Arrietty Screens in IMAX and Cinemas In The UK and Ireland
Anime fans must be grateful for GKIDS Films. Not only do they release the finest new animation, but they have also been keeping Studio Ghibli films in cinemas through their ongoing Ghibli Fest. Now they have set their sights across the pond, acquiring distribution rights for the 23-film Ghibli library for the UK and Ireland. Their first move under the deal is to give new releases to Ghibli classics. Having previously released Kiki's Delivery Service, the next title to be released will be 2010's Arrietty.
Arrietty will be released in IMAX for the first time in the UK and Ireland, remastered in 4K. IMAX previews start from Wednesday, October 14. The film will also be released in regular cinemas in wide release from Friday, October 16. The film will screen both in Japanese with English subtitles and with the English dub.
The dub is noteworthy as Arrietty uniquely has separate English dubs for the UK and US. This came about due to the fact that (unusually) the film was released in the UK before the United States. Rather than wait around for the Americans to dub it, StudioCanal UK- then the distributor of Ghibli films- decided to commission one themselves.
The UK dub features a whole host of British and Irish acting icons. Saoirse Ronan voices the titular character, and the cast also features Oscar-winner Olivia Colman, Mark Strong, Geraldine McEwan and in his very first feature-film role, a 14-year-old future Spider-Man and Mr Zendaya, Tom Holland.
The film was later released in North America under the title of The Secret World Of Arrietty, complete with a separate dub. The American dub featured Amy Poehler, Will Arnett, Bridgit Mendler and Carol Burnett.
Arrietty is based upon The Borrowers, the 1952 children's novel by English author Mary Norton. It tells the story of a family of tiny people who live under the floorboards, unseen by the house's regular-sized residents. Their lifestyle revolves around "borrowing" items from the humans and repurposing them for their own needs. The bravest of the Borrowers is teenage daughter Arrietty. One day she is accidentally seen by the youngest of the humans, and an unlikely friendship begins to grow.
The Studio Ghibli adaptation relocates the story to contemporary Japan, distinguishing it from earlier adaptations of The Borrowers. The film is directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi (When Marnie Was There, Mary and the Witch's Flower) with an original screenplay written by one Hayao Miyazaki and Keiko Niwa. Miyazaki also worked on project planning for the film.
GKIDS Films are working closely in the UK and Ireland with sister company Anime Limited. Both companies are owned by Japanese giant TOHO Global.
As in the US, GKIDS will continue to release classic Studio Ghibli films in IMAX and in new 4K restorations throughout the autumn and beyond. The next Ghibli film to get this treatment hasn't been announced just yet, but it shouldn't be long. GKIDS also plans a rerelease of the entire library across all home video platforms. Maybe don't hold your breath waiting for 4K UHD releases though, as the majority of the films haven't been released on the format in Japan yet.
Tickets are on sale now.
