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Eleven Arts, Shout! Factory to Release The Wonderland Anime Film on Home Video in October
posted on by Jennifer Sherman
Eleven Arts and Shout! Factory announced on Monday that they will release Keiichi Hara's The Wonderland (Birthday Wonderland) anime film on Blu-ray Disc, DVD, and for digital purchase on October 6 in North America.
Eleven Arts screened the film in theaters in the United States and Canada on January 31. The company describes the film:
On the day before her birthday, young Akane meets the mysterious alchemist Hippocrates who brings her through a basement and into a fantastical world full of magic and color. He reveals that this world is in danger, and as the "Green Goddess" it is her destiny and responsibility to save this world. The only problem? Akane just wants to go home.
The film opened in Japan in April 2019 and screened in competition at last year's Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June. Fantasia Festival in Montreal, Canada also screened the film last July. Crunchyroll Expo hosted the U.S. premiere of the film on August 30. The Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival in Spain screened the film in October.
Russian artist Ilya Kuvshinov designed the characters and visuals, Miho Maruo wrote the script, and milet performed the image song "Wonderland." The film is an adaptation of Sachiko Kashiwaba's 1981 children's book Chikashitru Kara no Fushigi na Tabi (Strange Journey From The Basement).
Hara's most recent work, Miss Hokusai, debuted in May 2015. The film won the Jury Prize at Annecy in June 2015. Hara also won the Asiagraph 2015 Tsumugi Prize in recognition of individuals who have made valuable contributions to digital art.
Source: Press release