
You may never see Studio Ghibli’s movies on streaming services - minimaxir
https://www.polygon.com/2019/10/15/20828843/studio-ghibli-movies-miyazaki-streaming-netflix-disney-plus
======
crazygringo
The argument given makes ZERO sense.

> _For now, the physical media releases and touring Ghibli Fest screenings
> remain the only ways for fans to see these films. “Studio Ghibli does not
> make their films available digitally, whether for download or streaming,
> anywhere in the world,” a GKids representative told Polygon over email.
> “They continue to believe that presentation is vital and particularly
> appreciate opportunities for audiences to experience the films together in a
> theatrical setting.”_

Huh? Physical media releases are digital and not watched in a theatrical
setting.

There's zero difference in watching a DVD or Blu-Ray vs. streaming on your
screen.

~~~
intopieces
>There’s zero difference in watching a DVD or Blu-Ray vs. streaming on your
screen.

God bless whatever first world country with top-tier ISP you live in. Even
purchased content I get from iTunes, which I naively thought was downloaded to
my Apple TV before I watched it, suffers artifacts from streaming.

I have non-fiber Gigabit in The Capital of Silicon Valley.

~~~
xzel
That could very possibly be the video encoding used by Apple or the 3rd party
that might doing their bitrate specific video encoding. There are some
incredible anime specific codec's out there that do a great job and I would
want them run instead of a standard encoder you might use for non-anime
movies. There's a reason why dvd ripped and compressed anime looks so good.

------
swsieber
One of my favorite gifts from my wife was a Studio Ghibli 6 disc collection
(it looked like this one: [https://www.amazon.com/Miyazaki-Studio-Collection-
English-La...](https://www.amazon.com/Miyazaki-Studio-Collection-English-
Language/dp/B00G0LGW50))

She's not a big anime fan, which I think is part of the reason I liked it so
much. We worked our way through them and she liked them enough to go out on a
limb and we bought "The Wind Rises" and "When Marnie was There".

I recall seeing Spirited Away and Kiki's delivery service in the 90's and so
it was fun to find out there was more from that creator.

~~~
clairity
_spirited away_ (amazing on the big screen!) is playing in select theaters at
the end of this month:
[https://www.ghiblifest.com/](https://www.ghiblifest.com/)

the subtitled version is more emotionally genuine, imho.

~~~
klodolph
If you don’t understand the language, the subtitled version gives you more of
a “blank canvas” to project emotions onto. You don’t understand the words,
just the tone of voice. If you understand the language, you realize that the
timing and choice of emphasis is not always appropriate to the emotion, so it
spoils the effect. As I got more proficient at various languages I often
realized that the original version with subtitles is not as good as I thought.

So the subtitles version often seems more genuine unless you speak the
language. The Disney dub is quite good, Disney are world experts at voice
casting, direction, and localization.

~~~
stelonix
Wholeheartedly disagree. I've been watching only english-subtitled
entertainment for a good while for two reasons:

1) english dubs generally suck, imho

2) there's always some emotion lost in translation/dubbing

And I'm not a native english speaker either; the more I know the native
language, the less dubs make sense.

> So the subtitles version often seems more genuine unless you speak the
> language

I honestly can't fathom how could something like this even be possible.
Understanding the language helped me understand when certain tones are used.
Unless you're speaking strictly of Ghibli's shows, I can't really get what you
mean.

~~~
dragontamer
> 1) english dubs generally suck, imho

Long gone are the days of 4Kids unnecessary censorship of Yu-gi-oh and One
Piece.

There was a time when good English dubs were few-and-far between. Maybe Cowboy
Bebop and "The Slayers" were probably the only good 90s dubs.

But modern anime is much better about dubbing quality. Madoka Magika was a
pleasure in both English and Japanese for me, and many find the My Hero
Academia dub / sub to be fine quality as well.

Even some "difficult dubs", like Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumia, ended up being
quite good because Kyon's voice actor was superb. (Crispin Freeman). One or
two "star" voice actors can really carry a dub and elevate the experience to a
new level.

\-----

I don't understand much Japanese personally. But it seems like Japanese voice-
actors over-rely upon "vocal tics", like a character drawing out a particular
sound or having a catch-phrase.

Ex: "Dattebayo" from Naruto, "Arimasu" from Shana, "Nyan" from many, many cat
characters (Hellsing Ultimate, Stein's; Gate, Log Horizon), "Desu", etc. etc.

English dubs typically remove the vocal tics, and rely upon more fundamental
voice acting to differentiate the characters. I think it helps me get drawn
into the characters more.

Ex: English Dub audience didn't like Naruto's "Believe it" as a translation to
Dattebayo. The dubbing community just outright rejects vocal tics. So yeah,
its a different experience, but its more "realistic" IMO.

\-----

My experience with Disney's Studio Ghibli dubs has been extremely good. Disney
is a top-notch studio and hires big-names like Billy Crystal (Calcifer) or
Mark Hamill (Mayor from Nausicaa)

~~~
s_m_t
>I don't understand much Japanese personally. But it seems like Japanese
voice-actors over-rely upon "vocal tics", like a character drawing out a
particular sound or having a catch-phrase. >Ex: "Dattebayo" from Naruto,
"Arimasu" from Shana, "Nyan" from many, many cat characters (Hellsing
Ultimate, Stein's; Gate, Log Horizon), "Desu", etc. etc.

Arimasu and Desu aren't vocal-tics... It's just differing levels of politeness
or formality. A character always using them can signify a lot of things like
haughtiness, noblesse oblige (misplaced or not), deference, a failure to
integrate with/judge the nature of their relationship with one's peers. It
really depends on the situation.

stuff like "dattebayo" and "nyan" is sort of a humorous spin on the whole
concept of explicitly encoding these things into grammar. They don't generally
add these into the dubs because it wouldn't make any sense as English doesn't
really have this sort of thing to the extent Japanese does. Honestly I have no
idea how you would translate "dattebayo" because it is a corruption of
Japanese to begin with to show Naruto as having trouble fitting in, being
mischievous, childlike, while also having a level of ambition wildly out of
place with his position of practically village leper.

~~~
dragontamer
> Arimasu and Desu aren't vocal-tics... It's just differing levels of
> politeness or formality. A character always using them can signify a lot of
> things like haughtiness, noblesse oblige (misplaced or not), deference, a
> failure to integrate with/judge the nature of their relationship with one's
> peers. It really depends on the situation.

But even then, Arimasu and Desu are abused to "catchphrase" levels by
Wilhelmina (Shakugan no Shana) and Suiseiseki (Rozen Maiden). For example:
([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlk6RcSLrpw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlk6RcSLrpw))

If you wanted me to point out a particular "Vocal Tic", then I'll choose
Deidara's "Hmph" that is added to a huge number of his lines
([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FU1LF-
NnlvY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FU1LF-NnlvY))

\----------

What I'm saying is: the original Japanese seems to lean extremely heavily on
the use of catch-phrases and/or vocal tics. A lot of anime-watching (even in
full Subs) almost feels like Donald-Duck or Loony Tunes level of vocal tics
and/or catch-phrases.

I mean sure, we all love "I'm a Doctor not a X" (McCoy from Star Trek). Or
Homer's "Doh". But its an issue of how often they say it IMO that kind of
draws me out of Japanese Subtitles sometimes. There's a level of "campiness"
whenever a character leans on a catch-phrase.

In the American Dub, the use of catch-phrases is almost always toned down. So
there's less "campiness" and I take the result somewhat more seriously.

------
toyg
With all due respect and affection, Miyazaki-san (and/or the people now in
charge at Ghibli) is just being a stubborn old mule here. There is no
practical difference between homevideo and streaming, and homevideo copies of
Ghibli films are everywhere (whether official or otherwise). They have been on
TV multiple times in Japan and elsewhere.

Maybe it's a way to push reluctant distributors to continue these mini-
festivals they have been touring for a few years. Maybe they are trying to
raise the price for when an agreement is inevitably found. Maybe they are
waiting for the streaming wars to be over so they can talk to one distributor
rather than five. Whatever it may be, I am sceptical that it springs from some
deep reasoning about the way people consume this type of media.

~~~
metamet
> There is no practical difference between homevideo and streaming, and
> homevideo copies of Ghibli films are everywhere (whether official or
> otherwise).

There very much is.

Ghibli is preserving the "value" of the film by not allowing it to be made
into a commodity. He wants people to want to decide to watch the films and
have them in physical possession, rather than decide to pull it up amongst the
hundreds of thousands of other options at their fingertips. "I don't want to
do it because the films would be treated as cheap commodities." [1]

Their approach to merchandising might shed a little bit of light into why is
doing this.

> "With regards to merchandise, we resolved not to make more than 10 billion
> yen. If we surpassed that number, we would gather all the associating
> companies and berate the person in charge in front of the whole group.
> Really. One time, everyone got on our case about it, saying, 'You've got to
> sell more.' Someone from one particular company even said, 'We could raise
> the sales to 200 billion yen just by ourselves.' It's not a joke. If they
> did that, then Ghibli's characters would die instantly. I want Ghibli's
> characters to have a long life.

They see more to their characters and IPs than dollar signs, and they're
taking active steps to preserve it. Which is why the collectors editions of
their films (Spirited Away coming Nov 12) are finely tuned and have well
thought out art books. The feeling and memories they're creating are more than
just the runtime.

[1]
[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2019-04-13/ghibli-...](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2019-04-13/ghibli-
co-founder-toshio-suzuki-discusses-why-studio-did-not-seek-growth/.145563)

~~~
smacktoward
And the thing of it is, he's got a pretty good point. Just look at what
happened to music as its distribution format became more ephemeral. 40 years
ago, record albums were among many peoples' most treasured possessions. Now
music is just a slurry that gets piped to us 24/7, songs from different
artists all mixed together into a tasteless, formless stream. We lost the
emotional connection when we lost having an artifact to hang it on.

~~~
metamet
Which is why I think the vinyl resurgence is much more complicated than
"hipsters being hipsters". We, as humans, like tangible things.

~~~
losteric
Personally, listening to vinyl is like reading a novel. There's a tangible
"ritual" and the experience is inherently focusing and somewhat intimate...
intentionally enjoying time immersed in the work of a single artist/group.

I'm no hipster - still all about Spotify and social media, but those are just
for passing time.

------
schmichael
Recently took my son to see his first movie in the theater: My Neighbor
Totoro. It was an amazing experience for us all.

While I'm glad we got to see it in the theater, I think the lack of Ghibli
movies on streaming services is what will finally get me to buy a BluRay
player and setup Plex. It's a popular approach among a lot of parents I know
as who wants to discover their child's favorite film just got dropped by the
streaming service you subscribe to?

~~~
bobobooey
Why would you need a bluray player to setup Plex?

~~~
schmichael
Buy discs, rip to plex

------
hinkley
Yes it will. In fifteen years when Miyazaki is gone, they'll end up having to
stream the content in order to have revenue.

There is no heir to Miyazaki at Ghibli. In my opinion, the closest director to
Miyazaki I know of is Mamoru Hosoda, and he's at another studio. Ironically,
he was supposed to direct Howl's Moving Castle but they decided his direction
wasn't Miyazaki enough and so they split over creative differences. I think
this is why Miyazaki keeps coming back from retirement.

The one guy who should have sat in that chair was run off. The other guy who
should have been eligible was Miyazaki's son, but their relationship is
strained. Clearly his skill was in animation, not parenting. His son has a
very different style. More different I think than Hosada's.

So either there's going to be a merger at some point, or their revenue will
shift more and more to their back catalog. That's a different kind of
management team, and it seems like those sorts have absolutely no problem
taking money for distribution rights.

------
ThePadawan
I would like to point out that since the movies are not available on any major
streaming service, there is also no actor pursuing the take-down of high
quality copies on private trackers etc..

Seems like a good deal to me.

------
jedimastert
Miyazaki films, and the fact that my 2.5 year old daughter has never seen one,
is my one and only regret for not having an optical drive anywhere in my
house. Everything else I just haven't needed or don't care about, but I want
my daughter to experience those movies.

But there is simply no way she will sit still in a movie theater for 2 hours.

~~~
magic_beans
At 2.5, your daughter is probably too young to get any of those films anyway.
You have, like, 5-8 years before she'll be fully able to appreciate them.

~~~
jefftk
My Neighbor Totoro would be great at 2.5

------
JackC
I saw Spirited Away on DVD, after digging up an old DVD player in a junk pile.
I loved the first half, but didn't enjoy the second half where it started
skipping and eventually stopped entirely -- the pauses and stutters set a very
different tone than the languid animation, and I had hoped for more resolution
for the characters.

It's hard to know how to review the experience. I was annoyed to go through
all of the special logistics to watch half a film. But then, Miyazaki says in
the article that the point of life is not to be happy, so maybe I had the
intended experience and failed to appreciate it?

------
SubiculumCode
I love these films and noticed their conspicuous absence from purchase from
streaming services. Then I found a whole bin of Hayao Miyazaki films for $5
each at Walmart.

------
SubiculumCode
By the way, if you loved Howl's Moving Castle, take a listen to the original
novel on Audible. [https://www.audible.com/pd/Howls-Moving-Castle-
Audiobook/B00...](https://www.audible.com/pd/Howls-Moving-Castle-
Audiobook/B002V5BB5U)

An absolutely lovely performance and charming story...I may actually like it
better than the film, though the film has a special place in my heart.

~~~
GreenJelloShot
That's funny, I love the movie but hate the book.

I guess it all depends on whether you enjoy the book's explanation for the
world and specifically, Howl. To me it was too distracting.

------
tibbydudeza
Reminds me of Prince not allowing the videos of his music and concerts (the
prized bootlegs) not to be on YouTube depriving newer fans from appreciating
his musical genius.

Yes it is the right of an artist to decide how his work will be presented but
why such silly restrictions , why bother making stuff for public consumption
at all if people can't get enjoyment from it ???.

Fortunately his estate is far more liberal in allowing his material to be
enjoyed.

------
yiyus
Although it is not exactly streaming, you can see them on-demand in tv
(Movistar+ in Spain has many of them available now). So, it is not true that
you have to either watch them on theater or buy a copy.

------
jdonaldson
I don't mind this at all. Ghibli films are magical and memorable, and putting
them in with the rest of the dross that passes for streaming kids shows these
days does them a disservice.

------
pier25
What I'd like to see are the 4K HDR Bluray discs.

AFAIK these are available in Japan. It's really just a matter of adding the
appropriate audio/subs for for the western audience.

~~~
rtkwe
Not sure what HDR will add to an older animated film but 4k would be nice.

~~~
novok
They might of created it with a wider color space for theatrical film release
vs the color space that gets released on home VHS / DVD. Film has a higher
dynamic range than digital sensors today still.

~~~
pier25
> _Film has a higher dynamic range than digital sensors today still._

No, not really.

Digital sensors surpassed film a long time ago in terms of DR. Film has 12-13
stops while it's pretty common these days in pro digital gear to have 15 stops
of DR. Roma (the movie) was totally shot on digital because it has better DR
than film.

As for resolution any modern pro camera (+8K) has more detail than 35mm or
even 70mm film and much lower noise levels.

I'm not denying that film has its charm, but aesthetics are very subjective.

------
tus88
> “Studio Ghibli does not make their films available digitally

This is false. Terrestrial broadcast is now digital and I see their movies
appear on free-to-air TV quite often where I live.

------
oliwarner
Piracy wins again.

------
inerte
Can't stream but you can probably find them for free on your local library.
That's how I saw some of them :)

------
slackfan
This may actually be a good thing.

------
keymone
Tool caved in, so will they.

