why aren't Miyazaki films successful in the west?
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yanosakamoto — 15 years ago(November 01, 2010 02:15 AM)
Yes yes exactly ! In Japan people feel that animes are for evryone, even if Ponyo is actually really directed at children . But Generally speaking , animes are also for adults and I know that in some countries people still believe that animes are just for children .
I agree with the marketing part too . In Japan Miyazaki's movies are heavily advertised and people know them by heart so it is not a problem, each movie is a success . Ghibli Studios should do the same thing evrywhere but I think it is quite impassible .
Can't sleep at night -
FollicleMan — 15 years ago(November 27, 2010 09:20 AM)
It's funny, because until maybe the 50s or 60s, it was the same in America. Adults went to see Snow White and Fantasia even if they didn't have kids, because it was a spectacle, like a Cecil B. DeMille movie. But somewhere along the line, it was decided that cartoons are for kids and ONLY live action is for grown ups. Of course, now that every cartoon is getting remade as a hideous photoreal CGI/live-action abomination, there's barely a place for traditional animation at all. Lets hope Lasseter keeps championing the cause at Disney, or we're doomed to sink into the uncanny valley forever.
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yanosakamoto — 15 years ago(December 10, 2010 01:59 AM)
In Japan it is a little bit diffrent, because some animes are really what we call "adult movies" . Animes are not meant to be seen by everybody but by a specific part of the population most of the time . Creators and studios don't aim at the whole audience most of the time , it is not the point .
Can't sleep at night -
delopowitz — 13 years ago(July 13, 2012 10:24 PM)
Hey, I can't speak for the rest of the country we live in California and aren't even Japanese by descent and we have several Ghibli dvds and have seen the last two in theaters. I love a good Pixar but I'd sooner pop in a Ghibli, and so would the kids. We've seen My Neighbor Totoro eleventy-billion times. I liked The Secret World of Arrietty better than Brave. And our friends like them too. So I dunno. I have come across people who aren't familiar with Studio Ghibli films, but I've also met people who weren't sure who The Marx Brothers were. Good things don't always get around.
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shred-com — 13 years ago(December 22, 2012 01:03 PM)
Films like these are not promoted or usually get a wide enough release in the US to gain a huge audience. And yet they still do pretty damn well. And anime is pretty damn huge in the states. It's aired all the time on tv.
And btw there's nothing wrong with Disney/Pixar. They have made some of the best animated films of all time. Just sayin. -
capvid19 — 13 years ago(January 07, 2013 04:31 AM)
I'm pretty sure it's almost entirely because they get very little marketing here when compared to films made in the West. If they did I'd imagine they'd gross much more in their cinema release.
That said, I'm pretty sure DVD sales are fairly high, they can hardly be called unsuccessful. -
xenopharb — 9 years ago(September 04, 2016 12:24 AM)
Disney does not market them well, and traditional animation is now more difficult to market anyway.
I have looked for every Ghibli film since Spirited Away at local theaters, and only two have come here (Arrietty and Ponyo). There is a theater 85 miles away that sometimes sneaks in Ghibli films, but even then only for a week. -
watcher101 — 9 years ago(January 27, 2017 08:40 PM)
Unfortunately, many western audiences dismiss anime in general as being kiddish (even though there are some that are very violent or explicit), and they won't even give it a chance. Those that do gain a true appreciation for how great anime is. Sadly, most westerners look down on these fans without even giving anime a chance. So anime fans tend to get a bad reputation, which only discourages people from even giving anime a try even more.