Satoshi Kon is on that short list of great filmmakers who left us too soon. Kon passed away a decade ago at 46. He only directed four animated feature films and all of them are must see. He made a serious splash with his first two feature films: Perfect Blue and Millennium Actress. For his third feature Kon told a tale of three homeless people who discover an abandoned baby on Christmas Eve. The trio are in no shape to adopt a child so using items left with the child, they attempt to track down the parents of the baby. Tokyo Godfathers was released in 2003 with only a subtitled version. The new Blu-ray from Shout! Factory and GKIDS features a new English dub. So now you can share the film with your friends who aren’t quite up for reading a movie. Here’s the press release from Shout! Factory about the June Blu-ray release:
“With its masterful grasp of comedy, pathos, social commentary and mystical weirdness, Tokyo Godfathers takes anime to a whole new level.” – Ken Eisner, Variety
Tokyo Godfathers
Satoshi Kon’s Heartfelt Masterpiece Restored and Remastered
Available Digitally May 19, 2020
Available on Blu-ray™ for the First Time June 2, 2020
Heartbreaking, hilarious and highly original, Tokyo Godfathers is a humanist masterpiece from the legendary director Satoshi Kon (Paprika, Perfect Blue). Co-written by Keiko Nobumoto (Cowboy Bebop) and featuring a whimsical score by Keiichi Suzuki, this beautiful tale of hope and redemption in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds makes its Blu-ray™ debut June 2, 2020 as a Blu-ray™ and DVD combo pack from GKIDS and Shout! Factory. Restored and remastered from a 4K transfer, the release also marks the first time the film is available with an English dub in addition to the original Japanese audio track. Tokyo Godfathers also includes a number of bonus features, including a new interview with English voice cast actress Shakina Nayfack (“Transparent,” “Difficult People”), featurettes about the creation of the film, Satoshi Kon’s short film Ohayo, available on disc for the first time outside of Japan, and more! Fans can pre-order their copies now by visiting ShoutFactory.com . Those who order directly from Shout! Factory will also receive a limited edition 18” x 24” lithograph of the cover art, while supplies last
In modern-day Tokyo, three homeless people’s lives are changed forever when they discover a baby girl at a garbage dump on Christmas Eve. As the New Year fast approaches, these three forgotten members of society band together to solve the mystery of the abandoned child and the fate of her parents. Along the way, encounters with seemingly unrelated events and people force them to confront their own haunted pasts, as they learn to face their future, together.
Tokyo Godfathers Bonus Features
Interview with actress Shakina Nayfack
The Process of Animation featurette
The Unexpected Tours featurette
Making of Tokyo Godfathers featurette
Film Introduction by K.F. Watanabe, Deputy Director of Film for the Japan Society, New York City
Ohayo, a short film by Satoshi Kon
Art gallery
Trailers
