Gkids Ghibli Blu Ray Forum

A large number of Disney's Blu-ray presentations of the Studio Ghibli catalog arrived with one or two issues that kept them from being perfect, some more significant than others; the subtitle translation for Princess Mononoke, lossy non-HD audio for Ponyo, etc. With thoroughness and lots of love behind them, GKIDS have taken on the. Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation film studio founded in June 1985 by the directors.Hayao Miyazaki. and.Isao Takahata. and the producer.Toshio Suzuki. The company's logo features the character.Totoro. (a large forest spirit) from Hayao Miyazaki's film.'My Neighbor Totoro'.

Studio Ghibli is one of the most acclaimed and influential animation studios in the world, inspiring filmmakers and audiences alike over the last 30 years with beloved stories and breathtaking visuals. Under the brilliance of visionary animation directors Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, and producer Toshio Suzuki, the studio’s films are known for timeless classics such as My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and Ponyo; and have won countless international awards including an Academy Award^® for Best Animated Feature for Spirited Away, as well as four additional Oscar® nominations for Howl’s Moving Castle, The Wind Rises, The Tale of The Princess Kaguya, and When Marnie Was There. Director and studio co-founder Hayao Miyazaki was separately given an Honorary Award at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Governors Awards in 2014, and the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will pay tribute to his artwork with a special exhibit when the Museum opens later this year.

The following films from Studio Ghibli’s acclaimed catalog are streaming for the first time in the U.S. Palomino truck camper manual. on HBO Max:

Castle in the Sky
The Cat Returns
From Up On Poppy Hill
Howl’s Moving Castle
Kiki’s Delivery Service
My Neighbor Totoro
My Neighbors the Yamadas
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
Ocean Waves
Only Yesterday
Pom Poko
Ponyo
Porco Rosso
Princess Mononoke
The Secret World of Arrietty
Spirited Away
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya
Tales From Earthsea
When Marnie Was There
Whisper of the Heart
The Wind Rises

• Film/Program Grade: A+
• Video Grade: A+
• Audio Grade: A+
• Extras Grade: B+

Review

While saving his village from an attack by the mad boar god Nago, the young prince Ashitaka is infected with its curse and must travel west in search of a cure. There he finds a forest filled with animal gods at war with the people of Irontown, led by Lady Eboshi, who wish to clear the trees for mining. Ashitaka attempts to make peace between them and encounters a girl named San, who was raised by wolves and so is fighting on the animal gods’ side. Together, Ashitaka and San try to save the forest even as Eboshi plots to kill the Great Forest Spirit that protects it.

Many fans and film critics consider Princess Mononoke to be Hayao Miyazaki’s finest work, and they certainly have a powerful argument. The director’s goal here was to make a non-traditional period drama, one without the usual lords and samurai that were typically the subject matter of such films in Japan. But he was also trying to show that, even in our complicated modern times, the priorities of society – and especially of individuals – should still be clear: We must live in harmony with each other and with the natural world, taking pleasure in the simple joys those things offer us if we look for them. And if we must fight, let it be to preserve those things for all time. As such, this film represents Miyazaki’s stubborn idealism in its purest form. Enhanced by a stunning and deeply moving orchestral score by composer Joe Hisaishi, Princess Mononoke is a genuine hand-drawn animated masterpiece.

GKids’ new Blu-ray presents the film in its original 1.85:1 theatrical aspect ratio in 1080p HD. The source for this presentation is the original Ghibli animation master and the compression is stable at an average of 33 Mbps (very similar to the Disney BD). Comparing this GKids presentation to the Disney disc, you’d be hard-pressed to tell any difference between at all. This image is clean, stable, and absolutely gorgeous, with bold colors. Note that when you choose either English or Japanese audio, the opening titles and credits appear in that language too, via seamless branching.

In terms of sound, the previous Disney Blu-ray smartly included both dubbed English and the original Japanese in lossless 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, along with French 5.1 Dolby Digital. Thankfully, the GKids disc includes these options as well. Both lossless audio tracks are lovely, with smooth panning, a great sense of atmospherics, and excellent clarity. The problem with the Disney Blu-ray, however, was that it included subtitle tracks in English SDH, English, and French… and both of the English tracks were “dubtitles” based on the English dubbing script. Neither was a proper English translation of the original Japanese language dialogue, so all of the original cultural context was lost. Thankfully, GKids has once again corrected Disney’s mistake. The English SDH for the hearing impaired (“dubtitles”) are still available here, as are the French subs. But you also get English subtitles for the Original Language Version (aka proper Japanese-to-English translation of the original script). Thank you, GKids! (For the record, it’s the Aura translation from the original Ghibli Japanese Blu-ray, with dialogue adaptation by Jim Hubbert.)

As with other GKids Ghibli discs, the menus are incredibly simple – there are no promos, no extended BD Java load times, none of the junk Disney clogged their discs up with. You get just a static film-themed menu that allows you to get right to the content quickly and easily. The GKids’ Blu-ray includes over two hours worth of extras, some in HD and some in SD. Most of it is in the original Japanese with English subtitles (though there is also some English material carried over from the Disney Blu-ray). The best news here is that content from the original Studio Ghibli Japanese Blu-ray is included too (indicated by * below), some of which may be new to you. The full list is as follows:

Blu-ray Forum Deals

• Feature-Length Storyboards (133:28)*
• Princess Mononoke in USA (19:55)*
• Behind the Microphone (5:13 – from the Disney BD and original Miramax DVD)
• Original Theatrical Trailers (8 Japanese and English trailers – 16:36 in all)*
• TV Spots (13 Japanese and International TV spots – 13:32 in all)*

There’s nothing missing from the Disney Blu-ray; it’s all here. The only thing missing from the Japanese Blu-ray were teasers for other Ghibli titles and an image gallery that allows you to read the original Japanese script for the film – of course, that was all in Japanese, so there’s not much point in including it here. This is not a huge batch of extras compared to some other Ghibli BD titles, but it’s all there is for this film, so there’s little reason to complain. The package also includes a DVD disc that offers the film in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen SD, with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio (but not lossless) in dubbed English, the original Japanese, and French, with optional English SDH dubtitles, English translation for the original Japanese version, and French. It features some, but not all, of the same extras as the Blu-ray. There’s no Digital Copy code, but the package does include a nice booklet featuring statements on the film by producer Toshio Suzuki and director Hayao Miyazaki.

If you’re a fan of Princess Mononoke and Studio Ghibli, the important thing to know here is that this is certainly the definitive English-language edition of this film on Blu-ray. It combines all of the key extras from both the Ghibli and Disney Blu-rays, while offering superior A/V quality, and correcting the Disney Blu-ray’s subtitle mistake. Unless you’ve already imported the Japanese Blu-ray, the GKids disc is a must-have release. As of the time of this review, it’s just $17 on Amazon. So it’s highly recommended.

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- Bill Hunt

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