The Boy and the Heron | Hayao Miyazaki | Studio Ghibli | GKIDS | NA Debut at TIFF | WINNER OF THE OSCAR FOR BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

[harrisonisdead]

In the wake of succession worries and an uncertain future, Studio Ghibli has become a subsidiary of Nippon Television Network Corp.

https://apnews.com/article/ghibli-animation-japan-miyazaki-studio-nippon-78b908c92c09d2383ce44ff894366b45

Quote

Studio Ghibli, the famed Japanese animation studio of Hayao Miyazaki, will become a subsidiary of Nippon Television Network Corp., both sides said Thursday.

 

Succession worries had been a priority at Ghibli, as Miyazaki has turned 82, and producer Toshio Suzuki is 75, the companies said in a joint statement.

 

Nippon TV said it will send executives to support Ghibli’s management, while honoring its creative independence so it can focus on animation and other artistic projects.

 

The deal was first discussed last year at an “onsen” hot springs, the companies said, when Suzuki asked Nippon TV executive Yoshikuni Sugiyama for help in managing Ghibli. Sugiyama promised to give support.

 

Miyazaki’s son Goro is also an animation director and has been mentioned as a possible successor. But he had expressed doubts, saying the responsibility was too great.

 

 

Edited September 21, 2023 by harrisonisdead

[harrisonisdead]

Full translated statement from Studio Ghibli:

 

Quote

2023.09.21

For Immediate Release

Nippon Television Network Corporation ("NTV") and Studio Ghibli Inc. ("Studio Ghibli") held their respective Board of Directors meetings on September 21, and resolved that NTV will acquire shares of Studio Ghibli and make it a subsidiary.

In July this year, Studio Ghibli completed "How Do You Live", the latest film directed by Hayao Miyazaki, after seven years in the making, and released it in theaters. We are deeply grateful for the many visitors who came to see the film and for the many positive reviews it has received.

However, with director Hayao Miyazaki now 82 years old and producer Toshio Suzuki 75 years old, Studio Ghibli has long been troubled by the question of succession.

Goro Miyazaki, the eldest son of the company's founder Hayao Miyazaki and himself an animation director, has been mentioned several times as a possible successor to Studio Ghibli. However, Goro Miyazaki himself has been adamant in his refusal, believing that it would be difficult for him to take on Ghibli alone and that the future of the company would be better left to others.

Therefore, Studio Ghibli has been considering various possibilities for entrusting the management of the company to someone else, and we have been discussing various candidates for this position. Recently, discussions began between NTV and Studio Ghibli, with whom we have had a close relationship for many years.

Some time last year, Studio Ghibli producer Suzuki and NTV Chairman and CEO Mikuni Sugiyama had an opportunity to spend some time talking at a certain hot spring resort. At that time, Suzuki asked if NTV could help Ghibli manage the business so that Ghibli could continue to concentrate on making movies. In response, Sugiyama promised to positively consider the proposal, saying that he would continue to support Ghibli's works and protect the environment in which Ghibli could continue to make films.

NTV has been broadcasting Studio Ghibli films through its "Friday Road Show" movie program since 1985, when it first aired "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind" (1984, directed by Hayao Miyazaki) on TV. Since "Kiki's Delivery Service" (dir. Hayao Miyazaki, 1989), NTV has been a longtime companion of Studio Ghibli, including investment in the production of the film, and support for the establishment of the "Ghibli Museum" which opened in 2001.

NTV considered that making Studio Ghibli, which has produced works loved by many people in Japan and abroad, a subsidiary and supporting it even more than before would greatly contribute to enhancing the corporate value of the NTV group as a whole.

We were convinced that NTV, which had maintained a long relationship with Studio Ghibli while respecting its values, would be able to protect Studio Ghibli's "craftsmanship" and brand value on a lasting basis.

As a result of our discussions, at a meeting of the Boards of Directors of both companies held today, it was resolved that Studio Ghibli would become a subsidiary of NTV. Specifically, NTV will proceed with the acquisition of shares in Studio Ghibli and become the largest shareholder with 42.3% of the voting rights. NTV will then dispatch executives to support Studio Ghibli's management.

NTV will respect Studio Ghibli's autonomy, and Studio Ghibli will continue to focus on the production of animated films and the operation of the Ghibli Museum and Ghibli Park.

We would like to ask for your continued support for the activities of the new Studio Ghibli.

Translated with DeepL

https://www.ghibli.jp/info/013778/

Edited September 21, 2023 by harrisonisdead

[Giorno]

https://news.livedoor.com/article/detail/25028907/

 

Google Translate is weird but it seems like the producer says the movie is profitable and also that miyazaki has been paying attention to the box office of this film very closely, much more than previous films

[titanic2187]

19 hours ago, CoolioD1 said:

That's only for the wins tbh. There's an actual animation branch that picks the nominees and then the whole academy votes on the winners. That's why artistic animated movies can get nominated and then the Disney movie always wins. Won't help mario because it won't get past that first hurdle of a nomination.

Also, Illumination's animation probably is just too kid-friendly for the academy. Before pandemic, they only have one movie (DM2) that got into Oscar. Post-pandemic, their biggest hit Sing 2 and Minion 2 were snub despite mostly positive review and got the narrative of saving theatrical animation. I don't see how Mario can pull that off with rotten score.  

[AniNate]

I maintain Migration has a better shot than Mario assuming it stays where it is. It'll be fresher in their minds and has a director with some admiration in the more refined circles who was also previously nominated

 

I feel like Meledandri realizes that too given he's been talking it up as a more elevated effort 

Edited September 21, 2023 by AniNate

[MovieMan89]

17 hours ago, JustLurking said:

the only pixar original to not get nominated for the oscars in their entire history is good dinosaur and that already had inside out in its year so lot less need to have a double pixar nom. idk what you expect.

 

audience scores on imdb as an academy nomination metric are worthless. elemental is getting in on pixar's pedigree alone. illumination films have been big box office hits since forever and yet how many nominations have they gotten? 1. 1 in their entire filmography and it was a decade ago.

 

they are that studio that makes mediocre films and mario hasn't changed that at all.

 

I get that you want to stan on your film but get SERIOUS, if the academy was to pick between a pixar original and an illumination franchise film they wouldn't even need to read the titles.

 

even moreso a pixar original with themes the academy cares about like immigration and racism. yeah the academy cares very little about this category but not to this degree man.

Elmental is a better film than Mario in my book. Mario has the better chance at the nom between the two. Will Elemental making it shock me? No. It is Pixar after all. I also think it’s totally possible neither makes it. If Nimona gets taken seriously like it should, Mario and Elemental can both be snubs. 

Edited September 21, 2023 by MovieMan89

[JustLurking]

8 minutes ago, MovieMan89 said:

Elmental is a better film than Mario in my book. Mario has the better chance at the nom between the two. Will Elemental making it shock me? No. It is Pixar after all, 

alright, atleast you won't be shocked when the "less likely" outcome comes through.

[AniNate]

As far as the topic at hand is concerned, sad that Ghibli is being merged into a conglomerate, but I guess it's inevitable since they don't have any reliable presences anymore besides Hayao. There are a lot more anime studios breaking out into the mainstream now though like ComixWave and Chizu. Perhaps Ponoc can also establish themselves with Imaginary coming out later this year 

[MovieMan89]

Yeah Ghibli is gone when Miyazaki is. Takahata is gone, the studio literally is those two, and no one emerged to carry on their legacy. So it’s kind of a moot point. 

[TheDude391]

The only guy who could've taken over for Miyazaki as the natural successor, Yoshifumi Kondō was literally worked to death. And they never found anyone else unfortunately. Nippon TV has at least been with Ghibli since the 80s so that's better than some new company with zero relationship to them taking over I guess.

 

I also wonder if Miyazaki not retiring is less so him making another film and more so writing a ton of scripts and sketching out concepts for future Ghibli films post passing,

[AniNate]

EDIT, wrong thread

Edited September 22, 2023 by AniNate

[peludo]

I read extremely good reviews too in Spain after been showed in San Sebastián Festival.

[cannastop]

50 reviews now on Rotten tomatoes, none of them rotten. 😲

[MovieMan89]

It’s seeming highly likely to be the best reviewed wide release of the year. Amazingly, even his iconic stuff like Spirited Away didn’t quite get this kind of critical reception. 

Edited September 24, 2023 by MovieMan89

[Morieris]

I hope this means it gets a genuine wide release that plays earlier than 7 PM. All of the GKIDS special Ghibli releases are evening events only.

 

It's not unheard of for them to play smaller-audience animated films in the daytime; I saw The Boy and The World at 1 PM in 2016, and our theater had Suzume at like noon.

[harrisonisdead]

2 hours ago, Morieris said:

I hope this means it gets a genuine wide release that plays earlier than 7 PM. All of the GKIDS special Ghibli releases are evening events only.

 

It's not unheard of for them to play smaller-audience animated films in the daytime; I saw The Boy and The World at 1 PM in 2016, and our theater had Suzume at like noon.

That's bc those Ghibli re-releases are Fathom Events. Boy and the Heron will have a normal release (and will be GKIDS' widest release), so its showtimes will just be subject to theaters' scheduling.

[TalismanRing]

13 hours ago, MovieMan89 said:

It’s seeming highly likely to be the best reviewed wide release of the year. Amazingly, even his iconic stuff like Spirited Away didn’t quite get this kind of critical reception. 

 

I wouldn't say that.

Less than 1/4th overall and 1/3 top critics on RT & MC

 

Spirited Away:

 

RT: All Critics:    96%/ 8.6 (220 critics)

RT: Top Critics:  98%/ 8.8 (62 critics)

 

Metacritic: 96 (41 critics)

 

Boy & The Heron:

All Critics:   100%/ 8.6 (51 critics)

Top Critics:  100%/9.3 (24 critics)

 

Metacritic: 89 (18 critics)

[titanic2187]

On 9/14/2023 at 4:28 PM, IronJimbo & Sheldon's Son said:

The Tale of Princess Kaguya has one of the most soul crushing endings in any movie

Surprisingly the movie get a PG rating when the lead character was suicidal, and there are some non-sexual nudity. 

[MovieMan89]

7 hours ago, TalismanRing said:

 

I wouldn't say that.

Less than 1/4th overall and 1/3 top critics on RT & MC

 

Spirited Away:

 

RT: All Critics:    96%/ 8.6 (220 critics)

RT: Top Critics:  98%/ 8.8 (62 critics)

 

Metacritic: 96 (41 critics)

 

Boy & The Heron:

All Critics:   100%/ 8.6 (51 critics)

Top Critics:  100%/9.3 (24 critics)

 

Metacritic: 89 (18 critics)

Meta is a pretty irrelevant comparison from that long ago, but yeah you’re right, it’s more just top critics. I’d be surprised to see the top critic dip down to Spirted’s considering how many have already chimed in. 
 

Seconded btw on Kaguya’s ending. That one stuck with me for months after I saw it in the theater the first time. Maybe one of the hardest hitting movie endings ever for me. 

Edited September 25, 2023 by MovieMan89

[cannastop]

On 9/24/2023 at 6:55 PM, Morieris said:

I hope this means it gets a genuine wide release that plays earlier than 7 PM. All of the GKIDS special Ghibli releases are evening events only.

 

It's not unheard of for them to play smaller-audience animated films in the daytime; I saw The Boy and The World at 1 PM in 2016, and our theater had Suzume at like noon.

Yeah the Ghibli Fest re-releases aren't like a normal release.