Studio Ghibli, the legendary Japanese animation studio founded by Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, brought three of their films to Blu-ray for the first time on May 22. Whisper of the Heart, Castle in the Sky, and The Secret World of Arrietty all arrived in high definition as combo packs, and I was able to check out the trio of modern classics.
Castle in the Sky
The earliest of the three movies is Castle in the Sky, originally released in 1986. As the first film produced by the newly founded Studio Ghibli, this would be the one to set the bar for everything that was to come. As with the later Ghibli movies, Castle in the Sky establishes a fantastical world that is at once both familiar and amazing. This world, full of high flying adventure and airships, descends from a time when humans lived in wondrous flying cities. Legend tells that all but one of the cities has fallen, and that final city, Laputa, still floats somewhere in the clouds. Pazu, the young apprentice to an engineer, has a special interest in Laputa after his father fell into disgrace and ridicule when he supposedly found and photographed the flying island. Pazu hopes to find Laputa but has no way of reaching it until Sheeta, a strange orphan girl, literally falls into his life. Armed with a family heirloom that allows her to fly, Sheeta joins with Pazu to go on the run from secret agent Muska while hunting for the mysterious city in the sky.
These newly released Blu-ray combo packs feature the English voice casts for the films, all of which boast well known actors. Castle in the Sky dubs in Anna Paquin as Sheeta, James Van Der Beek as Pazu, and Mark Hamill as Muska. A number of special features are packed in alongside the main feature:
- Original Japanese storyboards
- Behind the Studio: A series of featurettes including “The World of Laputa,” “Creating Castle in the Sky,” “Character Sketches,” “Producer’s Perspective: Meeting Miyazaki,” “Scoring Miyazaki,” “Original Japanese Trailers,” and “Behind the Microphone”
Whisper of the Heart
Whisper of the Heart is the second film in the May lineup from Disney’s Studio Ghibli Blu-rays. Originally produced in 1995, this one eschews Miyazaki’s usually fantastical worlds for a setting that is more grounded in reality than we’d expect from Studio Ghibli. The plot once again revolves around a young girl and boy pushed together by fate and circumstance, but this time the quest is for fulfillment in life more than for a mystical location or magical artifact. Schoolgirl Shizuku longs to be a writer and finds her life shaken up after meeting Seiji, an apprentice violin maker. Though the setting is a modern day Tokyo in the real world, Whisper of the Heart still manages to fit in just enough of the fantasy and wonder that are hallmarks of Studio Ghibli’s productions.
In the English voice cast, Brittany Snow voices Shizuku, while David Gallagher plays Seiji. Courtney Thorne-Smith and Cary Elwes round out the cast. Along with the main feature, the Whisper of the Heart combo pack includes several additional features:
- 4 Masterpieces of Naohisa Inoue – A time lapse sequence showing the production of four pieces of art from the film
- Original Japanese storyboards
- Behind the Microphone
- Original Japanese Trailers and TV Commercials
The Secret World of Arrietty
The third and final of the Studio Ghibli films to hit Blu-ray in May also is the most recent. The Secret World of Arrietty released in 2010 and is an adaptation of the 1952 children’s book The Borrowers by Mary Norton. Arrietty is one of a group of tiny “borrowers” who live under the floors of the homes of regular sized “beans,” or humans. The teenage daughter in a family of borrowers, Arrietty has started going with her dad on his borrowing expeditions, during which they secretly scavenge small items from the beans and carry them back to their homes. This particular group of borrowers lives under the home of Sadako, the great aunt to Sho, a sickly young man who moves in before he’s to have surgery. Sho’s suspicions about his small housemates lead to a story filled with heart and wonder of the sort only Studio Ghibli can present.
The English voice cast includes talents like Amy Poehler, Will Arnett, and Carol Burnett, with Bridgit Mendler voicing the eponymous Arrietty. As with the other Ghibli releases, The Secret World of Arrietty packs several bonus features in with the main movie:
- Original Japanese storyboards
- “Summertime” Music Video performed by Bridgit Mendler
- The Making of the “Summertime” Music Video
- “Arrietty’s Song” Music Video
- Original Japanese Trailers and TV Commercials
These three Studio Ghibli films are a fantastic addition to Disney’s growing high definition library. All three come in combo packs that include both the DVD and Blu-ray versions of the films, and all three are memorable and heartfelt outings from a studio whose name is synonymous with quality animation and storytelling. Castle in the Sky, Whisper of the Heart, and The Secret World of Arrietty all released on May 22, 2012, and are in stores now.
