Kitaro Kosaka spent decades working on animation projects at Studio Ghibli. His relationship with Hayao Miyazaki predates the animation company by serving as Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. While he never directed a feature for the company, he worked as an animator, key animator or animation director for them on films including Castle in the Sky, Grave of the Fireflies, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, Ponyo and The Wind Rises. He even key animator on the iconic Akira. While during his career he directed three shorter films, he finally received his chance to direct a theatrical feature film with Okko’s Inn. The film is about an orphan girl who meets the ghosts that live near her grandmother’s country inn. The movie comes out on Blu-ray on July 2. Here’s the press release from GKIDS and Shout! Factory:
GKIDS AND SHOUT! FACTORY PRESENT
OKKO’S INN
ON BLU-RAY, DVD AND DIGITAL DOWNLOAD
JULY 2, 2019
“Okko’s Inn was wonderful! I laughed and cried so much… I didn’t want it to end.”
– Makoto Shinkai, Director of Your Name
Los Angeles, CA (April 29, 2019) – Kitaro Kosaka’s stunning anime feature Okko’s Inn from the famed studio Madhouse will be released on Blu-ray, DVD and digital download on July 2, 2019 from GKIDS and Shout! Factory. Nominated for the 2019 Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year, the film comes to home video following its nationwide theatrical release earlier this April. Bonus features include interviews with the director and Seiran Kobayashi (Okko).
After losing her parents in a car accident, Okko goes to live in the countryside with her grandmother, who runs a traditional inn near an ancient spring said to have healing waters. Okko soon discovers there are spirits living there only she can see – welcoming ghosts who keep her company, play games and help her navigate her new environment. Okko strives to be a gracious host, and this is soon put to the test by a string of challenging guests with different stories. But ultimately Okko discovers that dedicating herself to others becomes the key to taking care of herself, in this beautiful tale from Kitaro Kosaka, who was a key animator on numerous classic films at the venerable Studio Ghibli.
Special Features:
·Interview with the Director
·Interview with Seiran Kobayashi (Okko)
·Q&A with Director and Producers at Japanese Premiere
·Trailers
About GKIDS
GKIDS is a producer and distributor of award-winning feature animation for both adult and family audiences. Since 2010, the company has scored an astounding eleven Best Animated Feature Oscar nominations with The Secret of Kells in 2010, A Cat in Paris and Chico & Rita in 2012, Ernest & Celestine in 2014, The Tale of The Princess Kaguya and Song of the Sea in 2015, Boy and the World and When Marnie Was There in 2016, My Life as a Zucchini in 2017, The Breadwinner in 2018, and Mirai in 2019. GKIDS also handles North American distribution for the famed Studio Ghibli library of films, one of the world’s most coveted animation collections with titles Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke and others. GKIDS also produces the annual LA-based film festival, ANIMATION IS FILM, which embraces the highest aspirations of animation as a cinematic art form and is a vocal advocate for filmmakers who push the boundaries of their work to the fullest range of expression that the medium is capable of.
About Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory, LLC is a diversified multi-platform media company devoted to producing, uncovering, preserving and revitalizing the very best of pop culture. Founders Richard Foos, Bob Emmer and Garson Foos have spent their entire careers sharing their music, television and film favorites with discerning consumers the world over. Shout! Factory’s entertainment offerings serve up feature films, classic and contemporary TV series, animation, live music and comedy specials. In addition, Shout! Factory maintains a vast entertainment distribution network which delivers culturally relevant programming, movie and audio content to all the leading digital service providers in North America and across multiple platforms. Shout! Factory owns and operates Shout! Studios, Scream Factory, Shout! Factory Kids, Shout! Factory Films, Mystery Science Theater 3000, Timeless Media Group and Shout! Factory TV. These riches are the result of a creative acquisition mandate that has established the company as a hotbed of cultural preservation and commercial reinvention. Shout! Factory is based in Los Angeles, California. For more on Shout! Factory, visit shoutfactory.com.
