Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
I’ll let you read the e-mail I got from one of our buddies at AICN first, then comment afterwards:
Hey Moriarty,
In the past few months I've sent you guys posts about 'Spirited Away's' rerelease and a cool image of 'Howl's Moving Castle,' Studio Ghibli's next major Miyazak-directed feature. With the release of Studio Ghibli's recent films to DVD (Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky, & Kiki's Delivery Service), some of us in Miyazaki's fandom have been wondering if we will ever see anymore Miyazaki titles. Well, tonight, several people on the Miyazaki message board I belong to have given us a clue.
Susan Egan is one of Disney's mainstays. After her turn as Belle in the Broadway production of 'Beauty and the Beast' and Megara in the 1996 Disney animated film 'Hercules,' her most recent claim to fame was as Lin, Chihiro's bathhouse associate in Miyazaki's 'Spirited Away.' However, thanks to "Steve-o Stonebraker" on the mailing list, he has found on Susan Egan's biography page that it lists the following:
"And now Egan is recording the English translation for another Miyazaki film, “Porko Rosso,” which will be released on DVD during the holidays of 2003."
The site doesn't tell who she will play, but of the two main female roles, many are hedging their bets that Egan will voice Gina, an acquiantance from childhood of the infamous Porco Rosso (aka The Red Pig) before he denounced humanity and took on the persona of a pig. One article says that Egan's role calls for singing, and in one segment, Gina sings a song at a nightclub/hotel she owns in the film, which will allow people to hear Egan's beautiful voice, that hasn't sung in a Disney film since 1996's 'Hercules.'
One thing I'm wondering in my mind is, who will play Porco himself? In one article I read, Miyazaki stated that he loved the French dub (which has been out for sometime, but I haven't been able to obtain it). In fact, Porco's french dubbed voice was none other than 'Leon: The Professional.' Or as we know him, Jean Reno. If Disney could get Reno back for Porco's English voice, that would be something to hear!
So far, that means that after the holidays, we will have 5 of Miyazaki's films released by Disney under the Studio Ghibli banner, except for the following from his studio: Nausicaa-Valley of the Wind, My Neighbor Totoro(the contract defaults back to Disney for distribution come 2004), Whisper of the Heart, Only Yesterday, Pom Poko, My Neighbor the Yamadas & the recent film The Cat Returns(which will be screened in Paris this summer).
For a more detailed summary of the film, visit THIS SITE. They can tell you more than even I can.
sincerely,
uruseiranma
I can’t reveal my source, but I can confirm that PORCO ROSSO is underway for American release, and so is NAUSICAA, with both targeted for a release by the end of this year. There’s one other Miyazaki title being prepped, too, but I haven’t been able to confirm which one. So far, I think Disney’s done an admirable job with the DVDs, especially the new ones they just released, and I look forward to seeing how they handle my absolute favorite of Miyazaki-san’s films when they put NAUSICAA out.
"Moriarty" out.
