Forum - View topicNEWS: Princess Mononoke Is No Longer a Buena Vista Title
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enurtsol
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True, but that's besides the point, which was CPM was able to get Grave not because it was up to Ghibli. Besides, Ghibli only made Grave anyways in order to help Totoro, Miyazaki's pet project. They don't really care to control it: http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/grave/faq.html#totoro Q: I heard that it was double-featured with "Totoro" in Japan. Is that true? Yes. At that time no one thought that people would want to see "a movie about two little kids and a Monster in rural Japan", and "Totoro" was considered a big investment risk. Still, Miyazaki and the editors of "Animage" wanted to make this movie, which was Miyazaki's pet project for a long time. So they thought up the idea of risk-sharing. "Grave" was a well-known book, and because of its "educational" value, a certain level of audience could be expected. (Indeed, "Grave" was chosen by many school boards as a movie to show their students - and "Totoro" along with it, since it was in the package.) Toshio Suzuki, then the chief editor of "Animage" (now a producer at Studio Ghibli) went to Shinchosha, the company which published the book. Since Shinchosha was looking for an opportunity to enter the movie business, they agreed to produce the movie "Grave". Both Tokuma and Shinchosha knew they were going to lose money, but they still went ahead with the project (they did lose money from the theatrical release). So, if it were not for "Grave", there would have been no "Totoro".
That's after years of working comfortably with Buena Vista Japan, subisdiary of Disney.
Your friend was correct: Miyazaki would not even had thought of working with Disney in the first place, if not for those Tokuma circumstances. (Oh the old interview links no longer exist, but here's a few I could find): http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/disney/ Did Miyazaki sell his soul to Disney? Miyazaki stated that he didn't like the movies by Toho or Toei either (they are the Japanese movie companies which have been distributing the Ghibli films). He distinguishes between film production and film distribution. He also stated that he had agreed to the deal mainly to help Tokuma, which had backed him when he was starting out. He said he has earned enough money to last him a lifetime. http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/disney/media-coverage2.html#9 Tokuma joined with Disney partly because it had an urgent need to secure funding to cover the inevitable costs of maintaining the high quality of Jhibli [sic] animations. http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/disney/media-coverage.html#12 Miyazaki himself has in the past been critical of the quality of Disney's recent films, but said Tuesday that he distinguishes between film production and film distribution, and is not disturbed by having the U.S. film giant market his work. He said he has earned enough money to last him a lifetime, but added: "I sincerely hope this alliance will be good for Mr. Tokuma." http://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/24/business/disney-in-pact-for-films-of-the-top-animator-in-japan.html Mr. Miyazaki has never made much effort to have his films distributed outside Japan, in part because foreign distributors wanted to cut them or otherwise alter them. Industry officials said he had been approached by Fox and Warner Brothers as well as by Disney. Today at the news conference he said he had agreed to the Disney contract mainly to help Tokuma, which had backed him when he was starting out and which now apparently needs the money, including what is expected to be a $10 million to $30 million payment at the outset. The 55-year-old animator then skipped the gala reception. |
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GATSU
Posts: 15310 |
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enurtsol:
I don't entirely buy that story. Ghibli was still a small company when CPM got the rights to Grave of the Fireflies, and they probably sold off the int'l. rights, because they needed the money.
No, that's after being shown a clip of Nausicaa remastered.
That's not the same as Tokuma needing money. It's probably more like Tokuma and Ghibli had a good relationship, but Tokuma wanted to branch out beyond the Japanese audience.
But it's contradicted by Miyazaki saying he was set for life, which means he could've just paid for the productions himself. So clearly, he was hoping to keep Tokuma in the fold, because of their success at promoting Ghibli. |
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E-Master
 Posts: 471 |
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Sorry, I got it confused with a different Ghibli Blu-ray. |
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enurtsol
Posts: 14766 |
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But Ghibli doesn't control Grave. They left that control to Shinchosha, who produced it. Ghibli only made it --even went to Shinchosha to pay for the production-- in order to support Totoro. They won't mind ceding that control to Shinchosha, as a reward for helping them. Other than that, Ghibli hadn't any problem with money at that time.
No, Tokuma really needed the money. It was one of the lost links about Tokuma Publishing's history. They were in some trouble and were even consolidating their businesses to save money - money they need to keep funding Ghibli's animation work. BTW there's a continuation to that sentence: 
http://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/24/business/disney-in-pact-for-films-of-the-top-animator-in-japan.html "Today at the news conference he said he had agreed to the Disney contract mainly to help Tokuma, which had backed him when he was starting out and which now apparently needs the money, including what is expected to be a $10 million to $30 million payment at the outset."
Miyazaki himself was set for life, in the context that his retirement didn't need the extra money that would come from licensing his films to the West. But Tokuma, on the other hand, needed that extra money. (At least at that time 1996, he's rich enough but not that rich) Miyazaki can't pay for the productions himself (especially if Tokuma could no longer afford to back him in the "future" - at that time, Tokuma could still do it but not soon due to depleting reserves) and certainly not enough to cover his friend Tokuma's business' financial troubles. So he allowed Tokuma to license Ghibli's films to Disney, to cover Tokuma's "urgent need" for funding. Miyazaki was helping Tokuma to have a good future; simple as that. "Mr. Miyazaki has never made much effort to have his films distributed outside Japan, in part because foreign distributors wanted to cut them or otherwise alter them." The whole Warriors of the Wind experience soured him on the West. If Tokuma didn't need the large money, Miyazaki wouldn't have cared if his films never again got licensed to the West - he only cared about Japan. |
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GATSU
Posts: 15310 |
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enurtsol:
Yes, but it's their IP.
Actually, Helen McCarthy noted that they didn't start making money until they sold Kiki merchandise.
Fair enough, but he could just pay them out of his own pocket, if he was well off enough.
Yeah, but they could have licensed the rights to a local distributor.
He's said as such about Japan, but when even Kokuriko-zaka disappointed, he might be thinking differently now. Besides, he wouldn't be going to the trouble of selling official HK/Taiwan DVDs if the piracy over here hadn't significantly cut into his profits. So I think Miyazaki wants to be "niche", but at the same time, isn't going to shrug off opportunities to expand his brand. He might have used the Tokuma deal as a pretext, but he probably liked the idea of being a power player at the Mouse House, since that wouldn't have even be a possibility ten years prior. |
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TurnerJ
Posts: 481 Location: Highland Park, NJ |
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Plus, why would anyone want to bother redubbing this film? It's already got a superb dub courtesy of Neil Gaiman and Jack Fletcher, and it's so hard for me to listen to this movie in anything but English. The dub is just that good. I'd hate to see it get jettisoned for any reason. Anyway, I do hope Lasseter takes note of the situation and gets MONONOKE brought back; I'd like to see this title get a BluRay release, and I don't really think Disney would just let a Ghibli title they licensed go to waste... unless they are still burned over how it didn't find the audience it deserved theatrically, despite the DVD sales. |
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GATSU
Posts: 15310 |
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TurnerJ: Actually, I'd be ok with axing Danes and having literal translations instead of "donkey piss".
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TurnerJ
Posts: 481 Location: Highland Park, NJ |
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Those are such insignificant issues to me. Neil Gaiman's translation may take liberties, but I felt he did a great job of capturing the essence of the story overall. As far as the donkey piss line is concerned, yes, it is an odd line, but on the other hand, using the insult in the literal translation "hot water" would never work in favor of traditional audiences unfamiliar with Japanese culture. I'm also of the belief that literal translations are not the kind that would work in favor of dubs, especially if they come across as very stiff and awkward to read. Hey, it's even been said that Miyazaki prefers Gaiman's description of "The Forest Spirit" to his "Deer God". I understand that purists may favor literal translations, but I would rather the scripts flow smoothly, not slavishly to the point of being unnatural. As far as Danes is concerned, she was nowhere near bad to my ears. There were a couple of missed lines, but otherwise I had no problem with her. Then again, I've never had any problems with any of the Disney Ghibli dubs. |
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GATSU
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Turner:
Yes, but it distracts from the overall tone of the movie. |
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18195 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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In what way? That monk always seemed like an earthy type to me. (And yes, this one I actually saw subbed first.) |
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GATSU
Posts: 15310 |
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Key: PM's not a comedy, and the guy's using a subtle insult. When he says it more obviously in the dub, it's like the movie starts being about him, and not about the setting itself.
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TurnerJ
Posts: 481 Location: Highland Park, NJ |
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Meh.... whatever, I didn't have a problem with it either way. That would have been a trick decision no matter what in terms of translation. But that hardly detracts from the film.
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Sanosuke_Inara
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