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Disney/Tokuma Deal FAQ (6/13/98) by Team Ghiblink

This FAQ was put together by Ryoko Toyama from the official announcement, newspaper articles, and information posted on the Miyazaki Mailing List. A great many thanks to Mr. TR Olsson from Disney, who provided valuable information to the Miyazaki Mailing List.

Disclaimer: This is not an official site approved by Disney, and the final details are subject to change without notice.

There is a text only version of this page.

Table of Contents

• What does this deal include?
• When will these movies be available?
• Will they be dubbed or subbed?
• Will they be available on laserdiscs?
• Will they be letterboxed?
• Will Disney modify these films?
• Will Disney make animation films with Ghibli?
• Can the deal expand to other fields?
• Did Miyazaki sell his soul to Disney?

Q: What does this deal include?

1. The global (except Asia, but including Japan) video distribution of the following films:

Kaze no Tani no Nausicaa (Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind),

Tenkuu no Shiro Lapyuta (Laputa: The Castle in the Sky),

Tonari no Totoro (My Neighbor Totoro),

Majo no Takkyubin (Kiki's Delivery Service),

Omohide Poroporo (Only Yesterday),

Kurenai no Buta (Porco Rosso),

Heisei Tanuki Gassen Pom Poko (Pom Poko),

Mimi o Sumaseba (Whisper of the Heart).

 ("Grave of the Fireflies" is not included since Tokuma does not hold the rights to it. It was produced by Shinchosha. English-subbed "Grave" is currently available from Central Park Media. "I Can Hear the Sea/Ocean Waves" was not included either, probably because it was made for TV.)

2. The global (except Asia) theatrical distribution of "Mononoke Hime" (Princess Mononoke), which was released in Japan in July, 1997. Theater distribution of "Mononoke Hime" in Japan was handled by Toho, but the video distribution has been handled by Disney (Buena Vista Home Entertainment).

3. The global distribution of several live action movies produced by Tokuma, including "Opium Wars" and "Gamera 2".

Q: When will these movies be available?

In North America: Disney has announced that "Kiki's Delivery Service" will be video (and laserdisc) released on September, 1, 1998. Kirsten Dunst (as Kiki), Phil Hartman (as Jiji), Debbie Reynolds (as Madam), Janeane Garofalo (as Ursula) and Mathew Lawrence (as Tombo) will do the voices. "Kiki" will be also shown at various film festivals around the US, including Seattle, Nashville, and Florida.

According to a representative from Disney, the North American release of "Mononoke Hime" is "tentatively set in the second quarter of 1999" through Miramx. According to an article in a Japanese newspaper, Claire Danes (Romeo & Juliet, The Rainmaker) will play San, Gillian Anderson (X-Files) will play Moro, Minnie Driver (Good Will Hunting) will play Eboshi, and Billy Crudup (Sleepers) will play Ashitaka.

"Laputa, Castle in the Sky" will be renamed as "Castle in the Sky", and is said to be released in early 1999. Disney is planning to show it in various film festivals around the US, starting in later part of 1998. However, this is not official yet.

In Japan: Disney (Buena Vista Home Entertainment) has been releasing the sell-through videos of the following films:

Each costs 4,500 yen (excl. tax), and is letterboxed, HiFi stereo (except Nausicaa), and digitally remastered.

They are in Japanese. Inside information from Disney says that they will eventually be released in Japanese, English, and Japanese/English (a multilingual format for those who want to learn English). However, we do not know when the English versions will become available.

In Europe: "Mononoke Hime" was shown at the Berlin International Film Festival on Feb. 11, 1998. It has been also reported that MH will be released in UK, France, Spain, and Germany.

Other Areas: It has been reported that "Mononoke Hime" will be released in theaters in Brazil and Australia.

In Asia: The Disney/Tokuma deal does not include the Asian market (except Japan). Tokuma still retains the rights to the Asian market. "Mononoke Hime" was shown in theaters in Hong Kong and Taiwan in August, 1997.

Q: Will they be dubbed or subbed?

In an interview, Mr. Michael Johnson, the president of Buena Vista Home Entertainment, said that "Mononoke Hime" will be in theaters in both dub and sub formats. However, we are not sure if they will do the same in the European market.

Four of the Ghibli films have already been dubbed into English by Carl Macek, but Disney is going to redub all of them, including "Totoro", which was considered to be an excellent dub, even by dub-haters. Since Disney has vast experience in dubbing (not to mention money), we are expecting the new dubs to be superbly done. It has been reported that Disney will hire "Class A talent" for the dub. Inside information from Disney says that Disney is spending 10 times the money when compared to the average anime dubbing job. Neil Gaiman, the writer of "The Sandman", is currently working on the English script of Mononoke Hime.

Disney is going to release a English-subbed VHS of Kiki's Delivery Service in the US sometime in 1998, after the release of the dubbed version.

Image Entertainment, the distributor of Disney Laserdiscs also says that the laserdisc of Kiki's Delivery Service "includes original Japanese language track" with subtitles available through closed captioning(See their ad).

It is also possible that laserdiscs in this format will be released in other parts of the world for other titles. However, we have to point out that nothing is official yet.

Q: Will they be available on laserdiscs?

The deal includes all home viewing formats, including LD. "Kiki's Delivery Service" will be available on LD, as well as on video.

Q: Will they be letterboxed?

The Kiki subbed VHS (to be released sometime in 1998) and laserdisc (to be released in North America in September, 1998) will be letterboxed. (Dubbed version of "Kiki" will be pan&scan.)

Q: Will Disney "modify" (i.e., cut scenes from) these films?

No. This will not happen. Disney can not cut even one second from the films, according to the contract. Ghibli has officially stated that "With Disney's commitment to maintain the quality of the original titles, there will be no changes to music and sequences in foreign language versions." According to Mr. Suzuki, the producer of Ghibli, other companies such as Fox and Time-Warner have contacted Tokuma, but Disney was the only company who was willing to agree to this term, and that was the main reason why Tokuma chose Disney as a partner.

In "Kiki's Dellivery Service" English dub, the opening and the ending songs were changed, and several music scores were added (to the scenes with no music in original). However, nothing was cut, and nothing was greatly changed.

Q: Will Disney make animation films with Ghibli?

Disney will invest in the Ghibli's next movie, "Tonari no Yamada-Kun (My Neighbor Yamada)", directed by Isao Takahata. Of 1.6 billion yen production cost, Tokuma will ivest 50%, Nippon TV will invest 30%, Hakuhoudou (a Japanese advertising agency) will invest 10%, and Disney will invest 10%. In return, Disney will acquire the rights to TV, theater, and video release in the US and Europe.

Q: Can the deal expand to other fields?

Currently, Disney only has video and movie distribution rights, not merchandising rights of Ghibli films. That doesn't mean that Disney can not negotiate with Tokuma to expand the deal. Mr. Tokuma has stated, "Eventually, we will cooperate in such fields as magazines, CDs, and game software."

Q: I thought Miyazaki didn't like Disney. Did he sell his soul?

Miyazaki stated that he didn't like the movies by Toho or Toei either (they are the Japanese movie companies which have been distributing the Ghibli films). He distinguishes between film production and film distribution. He also stated that he had agreed to the deal mainly to help Tokuma, which had backed him when he was starting out. He said he has earned enough money to last him a lifetime.