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2008-08-24

Ponyo Surpasses $100 Million in Japan

Courtesy of GhibliWorld, we see that Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea has surpassed 10 Billion Yen, or roughly $100 million. This feat was achieved in only 31 days, and bodes very well for its continued success. While it's true that American blockbusters can surpass the $100M mark in a few days, that is due to a much larger population and thousands of screens. Japan has one third as many people, and only a tenth the number of movie screens.

All of which means Miyazaki has created another monster hit in his home country. Nobody, I'm sure, has any idea how far Ponyo will go. Within a few more weeks, it should share that same exclusive spotlight with Mononoke, Sen, and Howl as Japan's monster hits.

2008-08-11

Isao Takahata Will Direct the Next Ghibli Film

Hey, what's it with me and all these obvious posts? Ugh, I'm just awful. But I couldn't let this pass without an official post, considering that I've been begging and pleading to my devoted followers....all 100 of you.

Anyway, just to bring everyone up to speed, the next Ghibli feature will see the long-awaited return of Isao Takahata. Specific details of his project are still under wraps, but all should be revealed near the end of the year, if tradition holds. Takahata's last feature film was My Neighbors the Yamadas in 1999. His only animation after that was the 60-second short on Winter Days in 2003. It's been a long wait for the world's greatest film director.

Ponyo at Venice Film Festival

Short post here, no surprises to the wise and wily. Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea will be shown at the Venice Film Festival this September, and it will be in competition. Hayao Miyazaki will appear once again to standing ovations, tears and cheers. As I've said, no surprises; Ghibli works the same dependable schedule year after year. These events should already be printed onto the annual Ghibli calendars.

Ponyo TV Ads - Including New Ghibli Ad

I spotted this on YouTube, of course, scrounging around for something to show off. I need to make up for not being able to properly blog these days (the backup computers I've been using in lieu of my own are busted, ouch). But I think you'll like this.

This clip features three TV ads for Ponyo, pretty standard stuff, but the second ad immediately grabbed my attention. It's identical to a tie-in toy commercial Studio Ghibli made for Spirited Away, which appears on the Region 2 Ghibli Short Short DVD. I didn't check to see if the director's name was shown during this ad, but I'll be sure to check on that. I wouldn't be surprised if this was the same Ghibli team. It's always fun to see something from them.

Meanwhile, Ponyo continues to tear it up in Japan. Clearly it will be the movie event of the year by a country mile. Hayao Miyazaki's movies are like that. I'm looking forward to next year's (again, it's just my educated guess at this point) Disney/Pixar release of Ponyo in the States. This may be the children's film that Disney has been waiting all these years for.


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