GKIDS sets May 22 NY premiere for director Hiromasa Yonebayashi’s second film.
NEW YORK, NY -- GKIDS, the distributor of award-winning animation for both adult and family audiences, announced the English voice cast for When Marnie Was There (Omoide no Marnie), the highly anticipated latest feature from Studio Ghibli. In addition to Hailee Steinfeld as “Anna” and Kiernan Shipka as “Marnie” the film features the voices of Kathy Bates, Ellen Burstyn, Geena Davis, Catherine O’Hara, John C. Reilly, Raini Rodriguez and Vanessa Williams (Full cast list below). When Marnie Was There is the second film from director Hiromasa Yonebayashi whose 2010 debut, The Secret World of Arrietty, received international acclaim and was beloved by audiences worldwide and was the highest grossing Ghibli film to date in North America. Based on the British children’s novel by Joan G. Robinson, the English-language version of the film is produced by Studio Ghibli and Geoffrey Wexler. GKIDS will release When Marnie Was There on May 22 in New York and Los Angeles, with expansion to all major markets in the following weeks.
GKIDS and Studio Ghibli previously partnered on the award-winning, The Tale of The Princess Kaguya, one of the best reviewed films of 2014 and an Oscar-nominee for Best Animated Feature. Other recent collaborations include the 2014 documentary, The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness, and the critically acclaimed 2013 animated feature From Up on Poppy Hill. GKIDS also handles North American theatrical distribution for the Studio Ghibli library of films - one of the world’s most coveted animation collections - with titles including Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, and others.
Sent from her foster home in the city one summer to a sleepy town by the sea in Hokkaido, Anna dreams her days away among the marshes. She believes she’s outside the invisible magic circle to which most people belong – and shuts herself off from everyone around her, wearing her “ordinary face.” Anna never expected to meet a friend like Marnie, who does not judge Anna for being just what she is. But no sooner has Anna learned the loveliness of friendship than she begins to wonder about her newfound friend…
Based on the novel by Joan G. Robinson, When Marnie Was There is the newest film from Studio Ghibli, and the second feature film by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, the director of The Secret World of Arrietty.
ENGLISH VOICE CAST
Anna Sasaki – Hailee Steinfeld
Marnie – Kiernan Shipka
Setsu Oiwa – Grey Griffin
Kiyomasa Oiwa – John C. Reilly
Hisako – Vanessa Williams
Yoriko – Geena Davis
Sayaka – Ava Acres
Nobuko – Raini Rodriguez
Mrs. Kadoya – Kathy Bates
Nan – Ellen Burstyn
Older Woman – Catherine O’Hara
Source: GKIDS
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
