that Ponyo is still marketable without shouting out the main characters (new) name all the time!

[via Conversations on Ghibli]

Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea: Japanese DVD release in July, Blu-ray Disc in December

Ulrik — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 15:37:14 +0000

Very good and not so good news for all Studio Ghibli fans who want to see Hayao Miyazaki’s latest work Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea in their own home. AV Watch reports that the Japanese DVD will be released on July 3, 2009 with English subtitles! Those of us who want to enjoy Ponyo in high definition will have to wait until December for Studio Ghibli’s first “real” film (some documentations have already been released) to be released on Blu-ray Disc.
There will be a Ponyo related BD release on July 3, but this one will “only” include a twelve hour long making-of the film with mastermind Mr. Miyazaki himself and no English subtitles!

Joe Hisaishi’s Ghibliklassiker live bei Kōhaku Uta Gassen

Ulrik — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 19:07:07 +0000

Während der alljährlichen Jahresabschlußshow Kōhaku Uta Gassen, die seit 59. Jahren am Silvesterabend vom japanischen Senders NHK ausgestraht wird, durfte dieses Jahr Großmeister Joe Hisaishi (leider viel zu kurz) einige seiner Klassiker aus dem Ghibli Soundtrackprogramm mit einem Liveorchester und der Unterstützung einiger J-Pop Sternchen zum besten geben…inklusive dem unsäglichen Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea Titelsong, den ich jetzt wieder mindestens zwei Wochen im Ohr behalten werde.

HQ Version @ YouTube [via Delle]

Ponyo goes Metal

Ulrik — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 15:37:41 +0000

Eine etwas härtere Version vom zuckersüßen Titelsong zu Hayao Miyazakis neustem Werk Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea.

Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea: Neuer Trailer zum japanischen Kinostart

Ulrik — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:47:25 +0000

Einen Tag vor dem offiziellen Kinostart in Japan (wo die ersten Ghiblianer bestimmt schon vor jetzt vor den Kino stehen) gibt es einen neuen Trailer zu Hayao Miyazakis Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea zu bewundern. Mal wieder aus dem japanischen TV aufgenommen, aber zum Glück diesmal ohne Promiportraits…

[See full post to watch this video]

Ponyo, Ponyoooo lalalalalalala…

Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea: Erster Trailer online

Ulrik — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 11:07:05 +0000

njaaahaah, ich habs genau gewußt! Kaum erlaubt es Großmeister Hayao Miyazaki daß ein Trailer zu seinem kommenden Unterwasserabenteuer Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (Gake no ue no Ponyo) nicht nur in den Kinos, sondern auch über die japanischen Flimmerkisten laufen darf, landet das Teil kurze Zeit später auch online, damit wir Langnasen uns daran erfreuen können.

[via Catsuka]

Ponyo on the Cliff: Neues Postermotiv

Ulrik — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 14:32:27 +0000

Nach den Ankündigungen zum Kinostart und Trailertermin hat Studio Ghibli ein weiteres Postermotiv für Hayao Miyazakis Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (Gake no ue no Ponyo) veröffentlicht.

Ponyo on the Cliff: Kinostart und Trailer

Ulrik — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 08:17:17 +0000

Hayao Miyazakis neustes Werk Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea hat endlich einen offiziellen Termin für den Kinostart verpasst bekommen. Japanische Kinogänger können sich ab dem 19. Juli auf das kleine Fischmädchen freuen, der erste animierte Vorgeschmack in Form eines Trailers wird ab dem 19. April (hoffentlich auch online) serviert.

[via Tokyograph]