Distribution company GKIDS has acquired Studio Ghibli’s 1991 anime classic Only Yesterday, and is planning its North American theatrical release in 2016, in time to celebrate the film’s 25th year anniversary. The highly successful Japanese animated film will be dubbed in English by a voice cast which includes Daisy Ridley (Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens) and Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire). The film has never before been released in North America.
The film was written and directed by Isao Takahata, one of the co-founders of Studio Ghibli. Considered to be a realistic drama, which was groundbreaking for animated films of that era, the story centers around a single woman in her 20s who reminisces about her childhood in Tokyo while traveling to the countryside.
GKIDS (Guerilla Kids International Distribution Syndicate) is based in New York City and distributes animated features and family movies. This acquisition will be the fifth collaboration between GKIDS and Studio Ghibli, joining When Marnie Was There, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, From Up On Poppy Hill, and the Kingdom of Dreams and Madness.