News
Saudi Arabia's Manga Productions, Toei Preview The Journey Film's Japanese Cast in Trailer
posted on by Alex Mateo
Saudi Arabian media company Manga Productions began streaming on Thursday a trailer for it and Toei Animation's animated collaboration film The Journey. The video previews the film's Japanese cast.
The cast includes:
- Tōru Furuya as Aus
- Kotono Mitsuishi as Hind
- Hiroshi Kamiya as Zurara
- Yūichi Nakamura as nizar
- Kazuya Nakai as Musab
- Takaya Kuroda as Abraha
The company plans to open the film in theaters this summer. The film was originally scheduled to open in 2020.
Manga Productions had scheduled to premiere the film at the Cannes Film Festival last May until the physical event was canceled.
Manga Productions has signed theatrical distribution deals for the movie with VOX Cinemas in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and with Toei's distribution company T-Joy in Japan.
Kobun Shizuno (Detective Conan films) is directing the film, and Atsuhiro Tomioka (Pokémon films) is writing the script. Tatsurō Iwamoto (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney game series) is the film's lead character designer, and Kaoru Wada (Ninja Scroll, Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas, Inuyasha, Ace Attorney) is composing the music. The companies are producing the film in both Japan and Saudi Arabia (Manga Productions has branches in Riyadh and Tokyo). Manga Productions is fully financing the film, and has the worldwide distribution rights.
Manga Productions previously streamed a teaser trailer in November 2017 for "The Woodcutter's Treasure," its first collaboration with Toei Animation. The project is a 25-minute animation based on Saudi Arabian folklore and aimed at children and families, and it served as a pilot for a television series. The company stated in November 2017 that it has two upcoming projects with Toei Animation: a 13-episode television series and a 90-minute film.
Manga Productions is a subsidiary of the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Foundation, also known as MiSK, and named for Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman of Saudi Arabia. The company aims to create animation, comic, and video game projects to "promote Saudi ideas and messages internationally." MiSK signed a memorandum with Japan's Digital Hollywood University in October 2017 to train Saudi designers and programmers in creating animation and games.
Sources: Manga Production's YouTube channel, Anime! Anime!
