Forum - View topicAnswerman - Why Can't Anime Get A Wide Theatrical Release?
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CrownKlown
 Posts: 1762 |
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This kind of ties to kid thing, but Westerners can't differentiate a genre from a medium.
In the west, even in Europe, animated features are a kid thing, sure there is the occasional Waltz with Bashir and Illusionist, but as stated in the article most view animated works as the genre kids film. Animation in reality is a medium not a genre, its more appropriate to say film, tv, animation then it is say animation, horror, comedy etc. Animation itself has everyone of these subgenres whether its drama, comedy, horror, action, and even sub genres, thriller, supernatural, period pieces. In reality there is probably an anime or animated film for everyone, but they just can't get around that stigma made in the first point. I mean you don't have to go any further than everyone, even in the West, beloved Miyazaki and I can remeber a showing of Princess Monoke where a bunch of parents took their kids to it, and in the first few seconds dude gets his head shot of with an arrow. And you can imagine the reaction. |
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yuna49
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One other obstacle for anime films is the widespread use of 3-D in nearly all American films that might have once been made in 2-D. Frozen is a good example. It's certainly possible to imagine that film looking like Sleeping Beauty but, since Pixar, animation in America means a film with 3-D modelling. Just look at the lineup of Oscar-nominated animated features over the past decade: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Award_for_Best_Animated_Feature#2000s The last 2-D animated film to win the award was Spirited Away, and that was over a decade ago.
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#861208
Posts: 423 |
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That's not your theory, that's a fact. Two things though: 1 - at least in Tokyo, the new Black Butler movie that opens today is getting major-release-level marketing, at least in some areas. I don't know exactly how defining "niche" works here. I know Shibuya and Shinjuku tend to be frequented by young, alt-fashion-focused crowds, but at the same time, tons of people go through those stations. Those are pretty major stations, and there are pretty huge ads for the new Black Butler movie there. So... make of that what you will. 2 - in America, anime is sort of catching on with not-necessarily-anime-fans. Crunchyroll has an ad playing on a totally non-nerd TV station that has attractive people in a trendy club watching Crunchyroll, and it says "Anime - your next obsession". I think a lot of people will want to see "your name." if they hear buzz about it online as "check out this gigantic hit that everyone in Asia is going crazy for!" It didn't just top the box office in Japan, it topped in a bunch of other countries too. |
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7jaws7
 Posts: 704 Location: New York State |
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I'd take it a step further and say more like less than 5%. It's a silly question, really. Even in Japan, the appeal of animated movies is dominated by western CG. So it's only natural that America only has select theaters showing an anime, regardless of how many records it breaks. IMHO, that just gives anime movies more meaning. There's less of it to go around, which means it doesn't saturate the industry with low-quality titles. Also, taking a two and a half hour trip to see Madoka Magica: Rebellion was an experience I'll never forget, that's for sure 
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Stuart Smith
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That's probably a good thing considering back then it was considered acceptable to put Smash Mouth and Britney Spears songs in the dub for those movies. The worst we have to put up with now are original rap songs like in Digimon Adventure Tri and Yokai Watch movies.
Anime doesn't really need mainstream Americans getting into it, so that's not exactly a bad thing. Medium context it's also important. Critics were calling Sausage Party groundbreaking and amazing simply because it was an animated movie not aimed at children, despite the fact it was one big penis joke and made Family Guy look tame by comparison. Obviously to an anime fan an animated show or movie not being aimed at children is nothing new, so why anime fans care so much about what the public or movie critics think and chasing after their approval always baffles me. Chances are you're going to be in a better position to enjoy or judge anime than they are. -Stuart Smith |
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Moroboshi-san
 Posts: 174 |
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Shinkai begs to differ. |
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#Immie93
Posts: 54 |
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It's not only the fact it's anime that stops it going widespread. It's the fact that most animated movies these days are done in CGI so most westerners expect to see animation advance further in that direction.
It's like 2D is old and outdated and animation's "basic" form before Pixar found 3D, and with most western tv series switching to 3D kids aren't interested in the "old" stuff because they're not used to it. I think branding has a lot to do with it too. Say Pixar or Disney to someone not versed in anime and they're likely to go watch it. Say Ghibli or KyoAni etc and they'll think "never heard of them" and not bother. I hate it. I miss all the 2D and stop motion I used to watch, now they were art. 3D feels more technical than artistic, not all 3D is like that but because I'm an artist I find I'm drawn to shapes we make on paper by hand. Animation is an art form. Turn all your painted backgrounds and designed characters into computer code and I feel the art is lost. 
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mangamuscle
Posts: 2658 Location: Mexico |
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I apply to thy the first law of clark *imagine a wrestling choke-hold if you must*. I do not mean to say I am a scientist, I mean to say that with that line of thinking crunchyroll (and many many other risky ventures) would haver never been borne. Naysayers go for a dime a dozen. Last edited by mangamuscle on Fri Jan 20, 2017 9:51 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Paiprince
 Posts: 593 |
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This theory can be summed up as the after effects of ethnocentrism and cultural superiority. This also falls in line to my theory that the less Asians there are, the more they are repulsed by anime. Most of the ones who look down on anime come from regions where animation is still stuck in the ghetto like Eastern Europe or just plain conservative holes like the American Midwest. In other words, the more ingrained white culture populace and anime are like oil and water. |
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Lemonchest
Posts: 1771 |
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Dunno about in the US, but in the UK there's Our Screen which seems to model itself as a kind of Kickstarter for film screenings - you pick the film & if it reaches a minimum number of reserved tickets then the screening happens. Could see such platforms becoming more important for niche/independent films that are hoping to avoid going "straight to Netflix" in the future.
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CelestialEmpress
 Posts: 113 |
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I feel like the fact that most anime movies that get released here are spinoffs of shows that you already need to be semi-familiar with to enjoy, also plays a part in it. Like, do you think there were a lot of people shelling out $12 for a ticket to those Sex and the City movies that weren't already fans of the series to begin with? If I'm your average movie goer and I don't already watch DBZ, I'm not gonna put down money to go see DBZ The Movie: Quest for Balls.
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DerekL1963
 Subscriber Posts: 1114 Location: Puget Sound |
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I don't think you grasp what his laws are applicable to. (That is to say, this is a hilarious misapplication. And the mention of physical force is both odd and very objectionable.) In the same way, you fail to grasp the difference between a naysayer and someone pointing out that there are very real problems with the assumptions behind a proposal. Do you actually have anything to counter those very real problems other than trite aphorisms? |
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Suena
Posts: 289 |
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Maybe amongst the general population, but I think most 25-and-under internet-savvy youngsters have at least a passing familiarity with it. Even if they haven't seen an anime, they can usually identify that an anime girl/boy is such when they see one. Ironically, I got into anime because I never cared for American animation aesthetics. I'm sure there are other people whose tastes are opposite, and who can only tolerate mainstream American styles. |
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Apashi
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While I agree with the article in general, I'm not sure it's as hopeless as it sounds. Ponyo, the Wind Rises, and of course Spirited Away were HUGE hits in theaters, correct? I'm not counting more otaku-driven movies or movies tied to franchises that aren't that popular outside of Japan like One Piece. I believe that movies like Your Name and some of Hosoda's stuff could draw a big audience. I know money is the issue and it would be a gamble, but given the success of Ghibli here I think it could be done with similar stand-alone movies.
I base this off my own observation of the changing perception toward anime in the US. Maybe only 10% of the population knows what anime is, but doesn't that number go up when it's only people under 30? They should at least know Pokemon. And these are family movies so I think it's totally valid to consider kids as a huge audience-drawer. I haven't actually seen Your Name but it sounds kid-friendly. And also I've noticed a big increase in anime fans in other Asian countries. If I'm not mistaken, they get wide releases in theaters. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it isn't that likely that no one will show up to a movie just because it's anime. |
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DerekL1963
Subscriber Posts: 1114 Location: Puget Sound |
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The question isn't "will nobody show up", it's "will enough people show up to pay the bills"?
The box office for Spirited Away was $10 million, for The Wind Rises $5 million... and neither broke into even the top twenty during their theatrical run. Ponyo made $15million, and at #9 just barely poked into the top ten. So no, not huge hits. If Ghibli couldn't make it happen, then anyone else is going to have an even steeper hill to climb. Doubly so since 'anyone else' that isn't a huge franchise (Pokemon, DBZ) aren't going to have Disney's marketing muscle behind them. For comparison... here are the movies Justin listed: Pokemon - The First Movie $85 million #1 Pokemon - The Movie (2000) $43 million #3 Yu-Gi-Oh The Movie $19 million #4 The Secret World of Arrietty $19 million #9 Pokemon 3 $17 million #4 The lowest grossing Pokemon movie did better than any of the Ghibli movies you listed! And the one Ghibli on the list is (as Justin points out) is the most 'Western' of the Ghibli movies. The 'classic' and 'canonical' Ghibli all fall behind. The full list is quite educational. {Edit}: Watch the excessive and unneeded snark. ~ Psycho 101} |
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