There are a number of animated projects getting unveiled in 2013, and one of the most intriguing is the long-delayed domestic debut of Studio Ghibli's coming-of-age tale "From Up On Poppy Hill." And it's a movie we're pretty excited about.
The American trailer for "From Up On Poppy Hill" (via The Film Stage), has landed and you can which you can watch it below. Based on a Japanese comic book, it's the coming-of-age tale of two teenagers in the '60s who fall for each other while restoring a long forgotten school clubhouse. Also, apparently, there's a large emphasis on communication via flags and something about the main character's father dying during the war. The trailer is a little overstuffed and unfocused, but it's usually harder to sell the Studio Ghibli projects that aren't more fantasy-based.
It's easy to forget that this movie was released back in the summer of 2011 and is only now making it to our shores. Part of this had to do with the Studio Ghibli stateside distribution pact shifting from Disney to specialty house GK Kids and questions of accessibility. In fact, this version of "From Up On Poppy Hill" was developed by Disney last year, with Lucasfilm bigwig Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall serving as executive producers and localized direction being provided by Pixar veteran Gary Rydstrom. Karey Kirkpatrick, who also did the Americanized script for last year's amazing "The Secret World of Arriety" wrote "From Up On Poppy Hill" (fun fact: Karey started out as an improvisational performer at EPCOT Center in Florida). While GK Kids, who will distribute "From Up On Poppy Hill," has placed an emphasis on their commitment to the original Japanese language tracks, Disney had put together a pretty unstoppable voice cast for the U.S. dub (including Chris Noth, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ron Howard, Bruce Dern and Aubrey Plaza), and GK Kids will use it. The film was co-written by Studio Ghibli powerhouse Hayao Miyazaki and directed by his son, Goro Miyazaki.
The film opens in NY and LA on March 15th before expanding on March 29th.