GKIDS Ghibli Fest 2018 Schedule

US animation movie distributor GKIDS returns once again with Ghibli Fest 2018, a year-long retrospective of Studio Ghibli movies in theaters. Films will be shown in both English (dub) and Japanese (subtitled) soundtracks and will be screened at theaters nationwide, courtesy of Fathom Events.

To purchase tickets online, visit the Fathom Events website.

Here is the official schedule for Ghibli Fest 2018. Be sure to bookmark this post for future references:

Ponyo
March 25, 26 and 28

The Cat Returns
April 22, 23 and 25

Porco Rosso
May 20, 21 and 23

Pom Poko
June 17, 18 and 20

Princess Mononoke
July 22, 23 and 25

Grave of the Fireflies
August 12, 13 and 15

My Neighbor Totoro
September 30, October 1 and 3

Spirited Away
October 28, 29 and 30

Castle in the Sky
November 18, 19 and 20

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"How Princess Mononoke Was Born" on VHS

A decade ago (can hardly believe it's been that long), I posted a series of YouTube video episodes from the DVD documentary How Princess Mononoke Was Born. This television program originally aired on Japanese network NHK, which has had a very long and fruitful relationship with Hayao Miyazaki, going back to his 1978 series Future Boy Conan, which aired on the network.

Here are some cool screenshots from the VHS edition, containing the series on three tapes and encased in a stylish box. These sort of deluxe packages were common in the latter days of VHS, and have always remained prized collectors' items. Even if you can no longer play videotapes, it's nice to have these sitting on your shelf, filling out your prized Ghibli fan collection.

Unfortunately, this documentary has never been released outside of Japan. It's very unfortunate, because this terrific program deserves to be seen by as wide an audience as possible. Thankfully for fans, an English translation of the Japanese language arrived from the fan underground, and video episodes soon appeared on YouTube for all to enjoy. These were the videos that I shared on Ghibli Blog in 2008 (parts one, two, and three).

Just recently, a Ghibli Blog follower sent me an email about this series. He informed me that the woman who was responsible for the English subtitles was stricken by illness, and she was unable to complete her translation project. This is why the YouTube videos were never fully completed.

More tragedy: recently, Studio Ghibl had all of these Mononoke documentary videos removed from YouTube on copyright grounds. I have never understood the reasoning behind this strategy. It's perfectly understandable to protect your rights when your movies are easily available on store shelves and online retailers. It's quite another thing when said programs are unavailable anywhere. We would love to buy this series on DVD or Blu-Ray. We would gladly pay money for a separate release, or a reissue of Princess Mononoke with the documentary as a bonus feature. Simply taking your ball and going home accomplishes nothing.

Let us hope that Studio Ghibli will indeed release this great program on our shores. It goes into the production of their landmark blockbuster movie in exquisite detail, from conception to completion. You follow Miyazaki on the long and difficult journey to create what was, then, his most ambitious film project. Had the movie failed at the box office, he would have been ruined. Instead, it became Japan's all-time box office champion, bring fame, fortune and international acclaim to the director and his studio.

The next time you purchase the latest Blu-Ray from GKIDS, send them a nice letter asking them to release this title as well. Send them a photo of a twenty-dollar bill and scribble the words, "This can all be yours."

Until then, why not add this VHS box set to your collection? I found it on Ebay fairly easily. All true Ghibl Freaks should have at least one or two videotapes to show off.

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Riffs: Princess Mononoke (Movie and Book)

Here is one of the more interesting riffs in the Ghibli canon. In Princess Mononoke, we see a character named Kaya who serves as a romantic interest (of sorts) for Prince Ashitaka. The relationship is shown shown in brief moments, but she clearly loves the boy and is devoted to him. As he is cast out of the village and sent on his quest, she gives him a crystal dagger as a symbol of her memory.

Later in the movie, Ashitaka meets San, the "Princess Mononoke", and falls in love with her. He gives her his crystal dagger as a sign of his devotion to her. Later, during the dramatic climax, San lashes out in anger by striking the same dagger into Ashitaka's chest. In the end, while the two share love for one another, they both realize that they cannot live together, and must stay in their separate worlds (don't kid yourself; when the girl you are dating says "I need my space," you're never seeing her again).

Now here's where things really get interesting. The village girl Kaya is actually a recreation of the heroine from Hayao Miyazaki's original 1980 version of Mononoke Hime, which was radically different from the eventual movie. It's far closer to a traditional fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast meets Feudal Japan. In that story, Mononoke is a large cat who takes on a human wife, the "Mononoke Princess."

Incorporating the storybook princess into the movie is a stroke of sly brilliance. The romantic heart of this movie involves a love triangle, where the heroic prince must choose between two women who carry the same name.

Most Miyazaki fans in the West had never heard of the 1980 version of Mononoke, created as a series of storyboards for a planned animation project which was scuttled, then published in the 1983 book Hayao Miyazaki Image Boards. A standalone storybook was published in Japan in 1997 to coincide with the movie, and was eventually published in North America by Viz Media in 2014.

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Artist Spotlight: Totoro and Friends

You can never have enough Totoro fan art, it seems. I'm always amazed at the level of creativity and inspiration this humble little movie has spawned. Sometimes I have to pinch myself and remember that My Neighbor Totoro was an extremely obscure movie in the West as recently as a decade ago. Yes, it had a measure of success on home video (read: VHS), but the wider public never really discovered Miyazaki. Today, there is a thriving and growing fan community.

I really like this painting, which incorporates several Hayao Miyazaki characters into a Classical Japanese watercolor art style. We even see a cameo by the director himself in the background. Totoro shares the spotlight with No-Face, the Soot Sprites, a Kodama and Catbus, who appears as a kite. The composition is nicely balanced, which is a challenge when there's so many characters in view.

The artist who created this piece did an excellent job. Unfortunately, I was not able to discover the artist's name, so if you know who is responsible for this painting, please pass it along so that we can give proper credit.

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Bocanada: A Journal of Pop Culture and the Arts - The New E-Zine From Ghibli Blog

Have you downloaded your free e-zine yet?

Many years ago (longer than I care to admit), I created zines to nourish my love of writing and popular culture. I wrote about Star Trek and science-fiction, video games, music, art, and the ups and downs of daily life. They were created on simple desktop publishing software, word processors, and an assortment of clip art and marker pens. It was very low-tech, but highly enjoyable. I even managed to score some freelance writing work at GamePro, which was tremendous fun

Ever since then, I wanted to return to zines. I even had recurring dreams about finding an old computer with long-forgotten websites that were still active, and communicating with old friends. 21 years later, while working on my multiple book projects, I thought it would be fun to finally take the plunge again and create a zine that I could share with my readers and fans. And so Bocanada Issue 1 was born.

Bocanada: A Journal of Pop Culture and the Arts. That long-winded title means, simply, that I get to write about whatever the heck I want, but mostly aimed in the same direction as my writings on Ghibli Blog and the new books: Zen Arcade, Pop Life and Greatest Hits.

For Ghibli Freaks, this issue includes essays on Kiki's Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke and My Neighbors the Yamada. For classic and retro video game fans, there are reviews of Altered Beast (Genesis), Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis), Bonk's Adventure (TG-16), Mega Man (NES), and Street Fighter 2 Turbo (Super NES). For music lovers, we have articles on Miles Davis' 1974 jazz-fusion album Get Up With It and Sony's PS-X75 Biotracer Turntable. Finally, we have an art gallery of zine-worthy graffiti works created by me back in 2002.

The cover image is another one of my artworks, a 2005 digital painting created entirely on computer. The title is an homage to Gustavo Cerati's 1999 album, a glorious mashup of trip-hop (remember that?), Radiohead's Kid-A and The Beatles. The pages are "half-size," meaning that they are standard 8.5" x 11" pages folded in half. The zine is 48 pages in total, which matches the output of my old zines perfectly (they were 245 pages at standard size).

Bocanada was created for both physical and digital formats. I find the half-size format works perfectly for tablets and even smartphones. The pages are very readable and neatly designed without becoming too cluttered or dense. I created everything on Scribus, a freeware tool, which I suppose would disqualify me in the eyes of many zine publishers -- it's not a "real zine" unless everything is created on a typewriter, scissors and markers. Whatever.

Bocanada is available as a "perma-free" download, meaning the digital version will always be free. All you have to do is join my mailing list. In addition to receiving the zine, you will also receive regular email newsletters that feature the latest news and developments from DT Media (my indie publishing label) and Ghibli Blog, including the new books!

When is Bocanada Issue 2 coming? Soon. I'm still very busy with releasing the books, assembling the new DT Media website, and doing the usual promotional work (translation: hassling everyone with review copies and appearance requests). If we can assemble and publish the second issue in time for Thanksgiving, I'd be thrilled.

As always, thank you very much for your continued support of Ghibli Blog.

P.S. I keep mentioning the new books: Zen Arcade, Pop Life and Greatest Hits. Well, the books are finished and ready to roll out! As for release date, availability and price...join my mailing list and I'll share all the answers in my next newsletter.

Update (10/4 8:23pm): Bocanada now has a new cover design! I like it a lot, and hope you will, too.

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Hipster Miyazaki Hated Weinstein Before It Was Popular

Hipster Miyazaki would like you to know that he hated Harvey Weinstein long before it became popular:

In 1997 the director signed a distribution deal with Disney. It was to prove a springboard to global renown, paving the way for a dedicated exhibition at New York's Museum of Modern Art and helping him secure the 2003 Oscar for Spirited Away. Even so, the nature of Miyazaki's films has been tweaked in transit. In Japan his films are blockbusters the whole family can enjoy. In Britain and the US he remains a predominantly adult, art-house phenomenon.

Miyazaki taps a cigarette from a silver case. The Disney deal suits him, he explains, because he has stuck to his guns. His refusal to grant merchandising rights means that there is no chance of any Nausicaa happy meals or Spirited Away video games. Furthermore, Disney wields no creative control. There is a rumour that when Harvey Weinstein was charged with handling the US release of Princess Mononoke, Miyazaki sent him a samurai sword in the post. Attached to the blade was a stark message: "No cuts."

The director chortles. "Actually, my producer did that. Although I did go to New York to meet this man, this Harvey Weinstein, and I was bombarded with this aggressive attack, all these demands for cuts." He smiles. "I defeated him."

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Original Mediallion Used for Princess Mononoke Poster

A Reddit user named "ghiblithroway" shared this very rare item: a medallion used as the model for the US movie poster for Princess Mononoke in 1998. According to the owner, this sculpture was commissioned by Studio Ghibli for the poster design, and stayed with its creator until finally given to him some time later.

The sculpture is made of plastic, and given a nice bronze finish. It is roughly eight inches in diameter.

I wrote about this poster design years ago, and revised the article for inclusion in Bocanada Issue 1. It's a fascinating attempt at branding for the US release of Mononoke, which was later revised to feature the male lead, Ashitaka, instead of San. You are free to debate which poster suits the movie better. Or you can just pile the blame onto Harvey Weinstein, who deliberately tanked the picture as revenge against Hayao Miyazaki's refusal to allow any cuts.

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