GKIDS began
streaming on Wednesday an English-dubbed video clip for it and Fathom
Events' screening of Studio Ponoc's anthology film Modest
Heroes: Ponoc Short Film Theater, Volume 1. The clip is
from "Invisible" ("Tōmei Ningen"), one of the film's three
shorts.
The
anthology film will screen in 500 U.S. theaters on January 10 and
January 12. Screenings on Thursday, January 10 at 7 p.m. local time will be
English dubbed while screenings on Saturday, January 12 at 12:55 p.m. local
time will be in Japanese with English subtitles.
The film opened
theatrically in Japan on August 24. The anthology consists of three shorts that Studio
Ponocdescribes as "tales of modest heroes of our
times."
Akihiko Yamashita's "Invisible" ("Tōmei Ningen") is a 14-minute
"action spectacle" that centers on the lonely struggle of one
invisible man. Yamashita previously worked in various roles in Hayao Miyazaki's films at Ghibli, including as animator, animation director,
character designer, animation supervisor, and assistant director for such films
as Spirited
Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Ponyo, and The Wind Rises.
Joe Odagiri (SHINOBI - Heart Under Blade, Mushi-Shi, Kamen Rider Kuuga, Zaion: I Wish You Were Here) played the invisible
man, and dancer/actor min Tanaka (Tekkonkinkreet, live-action Rurouni Kenshin Part II:
Kyoto Inferno, Blade
of the Immortal) played the blind man. Music producer Yasutaka Nakata (Five Numbers!, Portable
Kuukou and its sequels) composed the soundtrack.
Hiromasa Yonebayashi, who directed the studio's previous Mary and The Witch's
Flower film and Studio Ghibli's When
Marnie Was There, directed the 15-minute fantasy adventure story "Kanini
& Kanino" ("Kanini to Kanino") about two crab siblings. The
short is Yonebayashi's first original story.
Fumino Kimura (live-action Paradise Kiss, Kyō,
Koi o Hajimemasu) played the older brother Kanini, and Rio Suzuki played the younger brother Kanino. Kimura noted that her entire
dialogue is in "crab language." Composer Takatsugu Muramatsu (Lu over the wall) reunited with Yonebayashi after scoring When Marnie Was There and Mary and The Witch's Flower.
Yoshiyuki Momose directed "Life Ain't Gonna Lose" ("Samurai
Egg"), a 15-minute "human drama" (based on a true story) showing
the love between a mother and a boy. Momose previously worked closely with
Ghibli director Isao Takahata in various roles on his
films Grave
of the Fireflies, Only
Yesterday, Pom
Poko, and The
Tale of the Princess Kaguya, including as animation director, storyboarder, visual design,
and special scene design.
In her first
full-fledged voice-acting role, Machiko Ono (live-action Kiki's Delivery Service, In This Corner of the World) played the
"Mama" with a Kishiwada accent from Osaka. 9-year-old Sōta Shinohara played the boy Shun. Kentaro Sakaguchi (live-action Umimachi Diary) took on two roles, the
father and a doctor. Keyboardist and producer Masanori Shimada (.hack//Legend of the Twilight, songs for Fullmetal Alchemist:
Brotherhood, Gintama) composed his first film
soundtrack.
Maggie Q (Nikita,
Designated Survivor) will play the mother in the English dub.
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