English Cast for The Wind Rises Revealed

The Wind Rises is set to be the final feature directed by Animation supremo Hayao Miyazaki, so it's fair to say that anticipation levels are fairly high. Already a smash hit in Japan, the master's swansong is set to open in  North American cinemas in Febuary 2014. As with (almost) every film Ghibli has released recently Disney is pulling out all the stops to provide the film with an English language dub featuring some well-known names.

The dub will feature the ace Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the lead role, with Emily Blunt playing the object of his affections. The cast also features Martin Short, Stanley Tucci, William H Macy and Blunt's off-screen husband John Krasinski. Rounding out this pleasingly off-beat cast is (strangely enough) eccentric German director and occasional actor Werner Herzog.

The Wind Rises differs from most of Miyazaki's previous films, in that it is a biographical drama grounded in reality. Its subject is real-life figure Jiro Horikoshi, who ultimately would go on to design Japan's Zero Fighters, that would infamously bomb Pearl Harbor. This is Miyazaki though, so this is not some glorification of war, and it has in fact been criticised by right-wingers in Japan for not being patriotic enough. Just don't tell Fox News.

A UK release date for The Wind Rises has not yet been announced

[ ANN]