Walt Disney Home Entertainment has revealed its plans to bring two classic, highly anticipated Studio Ghibli animated films to Blu-ray this Spring: My Neighbor Totoro and Howl’s Moving Castle. Both titles are available for pre-order and are set to arrive on May 21st.
The films were written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, best known for directing the Academy Award-winning film “Spirited Away” (2001).
My Neighbor Totoro is about the magic of friendship and sisterhood. Follow the adventures of Satsuki and her four-year-old sister Mei as they discover their new neighbor is a mysterious forest spirit named Totoro who can only be seen by the eyes of a child. As Totoro introduces the girls to his extraordinary friends, they embark on the journey of a lifetime. Featuring the voice talents of Tim Daly, Lea Salonga and real-life sisters Dakota and Elle Fanning, My Neighbor Totoro is an amazing animated adventure the whole family will fall in love with.
In Howl’s Moving Castle a simple young girl called Sophie is put under a curse by the evil Witch of The Waste, transforming her into an ugly old woman. Ashamed of her appearance, Sophie deserts her hat shop and heads into the hills in search of a cure. She comes across the strange, yet awesome Moving Castle, the abode of the much-feared magician, Howl. Inside the castle, Sophie befriends the fire demon Calcifer, who can see through the spell and offers to help her return to her natural form. For his efforts, however, Sophie must help Calcifer break the contract he has with Howl, the details of which he is forbidden to explain. So Sophie assumes the position of the castle’s cleaning lady and gets close to the young, handsome Howl, who takes a fancy to the young Sophie, whom he can also see behind her withered facade.
Both releases will come in the form of a “combo pack” with a DVD of the film in standard definition included.
