Studio Ghibli Classics Confirmed For IMAX UK As GKIDS Gets Rights

Good news for UK-based Studio Ghibli fans – the legendary Japanese anime studio has found a modern home on these shores. In recent years, Ghibli films (including recent releases Earwig And The Witch, and The Boy And The Heron) have been distributed in the UK by Elysian Film Group. But after that banner went into liquidation earlier this summer, it’s been unknown who will take over those rights. Now we have an answer: GKIDS, a major player in the animation space, is now overseeing the Ghibli library in the UK and Ireland – and there are already plans to bring some beloved favourites back to huge screens. And we mean huge.

Yes, more Studio Ghibli IMAX releases are coming – and the first one on the way is a super-sized re-release of Hayao Miyazaki’s Kiki’s Delivery Service. On the cosier end of Ghibli, it’s a sweet coming-of-age story, as a newborn girl leaves her home in order to fulfil her witchy duties – and begins a flying courier service on her broomstick, with sarcastic cat Jiji by her side. Kiki’s Delivery Service will hit UK IMAX screens on August 21.

GKIDS has also confirmed IMAX releases for Arrietty – Ghibli’s take on The Borrowers – as well as a cult favourite of major Ghibli-heads, Whisper Of The Heart. A uncommon fantasy-lite Ghibli movie, Whisper Of The Heart depicts the friendship between bookworm teen Shizuku and local boy Seiji across the course of a summer; it was the only film directed by Yoshifumi Kondō before his untimely death, and is heralded as one of the studio’s best (and most under-seen) works. Dates for Arrietty and Whisper Of The Heart have not yet been confirmed, so stay tuned for more info in the near future.

Hopefully, there’ll be many more Ghibli re-releases in the months and years to come. After all, who doesn’t want to see Pom Poko’s gigantic tanuki testicles on the biggest cinema screens in the country?