Last year, GKids began to release limited edition steelbooks of Studio Ghibli movies. So far, eight of the 23 Ghibli films have been released, plus the latest steelbook release of Earwig and the Witch. This year, they will be continuing to release more films to steelbook editions, starting with Whisper of the Heart and The Cat Returns.
Whisper of the Heart is a coming-of-age tale about young love, chasing your dreams and finding yourself. This was Yoshifumi Kondo’s first and only film as director before passing away in 1998, but it carries on his tremendous artistic legacy.
The Steelbook’s gorgeous lilac front cover shows Shizuku and Seiji riding off on his bike. Both the Blu-ray and DVD include the Japanese, English and French dubs in 5.1 surround sound and feature English, English SDH and French subtitles. The Steelbook also includes a booklet with memos from Toshio Suzuki and Hayao Miyazaki, punctuated with beautiful stills from the film.
Exclusive to the Blu-ray are feature length storyboards and the four masterpieces of Naohisa Inoue, which showcases the watercolor background artist’s astounding talent. On both discs we have background art from “The Baron’s Story,” a “Behind the Microphone” featurette which takes you through the recording of the English dub, and original theatrical trailers.
The Cat Returns is a follow-up of sorts to Whisper of the Heart, as it also prominently features the character of The Baron. Directed by Hiroyuki Morita, The Cat Returns centers on Haru, a schoolgirl whose rescuing of a stray cat whisks her away to the fantastical Cat Kingdom.
Here on the orange cover we find Haru feeding a stray cat, showing her selflessness. Once again, the Blu-ray and DVD contain the English dub, the original Japanese dub, and the French dub. The English dub features a star-studded cast including Anne Hathaway, Tim Curry and Cary Elwes as the dashing Baron Humbert von Gikkingen. English, English SDH and French subtitles are available so you can watch as you wish.
Feature-length storyboards are likewise included in the Blu-ray. Both discs include a Making-of documentary and a “Behind the Microphone” featurette. You can find theatrical trailers and TV spots on the DVD.
Check out this fun video of an Unboxing that would please any fine cat:
More Ghibli movies are going to be released throughout the year, so keep an eye out if you’re interested! These movies are available to buy on the Gkids website or wherever official anime movies are sold.
Source info and photos: Gkids
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