Studio Ghibli on DVD

[Michael Kerpan]

Ponyo is coming out on DVD and Blu on December 8.

Where (other than Japan)?

[tavernier]

Disney R1--it was in the booklet that came in one of my latest Disney BDs (Snow White, I think)

[manicsounds]

The Disney Snow White had no date mentioned for Ponyo.
But AsianBluRayGuide mentioned December 8th as the new American date.

[davebert]

Right, I remember the Snow White Blu only announced Dumbo and Beauty and the Beast.

[dx23]

Disney is re-releasing My Neighbor Totoro, Castle in the Sky and Kiki's Delivery Service along with the release of Ponyo on March 2nd.

[RobertB]

When I was in the Ghibli museum in Tokyo easter 2009 I was amazed to see Totoro on Blu-Ray (they also had a couple of non-ghibli produced films that they distribute in japan, as blu-ray). Can't remember the prize, but it was very high, and I can't play japanese blu-ray films so I didn't buy it. I still haven't seen any sign of Totoro going blu outside the museum though. I might add that they have lots top merchandize only for sale in the museum, so it's not as weird as it sounds.

[ehimle]

hmm.. I want to start planning a trip to japan soon. where is this ghibli museum?

[RobertB]

It's in a suburb to Tokyo. Takes about half an hour by train from Tokyo Station. Well worth a visit. They have Miyazaki short films that are only showed at the museum. But you have to get a ticket in advance. Book it as soon as you know you are going. There is a limit to how many are allowed in the museum each day. Details on the website: http://www.ghibli-museum.jp/en/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[manicsounds]

Last time I went, I did not see any Totoro Blurays there. I guess I'll have to go and take a look again...

[Michael Kerpan]

Last time I went, I did not see any Totoro Blurays there. I guess I'll have to go and take a look again...

As far as I know, Totoro has not yet been released in Japan (or anywhere else). What HAS been released on BR is: "Oga Kazuo Exhibition: Ghibli No Eshokunin - The One Who Painted Totoro's Forest".

[RobertB]

Oops. I guess it could have been what I was holding in my hand. Not speaking japanese makes it's hard to be 100% sure. It was a blu-ray and it had the image of Totoro on the cover. I think the prize was something like $50 - $100, so I didn't buy it.

[manicsounds]

But the Oga Kazuo BD doesnt have an image of Totoro on the cover.... wonder what it was you saw.

[Michael Kerpan]

But the Oga Kazuo BD doesnt have an image of Totoro on the cover.... wonder what it was you saw.

It might have had some sort of special wrapper that featured Totoro (but just guessing).

[Svevan]

Looking forward to Ponyo's upcoming release, I will definitely buy the Blu+DVD even though I don't have a Blu-Ray player yet (want to go multi-region when I do, making some choices now). I'm glad Totoro's coming too, but Castle in the Sky never did anything for me. Haven't seen Kiki. Releasing four titles at once like this seems to indicate that Disney is going to re-do their previous four-at-a-time release pattern, and I'm hoping for the underrated Nausicaa sooner rather than later.

[Feego]

I just purchased the new edition of Castle in the Sky, and I am mortified that it contains "dub-titles" instead of the original subtitle track. I also own the original DVD release of the film, and that one included true subtitles. The new release only contains a subtitled transcript of the English dub. I sadly do not own the original Disney releases of My Neighbor Totoro or Kiki's Delivery Service, nor did I buy the new editions, so I don't know if the new release of these films also have "dub-titles," but I wouldn't be surprised if they do. What's really unfortunate is that the original DVDs seem to be very hard to find now (Castle in the Sky is still available from Amazon). I really don't understand how Disney could screw up like this.

[The Elegant Dandy Fop]

Can anyone confirm dub-titles on Ponyo as well? I didn't bother checking until right before I had to return the film to the video store, but I did a bit of comparing and it looks like Ponyo is dub-titled as well.

[Michael Kerpan]

I got the BRD of Ponyo yesterday -- but have only skipped through it. I didn't notice any huge discrepancies, but didn't look for them either. In any event, I didn't see any cases of the most dread feature of dubtitles -- "phantom dialogue".

[zombeaner]

I just purchased the new edition of Castle in the Sky, and I am mortified that it contains "dub-titles" instead of the original subtitle track.

I guess I should pick up all of the missing Ghibli's I don't have. I thought it was interesting that the older Disney SE's all had both dubtitles and subtitle tracks.

[swo17]

If anyone can report on whether the new editions of Totoro and Kiki have subtitle issues as well, I would greatly appreciate it. If they have similar problems, thankfully at least the old editions seem to have come back down to a reasonable price since the announcement of the reissues.

[jojo]

Ponyo is not dubtitled. Many lines in the dub stick close to the sub script (let's face it, the dialogue in Ponyo is fairly simple and easy anyway), but there are enough differences to see that it is not a dubtitle. Most pointedly, the subtitle track always has Sosuke refer to Lisa as "Lisa" while in the dub he calls her "mom."

In addition, there is also a legit "dubtitle" track for the hearing impaired included along with the "real" subtitle track.

If there's any problem with the Disney release of Ponyo, it's that it does not include a DTS HD audio track that the Japanese BD had.

[The Elegant Dandy Fop]

Ponyo is not dubtitled. Many lines in the dub stick close to the sub script (let's face it, the dialogue in Ponyo is fairly simple and easy anyway), but there are enough differences to see that it is not a dubtitle. Most pointedly, the subtitle track always has Sosuke refer to Lisa as "Lisa" while in the dub he calls her "mom."

In addition, there is also a legit "dubtitle" track for the hearing impaired included along with the "real" subtitle track.

If there's any problem with the Disney release of Ponyo, it's that it does not include a DTS HD audio track that the Japanese BD had.

Thank you for that! I was only comparing from the scene she says "baka" which translates to "idiot" but which was translated as "bug-off" in both the subtitled and dubbed version.

[jojo]

Yeah, that particular scene also has "hard" subtitles so you're going to see it all the time no matter what track you have it on. I haven't explored the "angle" option to see if it pops up in the Japanese angle too.

[manicsounds]

I do know that a little bit of Kiki's actual dub audio track was altered. In a way, improved I think. First off, the horrid American theme song is replaced with the original Japanese song during the credits. Also, at the end, when that extra "phantom dialogue" line that Jiji says at the end has been removed.

[The Elegant Dandy Fop]

Yeah, that particular scene also has "hard" subtitles so you're going to see it all the time no matter what track you have it on. I haven't explored the "angle" option to see if it pops up in the Japanese angle too.

Not entirely. The "hard" subtitles are different in that scene depending on the audio option you pick which I found very interesting, but the electronic subtitles still said "bug-off" in the Japanese edition.

In the end of the day though, you're right in saying the film's dialogue isn't too important. It's a Miyazaki filmed aimed mostly toward children, not a Billy Wilder script.

[jmj713]

Just got Ponyo on Blu-ray, watched it and LOVED it! I see in Japan they released a 3-disc Blu-ray set. Most of you here are skilled worldwide shoppers, where can I get this set for the best price and are the extras subtitled? I'd love to have this for the extras and the lossless Japanese track, and because the film itself is so great.