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ACCLAIMED ANIMATED FEATURES FROM STUDIO GHIBLI

KIKI’S DELIVERY SERVICE,
NAUSICAÄ OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND

ARRIVE IN LIMITED EDITION STEELBOOK™
BLU-RAY+DVD AUGUST 25, 2020
FROM GKIDS, DISTRIBUTED BY SHOUT! FACTORY

As part of the deal, GKIDS will be reissuing an assortment of Studio Ghibli titles on Blu-ray, including numerous films by celebrated director Hayao Miyazaki. The first batch of titles is set to. GKids and Shout! Factory have released The Wind Rises in a new Blu-ray edition with stunning video quality. Much like the 2014 Disney release (reviewed here on The Bits), this disc is simply gorgeous, presenting the original hand-drawn animation in full 1080p HD at the proper 1.85:1 aspect ratio. I’m a huge fan of traditional animation—I.

Studio Ghibli and GKIDS, with distribution by Shout! Factory, will release Kiki’s Delivery Service and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, from the famed Studio Ghibli library of films, on August 25, 2020 in limited edition SteelBook packaging with striking new art. Each SteelBook will house a Blu-ray & DVD combo pack, presenting the film alongside hours of bonus features and a booklet with stunning art and statements from the filmmakers.

With this release, two films from one of the world’s most coveted animation collections can come home to collectors in limited edition SteelBook packaging for the first time in North America.

Kiki’s Delivery Service and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind now join Howl’s Moving Castle and Ponyo in a series of SteelBook releases from the Studio Ghibli collection of films.

Kiki’s Delivery Service

From the legendary Studio Ghibli, creators of Spirited Away and Ponyo, and Academy Award^â-winning director Hayao Miyazaki, comes the beloved coming-of-age story of a resourceful young witch who uses her broom to create a delivery service, only to lose her gift of flight in a moment of self-doubt.
It is tradition for all young witches to leave their families on the night of a full moon and fly off into the wide world to learn their craft. When that night comes for Kiki, she embarks on her new journey with her sarcastic black cat, Jiji, landing the next morning in a seaside village, where her unique skills make her an instant sensation. Don’t miss this delightfully imaginative and timeless story of a young girl finding her way in the world, featuring the voices of Kirsten Dunst, Janeane Garofalo, Phil Hartman, and Debbie Reynolds.

Bonus Features:

• Feature-Length Storyboards
• Original Theatrical Trailers
• Ursula’s Painting
• Creating Kiki’s Delivery Service
• Producer’s Perspective: Collaborating with Miyazaki
• Behind the Microphone
• The Locations of Kiki’s Delivery Service
• Kiki & Jiji
• Flying with Kiki & Beyond
• 8-page Booklet with Producer’s and Director’s Statements

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

Written and directed by Academy Award^â-winner Hayao Miyazaki, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is an epic masterpiece of sweeping scope and grandeur that remains one of the most breathtaking and exhilarating animated films of all time.
A thousand years after the Seven Days of Fire destroyed civilization, warring human factions survive in a world devastated by atmospheric poisons and swarming with gigantic insects. The peaceful Valley of the Wind is nestled on the edge of the Toxic Forest and led by the courageous Princess Nausicaä, whose love of all living things leads her into terrible danger, as she fights to restore balance between humans and nature. Featuring the voices of Alison Lohman, Uma Thurman, Patrick Stewart, Edward James Olmos and Shia LaBeouf.

Bonus Features:

• Feature-Length Storyboards
• Original Theatrical Trailers and TV Spots
• Audio Commentary with Hideaki Anno and Kazuyoshi Katayama
• Interview with Toshio Suzuki and Hideaki Anno: “Nausicaä and Evangelion! The Whereabouts of the Giant Warrior?”
• Behind the Microphone
• Creating Nausicaä
• 12-page Booklet with Producer’s and Director’s Statements

Gkids Ghibli Blu Ray Forum Page 710

• Film/Program Grade: A+
• Video Grade: A+
• Audio Grade: A+
• Extras Grade: B-

Review

A 10-year-old girl named Chihiro is driving to a new home with her family, when they accidentally take a wrong turn. The road leads to a dark tunnel that her father thinks must be the entrance to an abandoned theme park. Entering the tunnel for the adventure, they find an enchanting village on the other side, where the smell of food leads them to a lavish buffet. While her parents begin gorging themselves, Chihiro explores the village and sees strange spirit creatures as well as a boy named Haku, who warns her of danger. Chihiro tries to leave, but finds that her parents have transformed into pigs. Now she must work in the village’s bathhouse, as a servant of the witch Yubaba, in the hope of finding a way to rescue her parents from their magic spell.

Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away is the other film many consider to be Miyazaki’s best work, on a par with Princess Mononoke, and I have to confess that it’s my favorite of the Ghibli catalog. Its story recalls classic Lewis Carroll tales, in that a young girl is drawn into a magical realm, representing the boundary between childhood and adulthood, and must learn to navigate her way through it. But there are larger issues being depicted here too, not the least of which reflects the generational changes in Japanese society. There’s a kind of yearning for the old ways, as it becomes clear that greed and consumerism are taking a toll on the natural world. This is seen most clearly in Chihiro’s encounter with the stink spirit and also the character No Face, who distributes gold while devouring everything around him. This film is very much about the need to find a balance in life. It’s also one of the most gorgeous examples of hand-drawn animation you’ll ever see, with yet another restrained but evocative score by Joe Hisaishi. Spirited Away is by turns strange, mysterious, funny, endearing, and thrilling.

GKids’ new Blu-ray edition presents the film in its original 1.85:1 theatrical aspect ratio in 1080p HD. The source for this presentation is the original Ghibli animation master. Comparing the image here to the previous Disney Blu-ray, you’d be hard-pressed to tell any difference between them. This image is clean, stable, and absolutely gorgeous, with bold colors. Note that when you choose either English or Japanese audio, the opening titles and credits appear in that language too, via seamless branching.

In terms of sound, the previous Disney Blu-ray included both dubbed English and the original Japanese in lossless 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, along with French 5.1 Dolby Digital. The GKids disc includes these same options too. Both lossless audio tracks are terrific, with smooth channel-to-channel panning, a fine sense of atmospherics, and good clarity, though of course the Japanese track is always the preferred experience on these films. The problem with Disney’s Blu-ray was that it included subtitle tracks in English SDH, English, and French… and both of the English tracks were “dubtitles” based on the English dubbing script. Neither was a proper English translation of the original Japanese language dialogue, so all of the original cultural context was lost. Thankfully, GKids has corrected Disney’s mistake. The English SDH for the hearing impaired (“dubtitles”) are still available here, as are the French subs. But you also get English subtitles for the Original Language Version (aka proper Japanese-to-English translation of the original script) – the same ones that are on the Ghibli Japanese Blu-ray.

As with other GKids Ghibli discs, the menus are simple – there are no promos, no extended BD Java load times. You get a static film-themed menu that allows you to get right to the content. The GKids’ Blu-ray includes about two hours worth of extras, some in HD and some in SD. Most of it is in the original Japanese with English subtitles (though there is also a bit of English material carried over from the Disney Blu-ray). Content from the original Studio Ghibli Japanese Blu-ray is included too (indicated by * below), which may be new to you. The full list is as follows:

• Feature-Length Storyboards (124:35)*
• Behind the Microphone (5:43 – from the Disney BD)
• Nippon Television Special (41:53 – from the Disney BD but included on the GKids DVD only)
• Original Theatrical Trailers (7 Japanese trailers – 17:49 in all)*
• TV Spots (10 Japanese TV spots – 3:59 in all)*

There are only a couple items missing from the Disney Blu-ray, including:

• Introduction by John Lasseter (1:09)
• The Art of Spirited Away (15:12)

You won’t really miss either of them. Note that the Nippon special listed above isn’t on the GKids Blu-ray, but it is included on the DVD in this package. The only item missing from the Japanese Ghibli Blu-ray is an image gallery that allowed you to read the original Japanese script for the film – of course, that was all in Japanese, so there’s little point in including it here. Back to the DVD: As usual, the GKids package includes a DVD disc that offers the film in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen SD, with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio (but not lossless) in dubbed English, the original Japanese, and French, with optional English SDH dubtitles, English translation for the original Japanese version, and French. It features some, but not all, of the same extras as the Blu-ray. There’s no Digital Copy code, but the package does include another nice booklet featuring statements on the film by producer Toshio Suzuki and director Hayao Miyazaki.

Gkids Ghibli Blu Ray Forum Reviews

Spirited Away is a masterpiece of storytelling and traditional hand-drawn animation. When you finish its 125 minutes, you’ll certainly have taken a rewarding journey through an extraordinary world. If you’re new to the work of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, this is a good film to start your exploration with. GKids’ new release is the definitive English-language edition of this film on Blu-ray, combining the key extras from both the Ghibli and Disney Blu-rays, while offering superior A/V quality, and correcting the Disney Blu-ray’s subtitle mistake. If you’re a serious fan, and you haven’t already imported the Japanese edition, this GKids disc is a must. As of the time of this review, it’s just $17 on Amazon. Highly recommended.

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- Bill Hunt

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Gkids Ghibli Blu Ray Forum Review