Belle herself, voice actress Kaho Nakamura, sings in Millennium Parade’s song U in Mamoru Hosoda’s latest masterpiece Belle. The film opened at the Cannes festival on July 15th, where it received a 14 minute standing ovation! It opened in Tokyo the following day, immediately taking the number one spot at the box office. The second track here is a song from the film just posted online yesterday by Toho Studios, and the third is one of the trailers. It made me smile to see the Beast to this Beauty was a dragon this time around. While I don’t know the opening date for North America, I do know it will be in the hands of G-Kids, who I trust when they say it will be coming soon to theaters here. After all, it has to play before we run out of December in order to qualify for the next Oscar nominations; and considering the reception it received at Cannes I would say Hosoda is an even more serious contender to bring home a bunch of Oscars than he was when his last film Mirai was nominated for both the Oscars and the Golden Globe Awards.
Yoko Kanno is one of the most amazing composers and band leaders ever, and it is always a treat to discover someone new singing her praises by playing her music (and yes, I do mean that literally). Back in 2009 a band called Platina Jazz got together to create covers of the best Jazz music in Anime, so I figure at least half of their music has to be created by her. Let me show off a few of their tunes so you can get an idea of who they are.
Starting off with the single most recognizable tune from Anime Jazz, Yoko Kanno’s TANK:
Then there is Inner Universe from Ghost In The Shell : Stand Alone Complex, another track composed and originally preformed by Yoko Kanno!
And another killer classic from Cowboy Bebop, Knock A Little Harder:
If you don’t already know the questions this anime answered 30 years ago and continues to answer today, this video will explain it to you. This exploration of the Ghost In The Shell universe was created by Beyond Ghibli, and he has many more where this came from.
Looks like they put together quite the cast for the live action Sonic the Hedgehog movie. With luck it will hit the big screen in November.
If you missed this 2010 film, now might be the time to go see it or add it to your personal collection. He will be missed! I had to include the piece on him by Looper as well, it is a great tribute.
Mamoru Hosoda’s latest film, Mirai will be in theaters for a limited engagement beginning November 29th courtesy of GKIDS. They have just released another trailer for it, and I wanted to share it here. If the creators name sounds familiar but you’re not sure why, some of his previous works included The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Wolf Children, and Summer Wars.