GKIDS Nabs Studio Ghibli's The Tale of The Princess Kaguya

American distribution company GKIDS has announced that it has acquired the rights to bring the latest Studio Ghibli flick to screens in North America. The Tale of The Princess Kaguya is the latest film to be directed by Ghibli co-founder Isao Takahata who is best known in the west for the heartbreaking WWII set Grave Of Fireflies. Despite being Ghibli's second biggest director (with Pom Poko and My Neighbours The Yamadas among his other credits) he has not got nearly the same high profile of his Ghibli colleague Hayao Miyazaki among film fans.

Princess Kaguya is based on a well-known Japanese folktale about a princess who is found as a baby by a bamboo cutter in a bamboo stalk. It boasts a gorgeous water-colour visual style that makes it stand out from most of Ghibli's other productions, and was in production for eight years.

Disney has a deal to distribute Ghibli film in the North American market, but has more recently opted to pass on the non-Miyazaki-directed titles- which are often a harder sell. GKIDS has stepped in and snapped up the rights, as they did before with From Up On Poppy Hill (which was directed by Miyazaki's son Goro).  The film will be released theatrically later in 2014.



[ANN]