Studio Ghibli
91 min., dir. by Goro Miyazaki, with Jamie Lee Curtis, Aubrey Plaza, and Christina Hendricks

New York-based indie animation distributor Gkids (Not Disney, surprise, surprise) has acquired North American rights to From Up On Poppy Hill, the latest release from Japan’s Studio Ghibli. Hayao Miyazaki (Castle in the Sky, Spirited Away) wrote the screenplay and his son, Goro Miyazaki, directed, making this the first true collaboration between the two.

Now, From Up On Poppy Hill has been given a truly wonderful Blu-ray release with more than three hours of bonus features (including the feature length audio coupled with nonstop storyboard art), as well as a 16-page booklet that includes a self-critiquing essay from Goro and an excerpt from Hayao’s original project proposal. The English language cast is pretty impressive, including the likes of Gillian Anderson, Beau Bridges, Jamie Lee Curtis, Christina Hendricks, Ron Howard, and Aubrey Plaza among many others.

Set in 1963 Yokohama, “Poppy Hill” is an emotional rollercoaster ride that follows a pair of high school students who are battling the demolition of a historic building as they deal with their own families’ past secrets. While I frequently watch Totoro and Spirited Away with my kids every chance I get, I might wait for them to mature to the main character’s ages before sitting down and watching this new film with them. While the film is not as sad or bleak as the early Studio Ghibli film Grave of the Fireflies, Poppy Hill has lots of tears, bombed family members and even a bit of “Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia have the same father?” type drama. The melancholy tone aside, the movie is beautifully done and a step forward for Goro Miyazaki, whose film Tales from the Earthsea failed to wow critics or diehard Studio Ghibli fans. Good job, Goro. Keep the gems coming.