Hayao Miyazaki: Once More - in English

One year after a Hayao Miyazaki retrospective proved one of its biggest attractions in years, the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque is bringing back the work of this acclaimed Japanese animator. But this time the Cinematheque will show nine features instead of seven, and all films will be presented in English language versions—not the subtitled versions shown last September and October.

This year’s series, which runs from September 6 through November 1, is entitled “Hayao Miyazaki: Once More – in English.” It consists of nine of the 11 features made by the Oscar-winning animator, including PONYO, a 2008 feature that is the most recent film of his to be released in the U.S. (and a Cinematheque premiere). Not included in the series is Mr. Miyazaki’s first film THE CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO (1979) and his latest, THE WIND RISES, which just opened last month in Japan.

All nine of the movies to be shown will be projected from beautiful new 35mm film prints. The English language versions have been expertly prepared by the Walt Disney Company and feature celebrity voice talent ranging from Cate Blanchett, Kirsten Dunst, and Clare Danes to Matt Damon, Michael Keaton, and Shia LeBeouf.

This new series should make Mr. Miyazaki’s high-flying adventure fantasies accessible to an even larger audience than the previous one—allowing all ages to discover his unique world of children and creatures, witches and wizards, spells and spirits, flying machines and floating islands, man-made monstrosities and natural wonders.

All films will show in the Aitken Auditorium of the Cleveland Institute of Art, 11141 East Boulevard in University Circle, www.cia.edu/cinematheque. Admission to each film is $9; Cinematheque members $7; age 25 & under $6. Tickets are sold only at the door on the day of the show, cash and check only. Free parking for filmgoers is available in the adjacent CIA lot, located off of East Blvd. For further information, call 216.421.7450 or email cinema@cia.edu.

Film Schedule

Friday, September 6, at 7:00pm &
Saturday, September 7, at 5:00pm
Hayao Miyazaki in English
CASTLE IN THE SKY
aka LAPUTA: CASTLE IN THE SKY
TENKU NO SHIRO RAPYUTA
Japan, 1986, Hayao Miyazaki
A young girl battles sky pirates and government agents for possession of a magical levitation stone that unlocks the secrets of Laputa, a mysterious floating island in the sky. This funny, thrilling, dazzling animated aerial adventure “may be Miyazaki’s most purely enjoyable movie” (Film Comment). English voices by Anna Paquin, James Van Der Beek, Cloris Leachman, Mark Hamill, et al. 35mm. 125 min.

Thursday, September 12, at 8:35pm &
Saturday, September 14, at 5:15pm
Hayao Miyazaki in English
NAUSICAÄ OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND
KAZE NO TANI NO NAUSHIKA
Japan, 1984, Hayao Miyazaki
Miyazaki’s breakthrough animated movie is an epic post-apocalyptic fantasy set in the harmonious Valley of the Wind, whose ecosystem survived the devastating “Seven Days of Fire.” But now young princess Nausicaä must stop two warring clans, and giant insects in the surrounding toxic jungle, that threaten the Valley’s destruction once again. English voices by Shia LaBeouf, Edward James Olmos, Patrick Stewart, Uma Thurman, et al. 35mm. 117 min.

Friday, September 20, at 7:30pm &
Saturday, September 21, at 5:15pm &
Sunday, September 22, at 6:30pm
Hayao Miyazaki in English
MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO
TONARI NO TOTORO
Japan, 1988, Hayao Miyazaki
This gentle, poetic masterpiece tells of two young Japanese sisters who move with their father to the countryside, where they encounter spirits and other amazing creatures who can be seen only by children. One of these critters, the huge, furry, flying Totoro, takes the girls on a series of fantastic adventures. “The film that first brought Miyazaki to international attention remains an animated achievement almost without parallel.” –Time Out Film Guide. English voices by Dakota and Elle Fanning. 35mm. 86 min.

Thursday, September 26, at 8:35pm &
Friday, September 27, at 7:30pm
Hayao Miyazaki in English
KIKI’S DELIVERY SERVICE
MAJO NO TAKKYŪBIN
Japan, 1989, Hayao Miyazaki
Miyazaki’s lyrical coming-of-age comedy focuses on a broomstick-riding, 13-year-old witch-in-training—a good witch—who leaves home with her loquacious black cat to spend a year doing good deeds in a far-off seaside city. She sets up a delivery service with a local baker, but discovers that self-doubt and insecurity threaten her aerial abilities. English voices by Kirsten Dunst, Debbie Reynolds, et al. 35mm. 102 min.

Thursday, October 3, at 8:45pm &
Friday, October 4, at 7:30pm
Hayao Miyazaki in English
PORCO ROSSO (THE RED PIG)
KURENAI NO BUTA
Japan, 1992, Hayao Miyazaki
Miyazaki’s rarest major feature follows a decorated WWI flying ace-turned-pig (the result of a mysterious spell) who battles sky pirates over the Adriatic Sea in the years preceding WWII. This high-flying adventure was Japan’s highest grossing film of 1993. “As stirring as Casablanca and sophisticated as Only Angels Have Wings…A sublime chivalric fable.” –Time Out Film Guide. English voices by Michael Keaton, Brad Garrett, et al. 35mm. 94 min.

Thursday, October 10, at 8:35pm &
Friday, October 11, at 7:00pm &
Sunday, October 13, at 8:25pm
Hayao Miyazaki in English
PRINCESS MONONOKE
MONONOKE HIME
Japan, 1997, Hayao Miyazaki
Mortals who have learned how to fashion weapons out of metal battle nature spirits, pagan gods, and forest creatures in Miyazaki’s sumptuous, ecologically-themed mythological epic. 16 years in the making, this is one of the most impressive animated features ever! English voices by Clare Danes, Minnie Driver, Billy Crudup, Billy Bob Thornton, et al. 35mm. 134 min.

Thursday, October 17, at 8:35pm &
Friday, October 18, at 7:15pm
Hayao Miyazaki in English
HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE
HAURU NO OGOKU SHIRO
Japan, 2004, Hayao Miyazaki
In Miyazaki’s magical animated feature, a teenage girl who is transformed by a witch into a wrinkled old woman seeks out a wizard, Howl, to lift the spell. She takes refuge in Howl’s magical, shape-shifting, ambulatory castle, which proves to be a doorway to an assortment of fantastical alternate realities. English voices by Emily Mortimer, Christian Bale, Jean Simmons, Blythe Danner, Lauren Bacall, et al. 35mm. 119 min.

Friday, October 25, at 7:00pm &
Saturday, October 26, at 5:00pm
Hayao Miyazaki in English
SPIRITED AWAY
SEN TO CHIHIRO NO KAMIKAKUSHI
Japan, 2001, Hayao Miyazaki
Winner of the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, and Japan’s all-time box office champ at the time of its release (surpassing Titanic), Spirited Away is arguably Miyazaki’s most dazzling and imaginative masterpiece. It tells of a 10-year-old girl who is transported to a fantastic spirit realm after her parents are turned into pigs. There she goes to work for a witch in order to reverse the spell. English voices by Suzanne Pleshette, David Ogden Stiers, Michael Chiklis, et al. 35mm. 125 min.

Thursday, October 31, at 8:45pm &
Friday, November 1, at 7:30pm
Hayao Miyazaki in English!
PONYO
GAKE NO UE NO PONYO
Japan, 2008, Hayao Miyazaki
Never before shown at the Cinematheque, the most recent Miayazaki feature to be released in the U.S. (his new film, THE WIND RISES, is due here soon) tells of a five-year-old boy who finds and befriends a magical goldfish with the power to change into a human being. English voices by Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Liam Neeson, et al. 35mm. 101 min.