Royce

Where did you read this? I wanna see it too Based on Miyazaki's documentary that I watched, I think he's more bummed that his mentor and idol, Takahata, isn't here to evaluate his work anymore. I think it's him that Miyazaki wants to please more than anyone. It's interesting that when Takahata remarked that Ponyo was just another My Neighbor Totoro, Miyazaki's next film The Wind Rises became his most Takahata-esque film aka no fantasy, serious and without a happy ending. He also changed the story of The Boy and the Heron after Takahata's death (probably out of respect) because the

I'm dying to watch this new documentary with English subs 😔 Also, Animated Hayao reminds me of Kurokawa, Jiro's boss in The Wind Rises or even Mr. Huph from The Incredibles 😅 While Isao is just zen Also I forgot where I saw this but apparently Mahito and the Great Uncle actually represent and suddenly everything clicked and I appreciated the movie better and it feels more poignant now

Just to repeat my previous post, Studio Ghibli releasing their entire catalog on streaming services (Netflix, Apple TV, etc.) during the lockdowns really boosted their popularity worldwide. The brand has been gradually growing big over the past decade but the anime boom during the pandemic really blew up the brand internationally. People were either discovering or re-discovering these movies. And so now there's been YouTube analysis videos, TikTok accounts, Instagram accounts, Twitter accounts dedicated to Ghibli movies. Even the Ghibli subreddit is really active. I think Ghibli fulfills people's clamor for high quality let alone original 2D and hand-drawn animated movies that's been unfulfilled in Western countries for decades. The art style of Ghibli is also very Western friendly and is the closest in resembling the art style of Disney Renaissance/Western animation unlike most anime. That plus Disney themselves distributed Ghibli movies in the past. There's a generation of people who grew up with Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle and Ponyo which even featured Disney voice actors like Noah Cyrus, Frankie Jonas, Jason Marsden (who voiced Max Goof), Susan Egan (who voiced Meg from Hercules), etc. Some people didn't even know that these Ghibli movies were actually anime. If you combine all of these factors then you can understand why The Boy and the Heron is doing good in Western countries. I still blame the lack of marketing for its underperformance in Japan and I can't comment on other Asian countries cause I don't have much knowledge about that yet.

Just watched it. I think it will age better in time and people in general will regard it in a more positive light once the hype (and the huge expectations that comes with that, especially after a decade of Miyazaki's absence) dies down.

New French trailer YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2aTi0BQXek

The trailer is still on the trending page on YouTube. The Studio Ghibli catalog coming to streaming services during the lockdowns really did wonders for the brand. There's so many new younger fans on social media especially TikTok and Instagram making fan arts, edits, clips, etc. TBATH may not match TWR domestic but I think it will be bigger than it overseas and WW. Especially since it has that Miyazaki brand of "confusing" fever dream fantasy spectacle that is unique to him only and it also appeals to the "Bring REAL cinema back!!!" sentiment that's currently rising these days. Oh right and there's an actual trailer. The newer overseas fans are really curious about this movie.

By saying I'm glad he expressed what he wanted to express? I'm confused And I was talking more about all the theories about what the ending of the movie symbolized/represented and people acting like their theories are unchangeable fact when it's not ... Anyway, Suzuki now knows what happens when you don't market a movie, I wonder if he'll do the same thing for the next film

Really just goes to show that a lot of people are really just projecting their own feelings and thoughts and imaginations into everything Hayao Miyazaki does or puts in his movies. People said the whole movie was a metaphor of how Studio Ghibli the empire is crumbling/ending or about how Miyazaki failed to find an heir (Was this even a mission tbh? Ghibli started out as just a passion project that just blew up and became the Disney of Japan), that the whole "no marketing" thing was Miyazaki's way of giving the "middle finger to the industry" when it wasn't even his decision, etc. It's crazy. I'm really hoping and praying Miyazaki lives for 10 or more years cause I'm really excited what he'll do with fresh new ideas since this new movie has been described as too self-referential to past Ghibli works but at least he got that out of his system now.

The pamphlet finally came out and some stills from the movie are floating around... as well as clips in a certain popular video app. Idk why that video hasn't been taken down yet after 4 weeks. I'm pretty sure Japan is very strict with that. And yeah, now I get why there's zero marketing when the production costs are already that high omg.

Does anyone know if Miyazaki's Nausicaä and Castle in the Sky were box office hits in their original runs? Or did they only make a profit after TV airings/merch/home video like Totoro? Wikipedia has the numbers but I don't know what the benchmark for success is back in their time and Wikipedia itself is unreliable anyway, it says Kiki's Delivery Service was the highest grosser of 1989 in Japan but other articles say it was #3 Aside from that I'm now well read with Miyazaki's box office journey: Cagliostro and Totoro flopped in their original runs, then it's an upward trajectory starting from Kiki up to Spirited then it's downhill again. PS - So it seems Suzuki truly isn't vindicated with his no spoilers no trailers campaign. After the rush from hardcore fans, looks like the GA really isn't aware that this movie even exists and since WOM is mixed, it will stay that way. If anything, maybe not knowing anything about the movie exacerbated the confusion and frustration from the incoherent and convoluted story.

Many reviews pointed out that the "no spoilers no images no trailers" campaign for The Boy and the Heron was the best thing about the cinematic experience rather than the actual story so I guess I owe Suzuki an apology for doubting him lol. He's also vindicated for changing the English title because apparently it's inspired by the title of the French animated movie The King and the Mockingbird which was a huge influence for Miyazaki in filmmaking. And I guess it's also to minimize the confusion of whether the movie is an adaptation of the 1937 novel. I'm warming up to the new title myself, knowing this information.

The theme song

New image of the main character:

Howl's Japanese voice actor will voice one of the characters and Kenshi Yonezu singing the theme song "Globe" is confirmed. Everyone already knew about Joe Hisaishi returning and the other voice actors are confirmed in the article: https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2287003/full/

Exciting!

"How Do You Live – No Spoilers Campaign Typically, for many movies in Japan, theaters will often have a program that movie-goers can purchase, along with merchandise from the movie in a gift shop. For How Do You Live, however, Ghibli is bypassing this tradition by instead offering patrons nothing to purchase to keep the film under wraps." https://comicbook.com/anime/news/studio-ghibli-how-do-you-live-no-spoilers-promo/ Absolutely no spoilers! I wonder if online reactions and descriptions will also be forbidden (but will the fans follow?)

If Spider-Man fans got their No Way Home it's only fair that X-Men fans get theirs too

So this Suzuki has always been an edgy contrarian In 2019: Suzuki revealed that he is often asked why Ghibli films aren't distributed on Netflix and other streaming sites. "I don't want to do it because the films would be treated as cheap commodities," he said. More quotes from him: "With regards to merchandise, we resolved not to make more than 10 billion yen. If we surpassed that number, we would gather all the associating companies and berate the person in charge in front of the whole group." (uhh wtf?) "A few years ago, I stopped attending the meetings. They started making more than 10 billion yen, and they kept it a secret from me. I got really mad about that. It's not okay to make the company big." In 2020: “I am still actually angry when we have really huge sales,” says Suzuki, who has a grandson he prefers doesn’t watch too many Ghibli films. I'm very opposed to children watching Totoro over and over.”

Isn't Suzuki the same man who reportedly used the Ghibli company's money to fund his gf's endeavors? I'd be worried too It's also believed that the former Ghibli president resigned because of that It's pretty weird that it's the producer, not the director, who's pushing for absolute zero marketing or trailers Every time I encounter someone online talking about watching Ghibli movies, they're always surprised when I say a new Ghibli movie is coming out next month

I definitely see your point but I'd argue that Aladdin's modest opening was mainly due to the bad marketing. The Genie's "first reveal" teaser with the unfinished CGI was heavily mocked and ridiculed by the internet when it came out. The only good trailer was probably the last one and by then it was already too late and people needed to be convinced to change their minds (which the good WOM did). I'd say Will Smith's star power still helped even with the legs because the people whose minds were changed by the WOM would be even more convinced cause hey, at least Will Smith is in it too. Will Smith is also a 90s icon like Robin Williams and therefore easier to accept as the new Genie and that connection makes the remake more nostalgic.

Idk how to explain it but every single frame and clip of the movie released so far just screams 2020s If you have little cousins, siblings or children you'd know what a "Roblox" is and that Barbie Land looks like a Roblox game come to life It's hard not to predict a Barbiellion at this point

I honestly don't think we will ever see another E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in our lifetimes. A $10M budgeted small and intimate children's film that mostly takes place in a regular middle class house becoming the highest grossing movie of all time? In today's time that concept would be a direct-to-streaming film. Special effects extravaganzas with an epic scale and a lot of action like Avatar and Star Wars are more likely. Dare I say a new Titanic is more likely than a new E.T. (Idk why Titanic hasn't been mentioned in this thread).

But Suzuki said that modern film promotions leave too little to the imagination. Suzuki: Really, it’s an issue of over-supply. From the perspective of the viewer, it’s like they’re taking away all the truly interesting parts. So, since it’s come to this, I thought we should just go with a single poster.” Previously, it was suggested that the real-life book would be a source of inspiration in-world for the main character Miyazaki’s film. But Suzuki says otherwise. “They have absolutely nothing to do with each other.” He explains that Miyazaki was reading the book back in 2016, and fell in love with the title – not the content of the novel. https://unseenjapan.com/ghibli-president-says-no-trailers-for-new-miyazaki-film/ So nobody truly knows what the movie is about, even the people who read the book (for nothing lol) This could really backfire, I'm not sure if many people know that this movie is even coming out since it's been a decade since Miyazaki's last movie. The last Ghibli movie, Earwig and the Witch, was a universally reviled movie that flopped. Unless they plan to plaster that one vague poster on every nook and cranny of Japan.