'Tokyo Godfathers' Gets NY & LA Release, Previews Dub in New Trailer

Nearly 10 years after his death, there seems to have been a resurgence in appreciation for the works of Satoshi Kon. The anime auteur received over-due posthumous recognition at this year's Annie Awards, and his first three films have all been given the restoration treatment and new releases.

The third of these is his 2003 film Tokyo Godfathers which is receiving a theatrical release in the US on March 9 and March 11 via GKIDS Films and Fathom Events. As well as the national event screening, the distributor has now announced that the film will be getting theatrical runs in New York and Los Angeles from March 13. It will screen at The Metrograph in NYC and Laemmle's Lumiere Music Hall in LA.

As well as a new restoration, Tokyo Godfathers has been dubbed into English for the first time. The dub is produced by GKIDS in association with frequent collaborators, NYAV Post.  It features the voices of Jon Avner, Victoria Grace and Shakina Nayfack.

We've got our first chance to sample the new dub in the debut English trailer from GKIDS. NYAV are old hands at this sort of thing, so it's unsurprising that the casting seems to be spot on. For many, the main concern was how they would handle the pivotal role of transwoman Hana. But there's no need to worry, as they cast appropriately and Nayfack seems perfect for the role.

Tickets are available from participating venues or via the website.

In modern-day Tokyo, three homeless people's lives are changed forever when they discover a baby girl at a garbage dump on Christmas Eve. As the New Year fast approaches, these three forgotten members of society band together to solve the mystery of the abandoned child and the fate of her parents. Along the way, encounters with seemingly unrelated events and people force them to confront their own haunted pasts, as they learn to face their future, together. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Satoshi Kon (Perfect Blue, Paprika), written by Kon and Keiko Nobumoto (Cowboy Bebop) and featuring a whimsical score by Keiichi Suzuki, TOKYO GODFATHERS is a masterpiece by turns heartfelt, hilarious and highly original, a tale of hope and redemption in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.