Shout! Factory Archives | Otaku No Culture

Love Studio Laika? Details on the Studios Edition Rerelease for Fall/Winter 2021!

The Blu-ray™+DVD combos are loaded with exciting new special features, including “Inside LAIKA interviews with the studio’s animation team”, Never-Before-Seen Animation Test Footage, and Feature-Length Storyboards for each of the films. All four films were nominated for the Academy Award® for Best Animated Film.

Studio Laika – Molding Life into Stop-Motion Animation Fans of Studio Laika’s movies will be facing a tough decision, whether to upgrade their current sets for the latest, which includes some new material for the budding animator to view.

Four films will receive new high-definition releases this fall when Coraline (LAIKA Studios Edition) and The Boxtrolls (LAIKA Studios Edition) are released on August 31, and ParaNorman (LAIKA Studios Edition) and Kubo and the Two Strings (LAIKA Studios Edition) are released on September 14 by lauded animation studio LAIKA and multi-platform entertainment distributor Shout! Factory.

Along with digitally remastered editions of the films, new and existing bonus features, and new, collectible packaging, the LAIKA Studios Editions feature insightful, commemorative new essays by esteemed journalists Peter Debruge (Variety), Ramin Zahed (Animation Magazine), Bill Desowitz (Indiewire) and Charles Solomon (author and former Los Angeles Times critic).

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When Sherlock Holmes Turns Hound (Again)

The bigger mystery concerning Sherlock Holmes and the Great Escape lay in whether Hong Kong-based writer and directors Matthew Chow and Toe Yuen knew of the animated anthropomorphic take made many decades ago.

Shout! Factory
Available to order on Amazon USA or stream on YouTube or Google Play

Spoiler Alert

The bigger mystery concerning Sherlock Holmes and the Great Escape lay in whether Hong Kong-based writer and directors Matthew Chow and Toe Yuen knew of the animated anthropomorphic take made many decades ago. Sherlock Hound featured everything I loved about this famous detective as a caring humanitarian. This series had a charm which I adored. The theme song from the localized French television broadcast had lyrics to which I still remember to this day.

It’s rare to transform the sleuth into a canine again, and I suspect Chow and Yuen knew what they were doing. They didn’t bank on everyone knowing the previous work. The character designs of other figures are similar enough, and what’s done art-wise was a change on costumes to avoid law-suits. Plus, a few moments may have been copied from the original. I’d have to search the episodes to verify, but I’m sure I saw this film’s bicycle chase before!

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The Deets on Transformers the Movie 35th Anniversary 4K Edition

Any eagle-eyed fans will have to make plans for finding this release in the wild, as its not likely many will be sold at box stores. This release features striking new key art by celebrated comic artist Matt Ferguson, an all-new 4K transfer of the movie in widescreen with HDR, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, the film in HD full frame on Blu-ray, immersive bonus content including never-before-seen feature-length storyboards

Shout! Factory and eOne

Release Dates:
Aug 3, 2021 (Limited Edition Steelbook)
Sept 28, 2021 (UHD+Blu-ray & Blu-ray+DVD combo)

Transformers The Movie is almost 35 years old, and unlike the video games which shows the warring Cybertronians looking dirty and with battle scars, the restoration of the film will be crisp and shiny. This work has been meticulously re-restored from a cleaner-than-ever, brand-new 4K transfer of the original 35mm film elements and even better for this home video release is the choice of which edition to pick up!

Beloved by legions of fans, this full-length animated adventure boasts the voice talent of Orson Welles in his final voice acting role and an all-star voice cast that includes Peter Cullen, Eric Idle, Casey Kasem, Judd Nelson, Leonard Nimoy, Robert Stack and Frank Welker.

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So What’s With the Music in Earwig and the Witch?

I wanted to know more about this world, and it’s a shame Jones passed away, leaving her latest idea unfinished.

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

GKIDS & Shout! Factory
Now Available on Streaming (HBOMax)

DVD/Blu-Ray Release Date:
April 6, 2021

Spoiler Alert

Long time fans of Studio Ghibli’s works will find their decision to transition to CGI jarring. The production quality and advanced character design–the motion of the figures–is just not there. They don’t have the decades of experience other teams (like DreamWorks or PIXAR) have. It’s all new to them. Despite this setback, debuting Earwig and the Witch (アーヤと魔女) on television and the CGI quality doesn’t overshadow the tale by much.

Goro Miyazaki explains his reasoning behind the production design in one featurette offered in this home video release (it comes with a handy checklist of other Ghibli films for completionists to explore). Viewers can decide if his choice is for the better or worse. By mid-act I got accustomed to it and became more invested in the hilarious antics Erica Wigg (Kokoro Hirasawa) goes through with the help of her new pet to become a woman of the house.

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The Prince’s Voyage Set to Land in America May 18th!

The Princes Voyage Blu-Ray Cover — **Available to preorder on Amazon USA**

Coming May 18, 2021
From SHOUT! STUDIOS

This spring, Shout! Studios invites you to embark on an extraordinary journey with The Prince’s Voyage when this highly anticipated animated feature debuts on a two-disc Blu-ray Combo Pack (Blu-ray + DVD) and Digital on May 18, 2021.

Directed by the venerable French animator Jean-François Laguionie (The Painting, Cannes Palme d’Or winner Rowing Across the Atlantic) and Xavier Picard (King Arthur and the Knight of Justice), this movie is a beautiful and exciting movie adventure that promotes acceptance and diversity. Available for the first time on North American home entertainment shelves, The Prince’s Voyage Blu-ray Combo Pack contains insightful bonus content and is a must-have for collectors and animation enthusiasts.

A production of Blue Spirit Productions (Oscar®-nominated My Life as a Zucchini) and Melusine Productions (Wolfwalkers), The Prince’s Voyage screened at The Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Rotterdam International Film Festival, New York Animation First, and Chicago International Film Festival to great audience enthusiasm. Filmmaker Jean-François Laguionie received an Honorary Cristal Award at the 2019 Annecy for his illustrious career in animation.

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The Legend of Hei is Coming to Digital & Home Video!

The Legend of Hei Blu-ray Cover — **Pre-order at ShoutFactory.com or Amazon USA**

Coming to Digital
April 20, 2021

Home Video:
May 11, 2021

Over five years in the making, The Legend of Hei is a heart-warming fantasy movie adventure, bolstered by beautiful animation and enchanting narrative. Filmmaker Ping Zhang (a.k.a MTJJ) derived this story from a popular flash animation series he created in 2011.

The series gained immense popularity when it debuted online in China, and Zhang then decided to develop it into a feature-length movie. Following successful openings in China and Japan, The Legend of Hei recently screened at Annecy International Animation Film Festival and Japan Media Arts Festival to great audience enthusiasm. Shout! Studios is proud to present this film starting April 20, 2021.

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