Studio Ghibli Films

[drfsupercenter]

Not sure if these are really "Disney DVDs" or inot, since they were only dubbed/distributed by them, but I thought I'd ask anyway.

I want to buy all of the Studio Ghibli films on DVD and I notice that most of them have different versions.

I picked up My Neighbor Totoro from Target today as it was on sale - it's the 2010 version, and when I looked at the list of features, it appears the 2006 one is much better.

Now, I know some of them are different entirely - such as Castle In the Sky, the 2010 DVD has a different score than the earlier one.

Would someone be able to list the "best" version of each film to get (I mean, which DVD release) for me, as well as if there are any differences in the movie itself (a different dub, etc)

I also picked up the non-Disney dub of Totoro on eBay (it's pan-and-scan, but at least it's the original audio) as I've heard the old dub is much better.

[disneyboy20022]

Spirited Away is great for the price. If you only were to get one, I'd say Spirited Away. Also Kiki's Delivery Service is also a good one and worth the buy though I'm not sure of which DVD had the better bonus features. It's been on my to get list for a while.

But there was only one release of Spirited Away and it's a 2-disc DVD and has plenty of juice bonus features. I think it also has the movie in Japanese subbed and obviously English dubbed.

[drfsupercenter]

Ah, you're right - according to DVDLoc8, there's only one region 1 release of Spirited Away (two region 2's though)

This brings me to the next challenge - getting them with slipcovers. I know all of these movies had them originally but thanks to the stupid time-limited crap I probably won't be able to find it easily.

There are two releases of Kiki's Delivery Service, one from 2003 and the 2010 one. Which is better?

And it's not really a matter of picking which movies I want, I want all the movies. I need help with picking which release of each movie, if you get what I'm asking.[/code]

[disneyboy20022]

Ah, you're right - according to DVDLoc8, there's only one region 1 release of Spirited Away (two region 2's though)

This brings me to the next challenge - getting them with slipcovers. I know all of these movies had them originally but thanks to the stupid time-limited crap I probably won't be able to find it easily.

There are no slipcovers for Spirited Away.

There are two releases of Kiki's Delivery Service, one from 2003 and the 2010 one. Which is better?

Well I found the review of the 2010 2-disc Kiki's Delivery Service and I'll post think link below but I think the 2010 version which is a 2-disc would be the way to go bonus feature wise. It carries over the special features from the 2003 version and adds a few new things. Although I could be wrong but based on what the review says and from what I could gather, the 2010 is the better buy and quality.

http://www.dvdizzy.com/kikisdeliveryservice.html

[drfsupercenter]

You sure about that? Howl's Moving Castle has a slipcover and 2005 isn't that much later in terms of DVD releases.

According to DVDLoc8, both Kiki's Delivery Services have two discs (albeit the older one is single layer for the second disc)

http://www.dvdloc8.com/viewdvd_4875.html
http://www.dvdloc8.com/viewdvd_45963.html

2010 looks like it has less features, just like with all the rest...

[disneyboy20022]

You sure about that? Howl's Moving Castle has a slipcover and 2005 isn't that much later in terms of DVD releases.

I'm 100% positive that Spirited Away didn't have a slipcover.

Also Spirited Away was released in 2003 and the slipcover craze wasn't that much in 2003 since that is when Brother Bear came out and It never got a slipcover either. Same with Monsters Inc.

[drfsupercenter]

Alright, I bought Spirited Away for $19.

If someone could help me out with all the rest of them, that would be great.

Ponyo and Arietty are only one release, what other Ghibli movies only have one edition?

[disneyboy20022]

Alright, I bought Spirited Away for $19.

If someone could help me out with all the rest of them, that would be great.

Ponyo and Arietty are only one release, what other Ghibli movies only have one edition?

Tales of Earthsea

Princess Mononoke

Now these are studio ghibli I think and were distributed by Disney however they are not directed by Hayao Miyazaki and are not as popular.

My Neighbors the Yamadas

Pom Poko

Porco Rosso

Whisper of the Heart

The Cat Returns

[sunhuntin]

Now these are studio ghibli I think and were distributed by Disney however they are not directed by Hayao Miyazaki and are not as popular.

My Neighbors the Yamadas

Pom Poko

Porco Rosso

Whisper of the Heart

The Cat Returns

i have all these except yamadas and, aside from pom poko which failed to grab me, they are among my favourite films. i especially love whisper of the heart, very romantic.

[drfsupercenter]

I saw Tales of Earthsea at Target, but the slipcover was all banged up so I didn't buy it. I'll try another store.

That one's also not Hayao Miyazaki - rather his brother or someone.

The rest:
Princess Mononoke - Amazon shows it as 2000, I'm correct in assuming there's no slipcover?

The rest of those all show as 2005, do they have slipcovers? The ones without them are easier as I don't have to search around for copies that still have them

[TheSequelOfDisney]

I saw Tales of Earthsea at Target, but the slipcover was all banged up so I didn't buy it. I'll try another store.

That one's also not Hayao Miyazaki - rather his brother or someone.

The rest:
Princess Mononoke - Amazon shows it as 2000, I'm correct in assuming there's no slipcover?

The rest of those all show as 2005, do they have slipcovers? The ones without them are easier as I don't have to search around for copies that still have them

Tales from Earthsea is by Goro Miyazaki, Hayao's son. And I find it quite good even though critics didn't think so. Princess Mononoke's DVD did not come with a slipcover as it was released through Miramax and not under the Disney/Ghibli distribution deal. All of the other Disney-released Ghibli films came with slipcovers in the original pressings except for the first wave (Spirited Away, Kiki's Delivery Service and Castle in the Sky in 2003/4).

And, I must ask, have you seen Kiki's Delivery Service before? If you have, then which version of it have you seen? There are two different Disney dubs: the first was created in 1998 and had some audio additions that were not present in the original Japanese versions (two different songs and some additional Jiji lines, with one of them being crucial, are present in the 1998 VHS and 2003 DVD releases). However, for the 2010 DVD release, the additional Jiji lines and the two new songs were removed and the original Japanese songs were reinserted. I grew up with the 1998 dub with the additions and I am more or less unsatisfied with the 2010 release because of those changes. It also sounds like the audio has been through a fan for the 2010 release (the audio quallty isn't good at all). Now, if you've never seen the film, I guess it wouldn't matter which release you got (though, I believe the 2003 release has more bonus features). So, just some caution when considering which version of Kiki to buy. And, if you have any more questions about Kiki I'd be happy to answer them.

[drfsupercenter]

Ah, I knew it was another Miyazaki but wasn't sure his relation to Hayao.

The only Ghibli movie I've seen is Howl's Moving Castle, as it's the only one I own on DVD. Those films aren't on Netflix or anywhere else, so aside from rentals or piracy I had no other way of getting them. Part of why I want to buy them all, so I can watch each movie

But yes, I knew about the alternate dubs. There are five, I believe, that have alternate dubs from the Disney one. Totoro is the easiest one to find, since FOX released it on DVD - I already bought myself a copy of that, just have to wait for it. (Yeah, I know it's a pan-and-scan transfer, but a friend of mine took the Japanese Blu-Ray and mixed it with the audio from that DVD, it's pretty nice. I just want it for legitimacy's sake)
I know at least one of them is almost impossible to come by, only existing on a Japanese laserdisc boxset that retails for a ton of money.

Both dubs of Kiki's Delivery Service were done by Disney? That's interesting. I know with the other ones, they weren't, and were RE-dubbed by Disney after the agreement with Miyazaki - many people feel the Disney dubs aren't as good, which is why I want to track down the originals.

And for that reason I'm going to try to get both versions of Castle In the Sky, I heard the 2010 one had a different score than the earlier DVD release? (Despite being the same dub)

Thanks for the info about slipcovers, I'll go ahead and order the earlier Castle in the Sky, as well as Kiki's Delivery Service. So, Kiki's Delivery Service is like Castle in the Sky, then? Where the 2010 one is a different dub than the earlier release?

[TheSequelOfDisney]

Thanks for the info about slipcovers, I'll go ahead and order the earlier Castle in the Sky, as well as Kiki's Delivery Service. So, Kiki's Delivery Service is like Castle in the Sky, then? Where the 2010 one is a different dub than the earlier release?

They're different dubs in the fact that there are some audio alternations, but the casts are still the same. And, yes, I'd get the older versions. I really wish I had bought the earlier version of Kiki's Delivery Service, but at least I have the VHS of it, so if I want that version of the dub I still have it. Kiki's Delivery Service was my first introduction to Ghibli, so I kind of have it on a pedestal over the other films, haha, and, subsequently, I know the most about it. I do love almost all of the Ghibli films, though (I'm not a fan of Pom Poko or My Neighbor the Yamadas).

[drfsupercenter]

Right, so it's like Castle In the Sky then.

In that case I will get both versions, just so I have both.

If both dubs are 100% identical, then I'll get whichever has the best/most special features - which by the looks of things, is usually the older release? I hate how Disney keeps re-releasing stuff and making it crappier each time (I'm holding onto my 2002 release of TRON for that reason )

Do you happen to know which other Ghibli movies have alternate dubs across different releases? So far I know of Castle in the Sky and Kiki's Delivery Service. I bought the 2010 Castle yesterday, which I will keep for the reason stated above.

[MJW]

And for that reason I'm going to try to get both versions of Castle In the Sky, I heard the 2010 one had a different score than the earlier DVD release? (Despite being the same dub)

Yes, the score is "different" between the two releases, but only in the orchestration. Disney had the original composer Joe Hisaishi "update" the original synthesized score by re-recording it with a full orchestra. So, the songs are the same, but instruments used to perform them are different and therefore the sound is a little different. Disney has reverted to the original synthesized score for the more recent release as well as the Blu-ray/DVD combo pack that was released in 2012. I think the new score also added some additional background music to parts of the film that were silent, as Disney felt American audiences wouldn't deal well with "awkward" pauses or something.

Some fans complained that the newer score was better than the original, but I think Disney reverted to the original score to satisfy the purists. I think this is why they also went back with the Kiki dub to take out lines/sound affects that were added. I'd read that Joe Hisaishi himself actually preferred the newer score, as the synthesized version was a result of budget limitations at the time of production.

As far as I know, the dub should be the same, but I did read previously that some of the banter/gags by the Dola gang during the car/train chase were removed? I'd only ever seen original DVD release once before I got the Blu-ray, so nothing really stuck out to me as being different.

[drfsupercenter]

That's what I meant - the audio is different in that the score is different.

I'm sure some of the other 2010 ones are identical audio to the earlier releases, though.

[MJW]

All this talk about Studio Ghibli has me excited for the new North American Blu-ray releases, which I wish they would announce. I'm wondering if we'll see something by May. GKIDS is releasing From Up on Poppy Hill theatrically in March and I'd assume it will be on home video by June/July. Hopefully Disney releases a few catalog titles to coincide with one of these events like they did last year when The Secret World of Arrietty came out on home video.

[drfsupercenter]

Hmm, I haven't been able to find the DVD-only release of Arrietty anywhere with a slipcover. I checked at several Target, Best Buy, Walmart stores and they all didn't have one.

Did the standalone DVD have a slipcover originally? If not, I won't fret over the fact that I had to buy one without a slipcover.

If it did, well, can anyone part with theirs? I managed to get one of the 2010 Totoro that I won't want since I returned the DVD after learning about the older release.

[sunhuntin]

i have the arriety dvd. not sure if the new zealand release would be the same or not, but im 90% certain mine had a slipcover. i take them off as they wont fit in the stand otherwise. its in a safe place... so safe i cant find it! when i bought the dvd, there was a choice between with and without for the same price, so i got the one with.

[drfsupercenter]

Anyone with the region 1 disc want to confirm or deny this?