Animation company GKids has acquired theatrical, video and digital transactional rights to anime series “Dan Da Dan.”
With production from the acclaimed animation studio Science Saru, the series is the directorial debut of studio veteran Fuga Yamashiro. Composer kensuke ushio additionally joins the production for the score. The series is a television adaptation of author Yukinobu Tatsu’s manga of the same name. Tatsu previously worked as an assistant to Tatsuki Fujimoto on his global hit series “Chainsaw Man” and “Fire Punch,” and Yuji Kaku on “Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku.”
“Dan Da Dan” follows the story of a high school girl named Momo who is from a family of spirit mediums, and Okarun, a high school boy who is an occult freak. The two of them start talking after Momo rescues Okarun from getting bullied. However, an argument ensues between them – Momo believes in ghosts but denies aliens, and Okarun believes in aliens but denies ghosts.
With production from the acclaimed animation studio Science Saru, the series is the directorial debut of studio veteran Fuga Yamashiro. Composer kensuke ushio additionally joins the production for the score. The series is a television adaptation of author Yukinobu Tatsu’s manga of the same name. Tatsu previously worked as an assistant to Tatsuki Fujimoto on his global hit series “Chainsaw Man” and “Fire Punch,” and Yuji Kaku on “Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku.”
“Dan Da Dan” follows the story of a high school girl named Momo who is from a family of spirit mediums, and Okarun, a high school boy who is an occult freak. The two of them start talking after Momo rescues Okarun from getting bullied. However, an argument ensues between them – Momo believes in ghosts but denies aliens, and Okarun believes in aliens but denies ghosts.
- 6/4/2024
- by Selena Kuznikov
- Variety Film + TV
GKids, which back in March won its first animated feature Oscar with The Boy And The Heron, has acquired theatrical, videogram, and digital transactional rights to Japanese anime series Dan Da Dan.
The transaction marks the company’s first engagement with a first-run series, following North American distribution of various retrospective series work.
Dan Da Dan hails from Science Saru, the company behind Devilman crybaby and Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, and is an adaptation of author Yukinobu Tatsu’s manga of the same name.
Conceived as a love letter to genre film, B-movies and retro sci-fi, the story follows high...
The transaction marks the company’s first engagement with a first-run series, following North American distribution of various retrospective series work.
Dan Da Dan hails from Science Saru, the company behind Devilman crybaby and Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, and is an adaptation of author Yukinobu Tatsu’s manga of the same name.
Conceived as a love letter to genre film, B-movies and retro sci-fi, the story follows high...
- 6/4/2024
- ScreenDaily
Gkids has acquired theatrical, videogram and digital transactional rights to the new anime series Dan Da Dan. The acquisition serves as Gkids’ first engagement with a first-run series, following North American distribution of various famed retrospective series work. No release date is set.
Based on the popular manga by Yukinobu Tatsu, Dan Da Dan is a TV adaptation of a manga being serialized in Shōnen Jump Plus by Shueisha. The film marks the directorial debut of Fuga Yamashiro and is the latest series from animation studio Science Saru with original music from Kensuke Ushio (Chainsaw Man).
The story follows high schoolers Momo, who is from a family of spirit mediums, and Okarun, an occult freak. As the two compete to disprove the existence of the other’s passion, they get caught up in an encounter of both the spiritual and paranormal, imbuing both teenagers with powers beyond belief.
Based on the popular manga by Yukinobu Tatsu, Dan Da Dan is a TV adaptation of a manga being serialized in Shōnen Jump Plus by Shueisha. The film marks the directorial debut of Fuga Yamashiro and is the latest series from animation studio Science Saru with original music from Kensuke Ushio (Chainsaw Man).
The story follows high schoolers Momo, who is from a family of spirit mediums, and Okarun, an occult freak. As the two compete to disprove the existence of the other’s passion, they get caught up in an encounter of both the spiritual and paranormal, imbuing both teenagers with powers beyond belief.
- 6/4/2024
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
Gkids, the Academy Award-winning producer and distributor announced a multi-territory acquisition of The Colors Within (Japanese title: Kiminoiro) which is directed by Naoko Yamada (A Silent Voice), with production from studio Science Saru (Scott Pilgrim Takes Off).
The film will have its world premiere in competition at the 2024 Annecy International Animated Film Festival. Gkids and Anime Ltd. will theatrically release the film in both its original Japanese language and a new English-dubbed version this winter, and Gkids will qualify the film for 2024-25 awards consideration. The film will be domestically released in Japan on August 30th.
The Colors Within follows Totsuko, a high school student with the ability to see the ‘colors’ of others. Colors of bliss, excitement, and serenity, plus a color she treasures as her favorite. Kimi, a classmate at her school, gives off the most beautiful color of all. Although she doesn’t play an instrument, Totsuko...
The film will have its world premiere in competition at the 2024 Annecy International Animated Film Festival. Gkids and Anime Ltd. will theatrically release the film in both its original Japanese language and a new English-dubbed version this winter, and Gkids will qualify the film for 2024-25 awards consideration. The film will be domestically released in Japan on August 30th.
The Colors Within follows Totsuko, a high school student with the ability to see the ‘colors’ of others. Colors of bliss, excitement, and serenity, plus a color she treasures as her favorite. Kimi, a classmate at her school, gives off the most beautiful color of all. Although she doesn’t play an instrument, Totsuko...
- 4/25/2024
- by Valerie Complex
- Deadline Film + TV
Critically acclaimed anime director Naoko Yamada, whose filmography includes the Sound! Euphonium series, Clannad, and K-On!, has us excited for her next work, which is set to come out this year. Kimi no Iro (Your Color) was initially set to be released in 2023, but the title has been delayed to 2024. Now, with the release of the film’s first trailer, we have also confirmed the premiere date for the movie, which is going to be August 30, 2024.
Kimi no Iro‘s fall 2023-to-summer 2024 delay upset some fans, but the movie is now on track to release in several months’ time, so fans can rejoice. The movie will follow high school student Totsuko, who has the ability to perceive the emotions of other people as colors. Because of this ability, she has to tread very lightly and tell white lies to other people to avoid darkening their colors, which is important to her.
Kimi no Iro‘s fall 2023-to-summer 2024 delay upset some fans, but the movie is now on track to release in several months’ time, so fans can rejoice. The movie will follow high school student Totsuko, who has the ability to perceive the emotions of other people as colors. Because of this ability, she has to tread very lightly and tell white lies to other people to avoid darkening their colors, which is important to her.
- 3/18/2024
- by Arthur S. Poe
- Fiction Horizon
Following a delay from its original Fall 2023 window, upcoming anime film Kimi no Iro ( Your Colors ) today announced a new premiere date of August 30, 2024 in Japan with the release of a special trailer and visual. A cast list stacked with newcomers was also revealed, including Sayu Suzukawa as Totsuko Higurashi, Akari Takaishi as Kimi Sakunaga, Taisei Kido as Louis Kagehira and Yui Aragaki as Sister Hiyoko, who are all introduced in the trailer below. 'Color' Visual Naoko Yamada helms the film as director and original creator at studio Science Saru, with a script by Reiko Yoshida ( Liz and the Blue Bird ), soundtrack by Kensuke Ushio ( The Heike Story ) and daisukerichard's original character designs adapted for animation by Takashi Kojima ( Ride Your Wave ), who also serves as animation director. Story inc., which has worked with Makoto Shinkai since Weathering With You , is planning and producing the film with Toho distributing the film in Japan.
- 3/18/2024
- by Liam Dempsey
- Crunchyroll
In the contemporary field of Japanese animation, no one makes films and TV shows like Yuasa Masaaki. Compared to the lifelike backgrounds and careful detailing of facial animations that typify much of anime, Yuasa’s mash-ups of disciplines and methods recall the unorthodox approaches of Don Hertzfeldt and Soviet-era Hungarian animators like Marcell Jankovics and György Kovásznai. But Yuasa’s north star—in underlying motivation, if not aesthetic—may be Tex Avery, whose brand of unpredictable comedy can be seen in the filmmaker’s willingness to upend character continuity and even the fundamental outlines of drawings for the sake of pursuing a joke or feeling to its most outlandish conclusion.
The plots of the five films included in Shout! Factory’s new box set are, however fantastical their framings, often elementally simple, and many have reference points in another anime films and shows. A kind of lysergic take on Miyazaki Hayao’s Ponyo,...
The plots of the five films included in Shout! Factory’s new box set are, however fantastical their framings, often elementally simple, and many have reference points in another anime films and shows. A kind of lysergic take on Miyazaki Hayao’s Ponyo,...
- 12/12/2023
- by Jake Cole
- Slant Magazine
Music is transportive to the extremes in Masaaki Yuasa's works. In his 2008 anime "Kaiba," there's a heartbreaking organ scene that inspires a bitter old woman to reminisce on long-lost affection. In "Ride Your Wave," a cheesy love song summons the spirit of a deceased loved one, fleetingly, like an incantation. Yuasa and Science Saru's latest feature cocktail "Inu-Oh," steeped in the 14th century Muromachi period of the ruling shoguns, rolls out rock music that unleashes the restorative power to unlock revelations to mysteries, gives restless ghosts peace through lyrical storytelling, and allow two misfits to assert their place in the world.
Based on Hideo Furukawa's novel "The Tale of the Heike: The Inu-oh Chapters," Akiko Nogi's adapted screenplay kickstarts the film deceptively. At the behest of shady noblemen, young Tomona (Mirai Moriyama) opens an underwater cursed treasure that blinds him and kills his father (Yutaka Matsushige). The...
Based on Hideo Furukawa's novel "The Tale of the Heike: The Inu-oh Chapters," Akiko Nogi's adapted screenplay kickstarts the film deceptively. At the behest of shady noblemen, young Tomona (Mirai Moriyama) opens an underwater cursed treasure that blinds him and kills his father (Yutaka Matsushige). The...
- 8/12/2022
- by Caroline Cao
- Slash Film
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“Inu-Oh” (screening theatrically from GKids) represents Masaaki Yuasa’s summary statement about animation, music, history, and rebellion. It’s the culmination of his wildly imaginative and deeply compassionate work about honoring marginalized people. He takes everything he’s explored in “Lu Over the Wall,” “Mind Game,” “Ride Your Wave,” and “The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl,” and explodes it in “Inu-Oh.”
The film’s an anime rock opera set in 14th century feudal Japan about the friendship between two cursed musical performers, who serve as historical versions of modern-day stars with theatrical fearlessness: the real-life, enigmatic Inu-Oh (Avu-chan from fashion punk Queen Bee), a Noh dancer who dramatizes the Heike’s slaughter at sea in the Battle of Dan-no-ura, and Tomona (Mirai Moriyama), a blind biwa player who chronicles the story in song. But the way Yuasa assaults us with dazzling imagery and musical performance, he comes off...
“Inu-Oh” (screening theatrically from GKids) represents Masaaki Yuasa’s summary statement about animation, music, history, and rebellion. It’s the culmination of his wildly imaginative and deeply compassionate work about honoring marginalized people. He takes everything he’s explored in “Lu Over the Wall,” “Mind Game,” “Ride Your Wave,” and “The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl,” and explodes it in “Inu-Oh.”
The film’s an anime rock opera set in 14th century feudal Japan about the friendship between two cursed musical performers, who serve as historical versions of modern-day stars with theatrical fearlessness: the real-life, enigmatic Inu-Oh (Avu-chan from fashion punk Queen Bee), a Noh dancer who dramatizes the Heike’s slaughter at sea in the Battle of Dan-no-ura, and Tomona (Mirai Moriyama), a blind biwa player who chronicles the story in song. But the way Yuasa assaults us with dazzling imagery and musical performance, he comes off...
- 8/12/2022
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Inu-Oh (2021).Something strange happens when you watch a film by Masaaki Yuasa. Something strange in the film, and something strange in your mind. It happens on the surface and in the depths, and it works its way from the movements of the film out into the world. It partakes deeply of both Eastern and Western traditions in art, drama, and film—seeming to pull from everywhere while maintaining a focused center. The experience brings to mind Anthony Bourdain’s meditations on his first trip to Tokyo, which he described as transformative, powerful, and violent: “A window opens up into a whole new thing and you think, what does this mean? What do I have left to say? What do I do now?” In Yuasa’s new film, Inu-Oh, this window opens up from the perspective of its two main characters—14th-century musicians who dress like 1970s glam rockers: one who...
- 8/10/2022
- MUBI
As one of the most prolific and certainly most original animators, Masaaki Yuasa has graced us with memorable series and feature films alike, most of which are available to watch on streaming platforms. With 22 films and series under his belt as a director, and many more as a screenwriter, key animator or animation director, Yuasa’s name has became a trademark in the animation film universe. It is to him that we owe the pastel beauty of “The Tatami Galaxy” (2010), the sobering reminder of the times we live, depicted in “Japan sinks: 2020”, the deeply touching anime “Ride Your Wave” (2019), to name just a few. His interpretation of subjects is always over the top, colourful and merciless in its depiction of events and people.
After a significant number of awards won at diverse international film festivals, among which – Sitges, Annecy, Fantasia International Film Festival, and Ottawa International Animation Festival, Yuasa has...
After a significant number of awards won at diverse international film festivals, among which – Sitges, Annecy, Fantasia International Film Festival, and Ottawa International Animation Festival, Yuasa has...
- 9/11/2021
- by Marina D. Richter
- AsianMoviePulse
Meet Tomona & Inu-Oh. Asmik Ace has released the first teaser trailer for a new film from Japanese anime director Masaaki Yuasa, known for his vibrant animation The Night Is Short Walk on Girl, Lu Over the Wall, and Ride Your Wave. His latest work is a film called Inu-Oh, based on a classic story about the life of Inu-Oh "King Dog", a 14th-century Japanese performer of music drama at the time of its transition from the folk art of sarugaku "monkey music" into the formalized traditions of Noh and kyôgen. The story is about the friendship between a blind musician named Tomona, and a physically deformed dancer named Inu-Oh, who achieve great success and fame working together. The film's voice cast features Avu-Chan and Mirai Moriyama. This is premiering at the 2021 Venice Film Festival coming up in the next few months, playing in the Horizons sidebar section. There's plenty of...
- 7/27/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
At a time when viewers around the world remain wary of returning to cinemas, the Shanghai International Film Festival (Siff) once again can’t keep up with local audiences. Demand is so high that viewers are paying enormous sums to get hold of scalped tickets, including more than $300 to see an art house film released more than two decades ago.
The festival sparks an annual online crush as film lovers vie Black Friday-style for its limited tickets the moment they’re released for sale. Siff sold nearly 150,000 tickets within five minutes on the first day of sales in 2019, and more than 100,000 tickets in ten minutes last year, despite occurring as an in-person event just weeks after cinemas reopened for the first time post-covid-19.
With theater capacity still capped at 75%, the event’s 2021 iteration set to run from June 11-20 has proved just as popular, despite the full line-up being announced...
The festival sparks an annual online crush as film lovers vie Black Friday-style for its limited tickets the moment they’re released for sale. Siff sold nearly 150,000 tickets within five minutes on the first day of sales in 2019, and more than 100,000 tickets in ten minutes last year, despite occurring as an in-person event just weeks after cinemas reopened for the first time post-covid-19.
With theater capacity still capped at 75%, the event’s 2021 iteration set to run from June 11-20 has proved just as popular, despite the full line-up being announced...
- 6/8/2021
- by Rebecca Davis
- Variety Film + TV
The frontrunners for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars, “Soul” and “Wolfwalkers” so dominated the 48th annual Annie Awards on April 16 that all the other nominees left empty-handed. Friday marked the second of six days of final balloting for the 93rd Academy Awards.
“Soul” won Best Studio Animated Feature over one of its Oscar rival, “Onward,” as well as “The Croods: A New Age,” “The Willoughbys” and “Trolls: World Tour.” “Soul” also prevailed in six other races: character animation, editorial, music, special effects, storyboards and writing.
Likewise “Wolfwalkers” won Best Independent Feature over Oscar contender “A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon” plus “Calamity Jane,” “On-Gaku: Our Sound” and “Ride Your Wave.” “Wolfwalker” also walked away with the trophies for character design, direction, production design and voice.
Six of the last 10 Annie Awards champs have lined up with the Oscars: “Rango” (2012), “Frozen” (2014), “Inside Out” (2016), “Zootopia” (2017), “Coco” (2018) and “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse...
“Soul” won Best Studio Animated Feature over one of its Oscar rival, “Onward,” as well as “The Croods: A New Age,” “The Willoughbys” and “Trolls: World Tour.” “Soul” also prevailed in six other races: character animation, editorial, music, special effects, storyboards and writing.
Likewise “Wolfwalkers” won Best Independent Feature over Oscar contender “A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon” plus “Calamity Jane,” “On-Gaku: Our Sound” and “Ride Your Wave.” “Wolfwalker” also walked away with the trophies for character design, direction, production design and voice.
Six of the last 10 Annie Awards champs have lined up with the Oscars: “Rango” (2012), “Frozen” (2014), “Inside Out” (2016), “Zootopia” (2017), “Coco” (2018) and “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse...
- 4/17/2021
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
Our frontrunners for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars, “Soul” and “Wolfwalkers,” lead the roster in contention at the 48th annual Annie Awards on April 16 with 10 nominations each. “Onward” comes into the night with a lucky seven nominations while “The Willoughbys” and “The Croods: A New Age” are right behind at six apiece.
All of these films except “Wolfwalkers” contend for Best Studio Animated Feature; that race is rounded out by four-time nominee “Trolls: World Tour.” “Wolfwalkers” is up for Best Independent Feature alongside “A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon,” “Calamity Jane,” “On-Gaku: Our Sound” and “Ride Your Wave.”
Six of the last 10 Annie Awards champs have lined up with the Oscars: “Rango” (2012), “Frozen” (2014), “Inside Out” (2016), “Zootopia” (2017), “Coco” (2018) and “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” (2019).
In 2020, “Klaus” was the tops with the Annies but it was “Toy Story 4” that took home the top Oscar. Back in 2011, “How to Train Your Dragon...
All of these films except “Wolfwalkers” contend for Best Studio Animated Feature; that race is rounded out by four-time nominee “Trolls: World Tour.” “Wolfwalkers” is up for Best Independent Feature alongside “A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon,” “Calamity Jane,” “On-Gaku: Our Sound” and “Ride Your Wave.”
Six of the last 10 Annie Awards champs have lined up with the Oscars: “Rango” (2012), “Frozen” (2014), “Inside Out” (2016), “Zootopia” (2017), “Coco” (2018) and “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” (2019).
In 2020, “Klaus” was the tops with the Annies but it was “Toy Story 4” that took home the top Oscar. Back in 2011, “How to Train Your Dragon...
- 4/16/2021
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
by Cláudio Alves
There's nothing more wonderful about cinema, about art as a whole, than the ability to surprise. If I feel a film showed me sights I never thought possible, if it told me stories I could have never imagined, it instantly earns respect and a special place in my heart. Following that line of thinking, one must say that no other picture in this awards season surprised me quite as much as Masaaki Yuasa's Ride Your Wave. Mixing supernatural stylings and teenage melodrama, the Japanese director has managed to create one of the most painful portraits of loss and paralyzing grief in a long time. If you thought the sight of a girl talking to a water bottle would never make you tear up, think again…...
There's nothing more wonderful about cinema, about art as a whole, than the ability to surprise. If I feel a film showed me sights I never thought possible, if it told me stories I could have never imagined, it instantly earns respect and a special place in my heart. Following that line of thinking, one must say that no other picture in this awards season surprised me quite as much as Masaaki Yuasa's Ride Your Wave. Mixing supernatural stylings and teenage melodrama, the Japanese director has managed to create one of the most painful portraits of loss and paralyzing grief in a long time. If you thought the sight of a girl talking to a water bottle would never make you tear up, think again…...
- 3/7/2021
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
This marks the fourth year that the entire membership of the academy can take part in the nomination stage of the Animated Feature Oscar race. Previously, only select members of the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch and invited members from the other branches could serve on the committee that decided the nominees. Collectively, the committee tended to favor traditional and stop-motion films over CG fare. (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2021 Oscars predictions for Best Animated Feature.)
Mandatory attendance at screenings has been dropped and voters who want to be on the nominations committee need only attest to having seen all the contenders at theaters or screenings or by way of the the academy’s streaming site.
And the method of determining the nominees has been changed. Gone is the system where voters scored a film from 6 (poor) to 10 (excellent) with only those movies meriting an average mark of...
Mandatory attendance at screenings has been dropped and voters who want to be on the nominations committee need only attest to having seen all the contenders at theaters or screenings or by way of the the academy’s streaming site.
And the method of determining the nominees has been changed. Gone is the system where voters scored a film from 6 (poor) to 10 (excellent) with only those movies meriting an average mark of...
- 3/3/2021
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
“Soul” and “Wolfwalkers” led all films in nominations for the 48th annual Annie Awards, the most comprehensive awards show devoted solely to animation. The two films each received 10 nominations, with “Onward” receiving seven and “The Croods: A New Age,” “The Willoughbys” and “Over the Moon” receiving six.
“Soul,” “Onward,” “The Croods: A New Age,” “The Willoughbys” and “Trolls World Tour” were nominated in the Best Feature category. In the Best Indie Feature category, which was created in 2015, the nominees were “Wolfwalkers,” “A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon,” “Calamity Jane,” “On-Gaku: Our Sound” and “Ride Your Wave.”
Netflix led all companies with 40 nominations, with Disney/Pixar receiving 29 and DreamWorks Animation receiving 20. In the film categories, the two Pixar movies, “Soul” and “Onward,” received 17 nominations to 15 for the Netflix-distributed “The Willoughbys,” “Shaun the Sheep” and “Over the Moon,” and 10 for Dwa’s “The Croods” and “Trolls.”
Since the Annies split the two categories,...
“Soul,” “Onward,” “The Croods: A New Age,” “The Willoughbys” and “Trolls World Tour” were nominated in the Best Feature category. In the Best Indie Feature category, which was created in 2015, the nominees were “Wolfwalkers,” “A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon,” “Calamity Jane,” “On-Gaku: Our Sound” and “Ride Your Wave.”
Netflix led all companies with 40 nominations, with Disney/Pixar receiving 29 and DreamWorks Animation receiving 20. In the film categories, the two Pixar movies, “Soul” and “Onward,” received 17 nominations to 15 for the Netflix-distributed “The Willoughbys,” “Shaun the Sheep” and “Over the Moon,” and 10 for Dwa’s “The Croods” and “Trolls.”
Since the Annies split the two categories,...
- 3/3/2021
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Pixar’s “Soul” and Apple/Gkids’s “Wolfwalkers” may have topped the Annie Award nominations with 10 each, but it was Netflix that walked away with the most nominations overall, picking up 40 across an array of projects.
Netflix scored six nominations each for its features “The Willoughbys” and “Over the Moon,” and three for “A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon.” Other Netflix projects receiving nominations include “Hilda,” “The Midnight Gospel,” “Bojack Horseman,” “Big Mouth,” “Alien Xmas,” “Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy,” “The Christmas Chronicles 2,” “The Umbrella Academy,” “Bna,” “The Great Pretender,” “Blood of Zeus,” “Trash Truck,” “Buddi,” “She-Ra and the Princesses of Power,” “Fast & Furious: Spy Racers,” “Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous,” “Tales of Arcadia: Wizards,” “Dragons Rescue Riders,” “Cops and Robbers” and “If Anything Happens I Love You.”
The next biggest studio tallies were Pixar and DreamWorks Animation with 20 nominations each, followed by Apple/Gkids with 10, Disney with nine,...
Netflix scored six nominations each for its features “The Willoughbys” and “Over the Moon,” and three for “A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon.” Other Netflix projects receiving nominations include “Hilda,” “The Midnight Gospel,” “Bojack Horseman,” “Big Mouth,” “Alien Xmas,” “Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy,” “The Christmas Chronicles 2,” “The Umbrella Academy,” “Bna,” “The Great Pretender,” “Blood of Zeus,” “Trash Truck,” “Buddi,” “She-Ra and the Princesses of Power,” “Fast & Furious: Spy Racers,” “Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous,” “Tales of Arcadia: Wizards,” “Dragons Rescue Riders,” “Cops and Robbers” and “If Anything Happens I Love You.”
The next biggest studio tallies were Pixar and DreamWorks Animation with 20 nominations each, followed by Apple/Gkids with 10, Disney with nine,...
- 3/3/2021
- by Terry Flores
- Variety Film + TV
Two very different animated features lead the way as the 48th annual Annie Awards nominations were announced today. Disney/Pixar’s Soul and Cartoon Saloon’s Wolfwalkers scored 10 noms apiece ahead of the virtual trophy show on April 16. Read the full list of nominees in 31 categories below.
Wolfwalkers, a “relatively small European movie,” as the filmmakers described it — is rooted in the history of 1650s Ireland, while Soul follows a middle school music teacher’s journey to “the Great Beyond” via “the Great Before.”
Soul will vie for the marquee Best Feature prize at the Annies, going up against another Pixar pic — Onward, which scooped seven noms — along with Netflix’s The Willoughbys and a pair of DreamWorks Animation sequels: The Croods: A New Age and Trolls World Tour. Willoughbys and Croods picked up six noms each today, and Trolls rocked away with four.
Wolfwalkers is up for the Best...
Wolfwalkers, a “relatively small European movie,” as the filmmakers described it — is rooted in the history of 1650s Ireland, while Soul follows a middle school music teacher’s journey to “the Great Beyond” via “the Great Before.”
Soul will vie for the marquee Best Feature prize at the Annies, going up against another Pixar pic — Onward, which scooped seven noms — along with Netflix’s The Willoughbys and a pair of DreamWorks Animation sequels: The Croods: A New Age and Trolls World Tour. Willoughbys and Croods picked up six noms each today, and Trolls rocked away with four.
Wolfwalkers is up for the Best...
- 3/3/2021
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Pixar’s ethereal “Soul” and Cartoon Saloon’s exquisitely hand-drawn “Wolfwalkers” — the two animated Oscar frontrunners — both grabbed 10 nominations each at Asifa-Hollywood’s 48th Annie Awards (to be streamed live on April 16). Pixar collected another seven nominations from “Onward” to dominate the feature competition.
“Soul” and “Wolfwalkers” are both expected to come away with the top prize from their respective best feature and best indie feature categories, but they compete head to head for direction (Pete Docter and Kemp Powers vs. Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart), FX, character animation, character design, production design, score, storyboarding, and writing. “Soul” was additionally nominated for editorial, and “Wolfwalkers” for voice acting. But Jamie Foxx, who voiced “Soul’s” jazz pianist, Joe Gardner, was surprisingly overlooked.
Scoring six nominations were Netflix’s “Over the Moon” (directed by Disney legend Glen Keane) and “The Willoughbys,” and DreamWorks’ “Croods: A New Age.” But Keane’s gorgeous...
“Soul” and “Wolfwalkers” are both expected to come away with the top prize from their respective best feature and best indie feature categories, but they compete head to head for direction (Pete Docter and Kemp Powers vs. Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart), FX, character animation, character design, production design, score, storyboarding, and writing. “Soul” was additionally nominated for editorial, and “Wolfwalkers” for voice acting. But Jamie Foxx, who voiced “Soul’s” jazz pianist, Joe Gardner, was surprisingly overlooked.
Scoring six nominations were Netflix’s “Over the Moon” (directed by Disney legend Glen Keane) and “The Willoughbys,” and DreamWorks’ “Croods: A New Age.” But Keane’s gorgeous...
- 3/3/2021
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Exclusive: The Oscar Animated Feature race just got reduced by one.
Paramount and Nickelodeon’s The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run has withdrawn from the competition, so now instead of 27 entries — as the Academy announced on January 28 — there are 26 remaining, providing all of them meet eligibility requirements and complete qualification runs, whether in a theater, drive-in, steaming service or on VOD.
The Academy today notified those members who have signed up to participate in the category.
“Dear Animated Feature Voting Committee Member,
We hope you have been enjoying the submitted Animated Feature films. We wanted you to be aware of some submission updates:
The film titled Nos Ili Zagovor Ne Takikh has been updated to its English-language title The Nose or the Conspiracy of Mavericks. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run has elected to withdraw from consideration and will no longer be available to view on Academy Screening Room.
Paramount and Nickelodeon’s The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run has withdrawn from the competition, so now instead of 27 entries — as the Academy announced on January 28 — there are 26 remaining, providing all of them meet eligibility requirements and complete qualification runs, whether in a theater, drive-in, steaming service or on VOD.
The Academy today notified those members who have signed up to participate in the category.
“Dear Animated Feature Voting Committee Member,
We hope you have been enjoying the submitted Animated Feature films. We wanted you to be aware of some submission updates:
The film titled Nos Ili Zagovor Ne Takikh has been updated to its English-language title The Nose or the Conspiracy of Mavericks. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run has elected to withdraw from consideration and will no longer be available to view on Academy Screening Room.
- 2/12/2021
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
After releasing Lu Over the Wall to critical acclaim, director Masaaki Yuasa was met with a similar brief for his next feature, Ride Your Wave, by Japanese animation studio Science Saru.
“We were assigned with the same theme, ‘a love story involving a fantastic/out-of-this-world being,’” Yuasa recalls. “From there, we came up with the story about a guy who turned into water and a human girl.”
Turning into a meditation on loss, following Yuasa’s experience of the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, Ride Your Wave centers on Hinako, a surfer whose life changes forever when the charming Minato rescues her from an apartment building fire. Thereafter, the firefighter tragically passes, but the romance between the two only continues to unfold, when Hinako finds that she can summon her lost love to appear, wherever there is water.
Distributed by Toho in Japan and by Gkids in the U.
“We were assigned with the same theme, ‘a love story involving a fantastic/out-of-this-world being,’” Yuasa recalls. “From there, we came up with the story about a guy who turned into water and a human girl.”
Turning into a meditation on loss, following Yuasa’s experience of the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, Ride Your Wave centers on Hinako, a surfer whose life changes forever when the charming Minato rescues her from an apartment building fire. Thereafter, the firefighter tragically passes, but the romance between the two only continues to unfold, when Hinako finds that she can summon her lost love to appear, wherever there is water.
Distributed by Toho in Japan and by Gkids in the U.
- 2/8/2021
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Erica Wigg, the main character of Goro Miyazaki’s made-for-tv feature “Earwig and the Witch,” is both a brat and an orphan. Those two traits seldom go together in children’s stories, and the combination provides a modest starting point for this intermittently amusing CG entry from Studio Ghibli — back in business but a shadow of its former glory. Erica also happens to be the daughter of a rock-star sorceress, who dropped her on the stoop of St. Morwald’s Home for Children with a note: “Got the other 12 witches all chasing me. I’ll be back for her when I’ve shook them off. It may take years.”
It will take closer to 75 minutes, actually, at which point the movie abruptly ends without providing any sense of those adventures. Judging by the opening motorcycle chase — in which this witch uses her flaming red, corkscrew-shaped hair to cast an impressive...
It will take closer to 75 minutes, actually, at which point the movie abruptly ends without providing any sense of those adventures. Judging by the opening motorcycle chase — in which this witch uses her flaming red, corkscrew-shaped hair to cast an impressive...
- 1/31/2021
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Another important moment in the awards season has come our way today. Yes, the Academy has released their lists of what’s eligible in a few of the Oscar categories. In short, we now know what’s up for Academy Award nominations in the Best Animated Feature, Best Documentary Feature, and Best International Feature categories. Until we get to a shortlist, everything is up for grabs, but now we know what’s at least in the running, and that’s good… Here now are the lists: Animated Feature Film “Accidental Luxuriance of the Translucent Watery Rebus” “Bombay Rose” “Calamity” “The Croods: A New Age” “Demon Slayer -Kimetsu No Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train” “Dreambuilders” “Lane” “On-Gaku: Our Sound” “Onward” “Over the Moon” “Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs” “Ride Your Wave” “Scoob!” “A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon” “Soul” “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run” “Terra Willy” “Trolls World Tour...
- 1/28/2021
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
Shortlists to be announced on February 9.
The Academy on Thursday (January 28) published a list of 93 films eligible for international feature film Oscar category.
Algeria’s Heliopolis, about the brutal suppression by French colonial authorities of an uprising in 1945, is omitted from the list. Screen understands the national selection committee withdrew the submission.
There were also a record number of documentary submissions – 238 compared to the previous high of 170 – in light of amended eligibility rules this season due to the pandemic, and a reduced field of 27 animation contenders.
The shortlists will be announced on February 9. The 93rd annual Academy Awards are scheduled...
The Academy on Thursday (January 28) published a list of 93 films eligible for international feature film Oscar category.
Algeria’s Heliopolis, about the brutal suppression by French colonial authorities of an uprising in 1945, is omitted from the list. Screen understands the national selection committee withdrew the submission.
There were also a record number of documentary submissions – 238 compared to the previous high of 170 – in light of amended eligibility rules this season due to the pandemic, and a reduced field of 27 animation contenders.
The shortlists will be announced on February 9. The 93rd annual Academy Awards are scheduled...
- 1/28/2021
- ScreenDaily
From The Assistant to Ride Your Wave, check out the most underrated movies of 2020 so far.
“Every year there are movies everyone hears about. Those are your Marvel films and your Oscar players. But what about the films that fly under the radar? The foreign favorites that never crack the mainstream? The studio releases that get written off? The indies that don’t take over the box office? When you’re looking for something that maybe hasn’t been overly hyped, we’ve got you covered.”
Read more at Thrillist.
Queen Elizabeth II of England is known for her bright and colorful outfits, and there’s a good reason why she favors them.
“The glamorous life of a royal comes with a strict set of fashion rules. Exposed shoulders are frowned upon at weddings, and travel wardrobes must always include one all-black outfit. But not every fashion custom comes from established tradition.
“Every year there are movies everyone hears about. Those are your Marvel films and your Oscar players. But what about the films that fly under the radar? The foreign favorites that never crack the mainstream? The studio releases that get written off? The indies that don’t take over the box office? When you’re looking for something that maybe hasn’t been overly hyped, we’ve got you covered.”
Read more at Thrillist.
Queen Elizabeth II of England is known for her bright and colorful outfits, and there’s a good reason why she favors them.
“The glamorous life of a royal comes with a strict set of fashion rules. Exposed shoulders are frowned upon at weddings, and travel wardrobes must always include one all-black outfit. But not every fashion custom comes from established tradition.
- 11/23/2020
- by Ivan Huang
- Den of Geek
From a charming fantasy, the darkest timeline, and even the intimate comfort of a bar, the Screen Anime channel invites you to experience stories only possible in animation with their most imaginative line-up to date. From 25th September 2020, embark on a journey to save a magical kingdom with the first wide release of Birthday Wonderland in the UK & Ireland, celebrate an iconic franchise with the bloody battle for the Holy Grail in Fate/stay night Heaven’s Feel 1: presage flower, and more!
Joining them this month are classics from now-renowned directors who have proven themselves Screen Anime favourites: 5 Centimeters Per Second, a romance anthology from Makoto Shinkai, and the eclectic anthology Genius Party, featuring short films by Masaaki Yuasa (Ride Your Wave) and Shinichiro Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop). This month’s bingeable series also sees the English-language digital debut of Bartender, a personal favourite of Anime Limited President Andrew Partridge!
Joining them this month are classics from now-renowned directors who have proven themselves Screen Anime favourites: 5 Centimeters Per Second, a romance anthology from Makoto Shinkai, and the eclectic anthology Genius Party, featuring short films by Masaaki Yuasa (Ride Your Wave) and Shinichiro Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop). This month’s bingeable series also sees the English-language digital debut of Bartender, a personal favourite of Anime Limited President Andrew Partridge!
- 9/25/2020
- by Don Anelli
- AsianMoviePulse
Camera Japan are very pleased to announce two screenings before the start of the 2020 edition of Camera Japan on 23 September.
On 26 August, they will team up with LantarenVenster to screen the animated romantic drama Ride Your Wave (きみと、波にのれたら, 2019) by Yuasa Masaaki (湯浅政明).
Tom Mes will give a talk about anime before the start of the screening. The talk will be in English and the film is also subtitled in English. Tickets are available online via the website of LantarenVenster.
On 10 September, they will present a Film & Curry event at the Paviljoen aan het Water at Brielselaan 157 in Rotterdam. They know you must have missed their legendary vegan curry, so be sure to grab the chance and bag seats at this Camera Japan exclusive!
At the event, they will screen Like Father, Like Son (そして父になる, 2013) by Kore-eda Hirokazu (是枝裕和). The film won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, received...
On 26 August, they will team up with LantarenVenster to screen the animated romantic drama Ride Your Wave (きみと、波にのれたら, 2019) by Yuasa Masaaki (湯浅政明).
Tom Mes will give a talk about anime before the start of the screening. The talk will be in English and the film is also subtitled in English. Tickets are available online via the website of LantarenVenster.
On 10 September, they will present a Film & Curry event at the Paviljoen aan het Water at Brielselaan 157 in Rotterdam. They know you must have missed their legendary vegan curry, so be sure to grab the chance and bag seats at this Camera Japan exclusive!
At the event, they will screen Like Father, Like Son (そして父になる, 2013) by Kore-eda Hirokazu (是枝裕和). The film won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, received...
- 8/25/2020
- by Rhythm Zaveri
- AsianMoviePulse
After much thought, and taking into consideration the health of our guests and viewers, Nihon Media announced that Japan Filmfest Hamburg cannot take place this year as a traditional film festival – and will be online instead. Under the motto ‘Breaking Free – From Japan with Love’, Nihon Media will collaborate with Videocity to stream its entire programme of 70+ films in around 40 blocks globally from 19th of August to the 2nd of September.
The 2020 film programme features 70 current productions, from full-length feature films to experimental short films, including many German, European, and international premieres. Most of the films are shown in the original Japanese language with English subtitles. One special highlight of our programme is the gangster-ballad originally planned as the opening film for the 21st Jffh, “Paradise Next” (2018) from director and film composer Yoshihiro Hanno (“Flowers of Shanghai”). An atmospheric road-movie about the travels of three lost souls living on the edges of society,...
The 2020 film programme features 70 current productions, from full-length feature films to experimental short films, including many German, European, and international premieres. Most of the films are shown in the original Japanese language with English subtitles. One special highlight of our programme is the gangster-ballad originally planned as the opening film for the 21st Jffh, “Paradise Next” (2018) from director and film composer Yoshihiro Hanno (“Flowers of Shanghai”). An atmospheric road-movie about the travels of three lost souls living on the edges of society,...
- 8/10/2020
- by Grace Han
- AsianMoviePulse
As most theatres around the world still remain closed, folks are hungry for any new content they can get their hands on and have turned to streaming and on demand to fulfill their needs. Thankfully, both platforms have really been stepping up and with the latter, in particular, this weekend brings a lot to get excited about.
For one thing, several big stars have new movies debuting digitally today, while a number of more under the radar films are also making their premieres on demand. In total, you’ve got a whopping total of 25 new titles available to rent/buy as of today, Friday, August 7th, and below, you can see the full list of options.
To Buy:
Weathering With You
The Tax Collector
Love Under the Rainbow
Lucky Grandma
Fantastic Fungi
She Dies Tomorrow
Waiting For the Barbarians
Spinster
To Rent:
Around the Sun
Alice
Star Light
The Stand:...
For one thing, several big stars have new movies debuting digitally today, while a number of more under the radar films are also making their premieres on demand. In total, you’ve got a whopping total of 25 new titles available to rent/buy as of today, Friday, August 7th, and below, you can see the full list of options.
To Buy:
Weathering With You
The Tax Collector
Love Under the Rainbow
Lucky Grandma
Fantastic Fungi
She Dies Tomorrow
Waiting For the Barbarians
Spinster
To Rent:
Around the Sun
Alice
Star Light
The Stand:...
- 8/7/2020
- by Matt Joseph
- We Got This Covered
Tomorrow is Tuesday, folks, which means that new Blu-ray releases are hitting the shelves! For those of you who've yet to throw down for HBO Max, His Dark Materials: The Complete First Season will finally be made available to own on disc. I'll be picking that one up for sure, alongside Ride Your Wave, a gorgeous-looking anime feature from director Masaaki Yuasa, which tells the tale…...
- 8/3/2020
- by Steve Seigh
- JoBlo.com
Gkids has acquired the North American distribution rights for Masaaki Yuasa’s animated feature Inu-Oh. Gkids, Japanese production company Science Saru Inc. and its partner Asmik Ace, Inc. made the announcement today. This marks the fifth collaboration between Gkids and Yuasa. The production company worked with Yuasa on his films Lu Over the Wall, The Night is Short, Walk On Girl, Mind Game, and most recently, Ride Your Wave. Gkids is set to release Inu-Oh theatrically in 2021.
The film follows the titular Inu-Oh, the legendary 14th century Noh performer, who is born with unique physical characteristics. As a result of his appearance, the horrified adults cover every inch of his body with garments, including a mask on his face. One day, he meets a boy named Tomona, a blind biwa player. When Tomona plays a delicate song of tangled fate, Inu-Oh discovers an incredible ability to dance.
Inu-Oh and Tomona...
The film follows the titular Inu-Oh, the legendary 14th century Noh performer, who is born with unique physical characteristics. As a result of his appearance, the horrified adults cover every inch of his body with garments, including a mask on his face. One day, he meets a boy named Tomona, a blind biwa player. When Tomona plays a delicate song of tangled fate, Inu-Oh discovers an incredible ability to dance.
Inu-Oh and Tomona...
- 6/25/2020
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
GKids has acquired North American theatrical rights to the animated feature “Inu-Oh,” a 2D re-imagining of the 14th century Japanese performer from acclaimed director Masaaki Yuasa (“Ride Your Wave”). “Inu-Oh,” which is currently part of Annecy 2020 Online’s work-in-progress program, and produced by Science Saru Inc., will be released this fall.
The musical animated feature tells the story of the friendship between the legendary 14th century Noh performer Inu-Oh, born with unique physical characteristics that he hides with a mask and full garments, and the blind Biwa player Tomona. As the two rise from hardship to stardom through their creative partnership, they may break each other’s curse. The film offers character creation from manga artist Taiyo Matsumoto (Tekkonkinkreet), who previously collaborated with Yuasa on the anime adaptation of Matsumoto’s series “Ping Pong the Animation.” “Inu-Oh” marks the fifth movie from the director that GKids has distributed, following “Ride Your Wave...
The musical animated feature tells the story of the friendship between the legendary 14th century Noh performer Inu-Oh, born with unique physical characteristics that he hides with a mask and full garments, and the blind Biwa player Tomona. As the two rise from hardship to stardom through their creative partnership, they may break each other’s curse. The film offers character creation from manga artist Taiyo Matsumoto (Tekkonkinkreet), who previously collaborated with Yuasa on the anime adaptation of Matsumoto’s series “Ping Pong the Animation.” “Inu-Oh” marks the fifth movie from the director that GKids has distributed, following “Ride Your Wave...
- 6/25/2020
- by Bill Desowitz
- Thompson on Hollywood
GKids has acquired North American theatrical rights to the animated feature “Inu-Oh,” a 2D re-imagining of the 14th century Japanese performer from acclaimed director Masaaki Yuasa (“Ride Your Wave”). “Inu-Oh,” which is currently part of Annecy 2020 Online’s work-in-progress program, and produced by Science Saru Inc., will be released this fall.
The musical animated feature tells the story of the friendship between the legendary 14th century Noh performer Inu-Oh, born with unique physical characteristics that he hides with a mask and full garments, and the blind Biwa player Tomona. As the two rise from hardship to stardom through their creative partnership, they may break each other’s curse. The film offers character creation from manga artist Taiyo Matsumoto (Tekkonkinkreet), who previously collaborated with Yuasa on the anime adaptation of Matsumoto’s series “Ping Pong the Animation.” “Inu-Oh” marks the fifth movie from the director that GKids has distributed, following “Ride Your Wave...
The musical animated feature tells the story of the friendship between the legendary 14th century Noh performer Inu-Oh, born with unique physical characteristics that he hides with a mask and full garments, and the blind Biwa player Tomona. As the two rise from hardship to stardom through their creative partnership, they may break each other’s curse. The film offers character creation from manga artist Taiyo Matsumoto (Tekkonkinkreet), who previously collaborated with Yuasa on the anime adaptation of Matsumoto’s series “Ping Pong the Animation.” “Inu-Oh” marks the fifth movie from the director that GKids has distributed, following “Ride Your Wave...
- 6/25/2020
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Distributor plans 2021 release.
Gkids has acquired North American rights from Asmik Ace to Masaaki Yuasa’s musical animation Inu-Oh, recently presented as a work in progress at Annecy.
The film tells the story of the friendship between the legendary 14th century Noh performer Inu-Oh, and the blind Biwa player Tomona, who rise from hardship to stardom through their creative partnership.
The film features character creation from manga artist Taiyo Matsumoto (Tekkonkinkreet), who previously collaborated with Yuasa on the anime adaptation of Matsumoto’s series Ping Pong The Animation.
Eunyoung Choi of Science Saru and Fumie Takeuchi of Asmik Ace served as producers.
Gkids has acquired North American rights from Asmik Ace to Masaaki Yuasa’s musical animation Inu-Oh, recently presented as a work in progress at Annecy.
The film tells the story of the friendship between the legendary 14th century Noh performer Inu-Oh, and the blind Biwa player Tomona, who rise from hardship to stardom through their creative partnership.
The film features character creation from manga artist Taiyo Matsumoto (Tekkonkinkreet), who previously collaborated with Yuasa on the anime adaptation of Matsumoto’s series Ping Pong The Animation.
Eunyoung Choi of Science Saru and Fumie Takeuchi of Asmik Ace served as producers.
- 6/25/2020
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
Masaaki Yuasa is one of the hardest working filmmakers in the anime industry right now. On top of directing hit anime series like Devilman Crybaby and Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken, he’s also made time to helm artful, critically acclaimed films like The Night is Short, Walk on Girl, and Ride Your Wave. And the amazing thing about a Yuasa project […]
The post ‘Japan Sinks: 2020’ Trailer: A New Sci-Fi Disaster Anime From the Creator of ‘Devilman Crybaby’ appeared first on /Film.
The post ‘Japan Sinks: 2020’ Trailer: A New Sci-Fi Disaster Anime From the Creator of ‘Devilman Crybaby’ appeared first on /Film.
- 5/29/2020
- by Hoai-Tran Bui
- Slash Film
GKids has snatched up North American theatrical rights to “Lupin the 3rd: The First,” the latest anime feature in the popular “gentleman thief” franchise, written and directed by Takashi Yamazaki. GKids will release “The First” (produced by Tms Entertainment and Marza Entertainment Planet) in 2020 for Oscar qualification in both Japanese and an all-new English language version.
Based on the legendary manga series, “Lupin III,” by the late Monkey Punch, “The First” marks the first CG-animated addition to the movie franchise. Arsène Lupin III is hired by young female archaeologist named Letizia to steal the infamous Bresson Diary (containing the secret of eternal energy) from a dark cabal devoted to resurrecting the Third Reich in the 1960s. Through a series of adventures that includes trap-filled tombs, aerial escapades, and daring prison escapes with his trademark wit and visual finesse, Lupin III uncovers his family’s literary origins.
More from IndieWireHow Hollywood Animation Studios...
Based on the legendary manga series, “Lupin III,” by the late Monkey Punch, “The First” marks the first CG-animated addition to the movie franchise. Arsène Lupin III is hired by young female archaeologist named Letizia to steal the infamous Bresson Diary (containing the secret of eternal energy) from a dark cabal devoted to resurrecting the Third Reich in the 1960s. Through a series of adventures that includes trap-filled tombs, aerial escapades, and daring prison escapes with his trademark wit and visual finesse, Lupin III uncovers his family’s literary origins.
More from IndieWireHow Hollywood Animation Studios...
- 3/26/2020
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
It’s hard to imagine that a general American audience might take to new Japanese anime “My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising” beyond the already robust fanbase of “My Hero Academia,” the popular shonen-style boy’s adventure manga and anime about teenage superhero Izuku Midoriya as he leads his super-powered high school classmates in becoming better team players and aspiring heroes.
Which isn’t to say that uninitiated moviegoers will have trouble understanding the plot of “Heroes Rising,” which follows Izuku and U.A. High School’s Class 1-a as they try to stop multi/over-powered villain Nine (Johnny Yong Bosch) from killing the residents of Nabu Island. “Heroes Rising” is, like the ongoing anime that it supplements, full of expository dialogue and flashbacks that help new viewers understand what they’re looking at, and why it matters.
Still, it’s hard to imagine anybody but fans caring about the movie’s big climax,...
Which isn’t to say that uninitiated moviegoers will have trouble understanding the plot of “Heroes Rising,” which follows Izuku and U.A. High School’s Class 1-a as they try to stop multi/over-powered villain Nine (Johnny Yong Bosch) from killing the residents of Nabu Island. “Heroes Rising” is, like the ongoing anime that it supplements, full of expository dialogue and flashbacks that help new viewers understand what they’re looking at, and why it matters.
Still, it’s hard to imagine anybody but fans caring about the movie’s big climax,...
- 2/26/2020
- by Simon Abrams
- The Wrap
“Emma.” (Focus) — yes, there is a period in the official title — had a stellar start, more so for an early-year release as specialized theaters wean themselves off awards. “Seberg” (Amazon) also had a respectable reopening (after a one-week qualifier), while two “event”-type reality releases — “Impractical Jokers” (truTV) and “CatVideoFest 2020” (Oscilloscope) — also impressed in multi-city showings.
“Portrait of a Lady on Fire” (Neon) had an aggressive second-week expansion, with results showing that while (of course) it’s no “Parasite,” it is doing far better than nearly all other recent subtitled releases. The range of responses to multiple new films is encouraging.
Opening
Emma. (Focus) Metacritic: 69
$230,000 in 4 theaters; PTA: $46,000
This is the top specialized opener so far this year, ahead of “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” in its initial four New York/Los Angeles theaters. It’s also the second PTA to see more than $40,000, and that’s two more...
“Portrait of a Lady on Fire” (Neon) had an aggressive second-week expansion, with results showing that while (of course) it’s no “Parasite,” it is doing far better than nearly all other recent subtitled releases. The range of responses to multiple new films is encouraging.
Opening
Emma. (Focus) Metacritic: 69
$230,000 in 4 theaters; PTA: $46,000
This is the top specialized opener so far this year, ahead of “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” in its initial four New York/Los Angeles theaters. It’s also the second PTA to see more than $40,000, and that’s two more...
- 2/23/2020
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Indiewire
Focus Features proved this weekend that Jane Austen’s classic of romantic misadventures and the humor that goes with it remains timeless. Emma., Autumn de Wilde’s visionary and fresh adaptation of the Austen novel, opened in five theaters in New York and Los Angeles to strong numbers, grossing an estimated $230,000. This brought the per-theater average to $46,000, which is the highest of any specialty opening this year — not too shabby for the Anya Taylor-Joy-led period rom-com.
The five runs across the Landmark, Alamo Drafthouse and Angelika in New York and the Arclight Hollywood and Landmark in Los Angeles are all reporting impressive numbers as the film sits at an 88% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and audiences seem to love it as they have ranked it at 100%.
Emma.‘s box office performance echoes similar openings of period pieces for Focus Features including Victoria & Abdul (2017), which opened in four theaters...
The five runs across the Landmark, Alamo Drafthouse and Angelika in New York and the Arclight Hollywood and Landmark in Los Angeles are all reporting impressive numbers as the film sits at an 88% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and audiences seem to love it as they have ranked it at 100%.
Emma.‘s box office performance echoes similar openings of period pieces for Focus Features including Victoria & Abdul (2017), which opened in four theaters...
- 2/23/2020
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Water, as a conduit for romance and spirituality, has been en vogue as of late in Japanese feature animation. Entries in this wet subgenre, where young characters grapple with torrential rain and oceans to dazzling effect, as well as life lessons submerged in nature-based metaphors, include Makoto Shinkai’s box office hit “Weathering With You,” Ayumu Watanabe’s upcoming “Children of the Sea,” and Masaaki Yuasa’s mermaid tale “Lu Over the Wall.”
Returning to that liquid magic, Yuasa, who produces films through his own company Science Saru, makes a new splash with his third feature in three years “Ride Your Wave,” written by Reiko Yoshida, who also penned recent anime standouts “Okko’s Inn,” “A Silent Voice,” and “Liz and the Blue Bird.” Notwithstanding the saturation of H2O-fueled teen movies, the director-screenwriter pair filter a love story through an oddball premise addressing heroism and perseverance with robust notes of graphic originality.
Returning to that liquid magic, Yuasa, who produces films through his own company Science Saru, makes a new splash with his third feature in three years “Ride Your Wave,” written by Reiko Yoshida, who also penned recent anime standouts “Okko’s Inn,” “A Silent Voice,” and “Liz and the Blue Bird.” Notwithstanding the saturation of H2O-fueled teen movies, the director-screenwriter pair filter a love story through an oddball premise addressing heroism and perseverance with robust notes of graphic originality.
- 2/21/2020
- by Carlos Aguilar
- The Wrap
During the current millennium, Masaaki Yuasa has risen as one of the most original and qualitative voices of anime, through his unique style, both in terms of story and animation. Particularly the last few years, with films like “Night is Short, Walk on Girl” and “Lu Over the Wall”, his fame has skyrocketed even on international level. “Ride Your Wave” follows in all of the aforementioned footsteps, in a film that won prizes for Best Animation from Shanghai, Fantasia and Sitges.
Ride Your Wave is screening as part of The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme
19-year-old Hinako moves to the seaside town she used to live with her parents when she was little, in order to study oceanography, and surf. When her new apartment catches fire, courtesy of a gang who use fireworks illegally, she is rescued by Minato Hinageshi, a 21-year-old firefighter with a strong sense of justice, who...
Ride Your Wave is screening as part of The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme
19-year-old Hinako moves to the seaside town she used to live with her parents when she was little, in order to study oceanography, and surf. When her new apartment catches fire, courtesy of a gang who use fireworks illegally, she is rescued by Minato Hinageshi, a 21-year-old firefighter with a strong sense of justice, who...
- 2/1/2020
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
"If you stay with your head underwater, you'll never learn to ride the waves." GKids has released the first official Us trailer for the latest anime from beloved Japanese filmmaker Masaaki Yuasa, of the films The Night Is Short Walk on Girl and Lu Over the Wall previously. This already premiered in Japan last summer, and is playing for only one night in the Us in theaters before arriving on VOD. This cute romance is about a surfer and firefighter that meet and fall in love. The Japanese title translates to When Riding a Wave, With You, and the film is described as "a deeply emotional new film that applies his trademark visual ingenuity to a tale of romance, grief and self-discovery." It looks spunky and adorable. Featuring the voices of Ryôta Katayose, Rina Kawaei, Honoka Matsumoto, & Kentarô Itô. Reviews say it's "a charming & heartfelt story about loss and clinging to life.
- 1/21/2020
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
The UK’s largest festival of Japanese cinema is back for its 17th edition under the concept of ‘happiness’.
Happiness, though universal in its importance, is felt so subjectively by humankind that the definition of the concept is still very elusive. And yet, the search for happiness has long provided Japanese cinema with a staple theme, and it is within its framework that the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2020 has been curated.
Embracing the rich and complex spectrum of emotions that go hand in hand with this concept, the programme seeks to present the highs and lows experienced in pursuit of happiness in Japan, showcasing diverse cinematic voices as they shine a light on stories of love, social inclusion, the resilience of humankind through times of hardship, and non-conventional paths to achieving and maintaining joy. Since 2004, the Japan Foundation has showcased, in close partnership with distinguished film venues across the nation,...
Happiness, though universal in its importance, is felt so subjectively by humankind that the definition of the concept is still very elusive. And yet, the search for happiness has long provided Japanese cinema with a staple theme, and it is within its framework that the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2020 has been curated.
Embracing the rich and complex spectrum of emotions that go hand in hand with this concept, the programme seeks to present the highs and lows experienced in pursuit of happiness in Japan, showcasing diverse cinematic voices as they shine a light on stories of love, social inclusion, the resilience of humankind through times of hardship, and non-conventional paths to achieving and maintaining joy. Since 2004, the Japan Foundation has showcased, in close partnership with distinguished film venues across the nation,...
- 12/20/2019
- by Grace Han
- AsianMoviePulse
The 9th edition of Paris International Fantastic Film Festival (Pifff) has unveiled the full Programme. Pifff will opens doors on the 11th of December and will run until the 17th, presenting more than 30 movies – including some interesting Asian titles – and lots of guests.
In the Pifff Team’s words: “This year, the festival is longer, better, stronger; diversified like never before. Bypassing preconceived concepts of classification, and engaging in the exploration of little known movies. Looking forward to our 10th birthday, we invite you to a taste of our 9th birthday cake. It will be generous and tasty. Promise.”
All The Asian Movies And Guests In Pifff
Official Competition
“Super Me” by Zhang Chong
“Vise” by Yasuhiko Shimizu
“Vise” by Yasuhiko Shimizu
Out of Competition
“Bullets of Justice” by Valeri Milev
“Gundala” by Joko Anwar (Indonesia – 2019)
“Jallikattu” by Lijo Jose Pellissery
“Ride Your Wave” by Masaaki Yuasa
“The Pool” by...
In the Pifff Team’s words: “This year, the festival is longer, better, stronger; diversified like never before. Bypassing preconceived concepts of classification, and engaging in the exploration of little known movies. Looking forward to our 10th birthday, we invite you to a taste of our 9th birthday cake. It will be generous and tasty. Promise.”
All The Asian Movies And Guests In Pifff
Official Competition
“Super Me” by Zhang Chong
“Vise” by Yasuhiko Shimizu
“Vise” by Yasuhiko Shimizu
Out of Competition
“Bullets of Justice” by Valeri Milev
“Gundala” by Joko Anwar (Indonesia – 2019)
“Jallikattu” by Lijo Jose Pellissery
“Ride Your Wave” by Masaaki Yuasa
“The Pool” by...
- 11/25/2019
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Kinepolis has acquried Belgian rights to the trio from the new imprint.
Netherlands’ based distributor Periscoop Films, a joint venture between Amsterdam-based production companies Submarine and San Fu Malta’s Fu Works, has launched anime imprint Periscoop Anime with the acquisition of three Japanese titles at the Afm.
Makoto Shinkai’s Weathering With You, produced by CoMix Wave, follows a runaway teenager in a mystical journey alongside an orphan girl. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival as a Special Presentation in September and is China’s entry to the best international feature film Oscar.
The other two...
Netherlands’ based distributor Periscoop Films, a joint venture between Amsterdam-based production companies Submarine and San Fu Malta’s Fu Works, has launched anime imprint Periscoop Anime with the acquisition of three Japanese titles at the Afm.
Makoto Shinkai’s Weathering With You, produced by CoMix Wave, follows a runaway teenager in a mystical journey alongside an orphan girl. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival as a Special Presentation in September and is China’s entry to the best international feature film Oscar.
The other two...
- 11/12/2019
- ScreenDaily
What’s the easiest way to tell the next generation of anime directors’ work apart from the creative shadow of those who came before — and especially from the look and feel of Studio Ghibli? Easy, just listen to the soundtracks they choose to define their movies’ personalities. Makoto Shinkai connects with a younger demo by setting his films to the boy-band stylings of a J-Pop group called the Radwimps, while Masaaki Yuasa embraces an even more mainstream sound with “Ride Your Wave” by leaning on Generations from Exile Tribe, turning their hit single “Brand New Story” into more than just a theme.
Plenty of couples have a favorite tune, but Yuasa uses this silly love song so often in the film, it practically becomes a joke unto its own — the conduit by which a young woman struck by tragedy calls her boyfriend back from the beyond. The dead dude, Minato,...
Plenty of couples have a favorite tune, but Yuasa uses this silly love song so often in the film, it practically becomes a joke unto its own — the conduit by which a young woman struck by tragedy calls her boyfriend back from the beyond. The dead dude, Minato,...
- 11/5/2019
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix’s “I Lost My Body,” the existential adventure about a severed hand, won the Grand Prize award at the third annual Animation Is Film Festival, held last weekend at the Tcl Chinese 6 Theater in Hollywood. The Cannes Nespresso Grand Prize winner from French director Jérémy Clapin beat out GKids’ “Weathering With You,” the popular Japanese climate-change romance from “Your Name” director Makoto Shinkai, which shared the Audience award with “The Swallows of Kabul” (from French directors Zabou Breitman and Elea Gobbe-Mevellec) about love and horror during Taliban occupation.
In addition, Romanian director Anca Damian’s hear-tugger “Marona’s Fantastic Tale” (GKids) earned the special jury prize for visual impact, exploring the memories of a mixed-breed Labrador with its various owners in a daring assortment of animated techniques.
The Aif win for “I Lost My Body,” the adult-themed, boldly graphic mystery about overcoming pain and suffering, means that the streamer...
In addition, Romanian director Anca Damian’s hear-tugger “Marona’s Fantastic Tale” (GKids) earned the special jury prize for visual impact, exploring the memories of a mixed-breed Labrador with its various owners in a daring assortment of animated techniques.
The Aif win for “I Lost My Body,” the adult-themed, boldly graphic mystery about overcoming pain and suffering, means that the streamer...
- 10/22/2019
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
“I Lost My Body,” the curious story of a disembodied hand searching to reunite with its body, won the grand prize at the Animation is Film Festival, held Oct. 18-20 in Los Angeles. The audience prize was split between two films, Makoto Shinkai’s “Weathering With You” and “The Swallows of Kabul” by Zabou Breitman and Elea Gobbe-Mevellec.
Netflix acquired the worldwide rights to “I Lost My Body,” directed by Jérémy Clapin, after the film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May. The French film — which bested its live-action competition to win the top prize in Critics’ Week at Cannes — screened in its original language at Animation Is Film. Netflix has also prepared an English dub featuring the voices of Dev Patel, Alia Shawkat and George Wendt, which will be available to Netflix subscribers on Nov. 29, two weeks after the French version receives its Oscar-qualifying run on Nov. 15.
“The...
Netflix acquired the worldwide rights to “I Lost My Body,” directed by Jérémy Clapin, after the film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May. The French film — which bested its live-action competition to win the top prize in Critics’ Week at Cannes — screened in its original language at Animation Is Film. Netflix has also prepared an English dub featuring the voices of Dev Patel, Alia Shawkat and George Wendt, which will be available to Netflix subscribers on Nov. 29, two weeks after the French version receives its Oscar-qualifying run on Nov. 15.
“The...
- 10/22/2019
- by LaTesha Harris
- Variety Film + TV
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