Part Twenty-Three: Shattering Perceptions:
“When the time came for us to make a decision over
Grave of The Fireflies, that was the turning point for Studio Eleven. We were running high on Nelvana's output with the Big Three,
Castle in The Sky was a success and MGM had finally greenlit a project for our own. Then, Studio Ghibli started major production of
Grave of The Fireflies and it led to an outright civil war in our own boardrooms. Could we distribute this movie? We never doubted the quality, but the content was something that we feared could make us, or break us. With MGM telling us that we had to make the choice ourselves, it eventually came down to a vote by the executives. Do we dub and try to distribute this movie? We had the vote, and it passed by the slimmest of margins. To this day I'm convinced that the vote could have gone either way and I'm glad that it didn't.”
- Extract from an interview with Clive Smith, 2004
After the smash success of
Valley of The Wind and the further acclaim gained by
Castle in The Sky, Studio Ghibli's fame in the West was gaining speed as a producer of fine animated movies. The partnership with Studio Eleven had been a success story for both with the first strain of the relationship coming with
Grave of The Fireflies. While Studio Eleven and, by extension, Nelvana, had begun to pride themselves on being completely different from Disney in terms of quality and output, the content of
Grave of The Fireflies gave them pause. The nature of the film, showing children failing to survive in the final days of World War II, was beyond what Studio Eleven had been expecting from Studio Ghibli's output. With the insistence on not cutting or changing any scenes, it appeared that neither side would make a move until a vote among Studio Eleven's board finally brought about the decision to dub the film. With it would come great controversy and a shattering of conceptions of animation as being only for children.
- Extract from
Animation in The Age of Amalgam, 2004
“Well... this is different.”
- Quote from Robin Williams after reading the script for
Grave of The Fireflies
Grave of The Fireflies is an emotional experience so powerful that it forces a rethinking of animation. Since the earliest days, most animated films have been “cartoons” for children and families. Recent animated features such as
Nausicca of The Valley of The Wind and
Rock And Rule have touched on more serious themes, and classics like
Bambi have had moments that moved some audience members to tears. But
Bambi, and films like it, exist within safe confines; they inspire tears, but not grief.
Grave of The Fireflies is a powerful dramatic film that happens to be animated, one that showcases just what the medium can actually do.”
- Extract from Roger Ebert's review of
Grave of The Fireflies, September 1988
(1)
Decisions regarding the release of the dubbed version of
Grave of The Fireflies led to a delayed nationwide release. The late September date was chosen to avoid children having wider access that they would have gained during the summer vacation and hopefully avoid further controversy. It was around August that the rumours began that Studio Eleven actually began to lobby the MPAA for the movie to be given a higher age rating than a typical children's movie. The final rating of a PG-13 was seen to be a balance between the lobbying for a higher age rating and the wish to gain as wide as an audience as possible. The effect on advertising and public perception was noticeable from the outset, with the rating itself perhaps garnering more interest in the movie than it would have gotten from being left alone for the MPAA to make their own decision.
- Extract from
You Can See The Munchkin in The Trees: A History of Movie Urban Legends, 2000
“It's hard to state just how much
Grave of The Fireflies changed things. When you saw the commercials, saw them highlighting the war parts of the movie and the loss that was in it, you knew something had changed. When it was released and became as big as it did, the idea that cartoons were something only for kids was pretty much killed off.”
- Quote from RangerofSpace, member of AlternateHistory.com, 2013
Grave of The Fireflies:
Released: 23rd September, 1988
Budget: 32.7 Million US Dollars
Box Office: 82.3 Million US Dollars
- Run down of
Grave of The Fireflies information and performance in western markets
(2)
“The sheer success of
Grave of The Fireflies really outmatched out expectations. I think there was still some of that anti-war sentiment left over from Vietnam which helped boost numbers, although we ran into some controversy from parents who hadn't paid much attention to the advertising campaign.
Grave of The Fireflies did a lot to help shatter conceptions about what animation could do. In the aftermath of the success, we were really looking for new projects for our own in-house projects. We were even in negotiations over some of Terry Pratchett's
Warhammer books before the Jimmy Swaggart really started to up the pressure on us after the video game controversy and his campaign against Totoro. Our efforts were hampered by that although what
Grave of The Fireflies had helped break,
My Neighbour Totoro helped build into something new.”
- Extract from an interview with Clive Smith, 2001
“Moving away from the tragedy of
Grave of The Fireflies, Studio Eleven's latest distribution of a Japanese film,
My Neighbour Totoro, blends the mundane with the fantastic into a film that will catch the imagination of people of all ages. The tale of Satsuki and Mei encountering the titular Totoro and gaining insight into his powers is counter-balanced by worries and fears that anyone can relate to. The two young girls are portrayed realistically and are endearing with a wonderful soundtrack and animation once again standing out. Studio Ghibli's movies can mesh the supernatural with the natural in ways that few others can achieve and produce viewing everyone can enjoy.”
- Extract from a review of the
My Neighbour Totoro from the Boston Globe, March 1989
“And we have further proof that our Christian culture is under attack! A movie, a movie with the most vile images is now being marketed towards our children! A father molesting his daughters is presented clearly! These same girls go onto summon a Demon! A Demon! As we draw close to Easter, look not to this vile Satanic piece of filth! Write to your Congressman! To your Senators! Ban this movie and protect your children! Protect all our children!”
- Extract from a sermon by Jimmy Swaggart, March 1989
“The attempted boycott by Jimmy Swaggart on our films, starting with
Totoro with his attempt to get theatres to drop it. Thankfully, the studio was behind us on this, I just think they didn't want anyone to try and censor what kind of movies they could release. Their faith was rewarded by
Totoro's success despite the boycott, it being especially popular overseas in Europe. MGM really supported us during this period, although we had to self-censor a little. Negotiations over the potential
Warhammer movie ended right there and then, the content being too controversial to carry on with. We still had some home grown projects, one that was released later that year. Despite the controversy, 1989 was a really good time for us with
My Neighbour Totoro helping rebuild animation as something the entire family could enjoy without being kiddy, the Oscar nomination and the success of Don's first movie with us.”
- Extract from an interview with Michael Hirsh, 1997
“The rise of anime in the 1980's was rather fitful, if only because of how the majority first came into anime. Other anime had come before of course, but none had been on the back of major studio backing.
Nausicca of The Valley of The Wind, along with the run of Studio Ghibli movies in the late 80's got people associating anime with high quality films that was brought up even more with the Oscar nomination for
Grave of The Fireflies. So, when western companies looked for anime to mass distribute, a few of them got rather nasty shocks. MGM was, of course, the big winner to start with. Studio Ghibli was the jewel in their crown and they also negotiated for the rights to distribute the
Lupin III TV specials and movies, although they aimed for a smaller cost with the home video market being their target for them. A strategy that really paid dividends, literally.”
“The biggest problem for studios was that if they wanted a good series or movie, they'd have to pay for the flops from the same studios so that they'd make some money off them. Warner Brothers, Fox and other studios erred on the choice which allowed a new studio to take centre stage. Enter Streamline Pictures and their ability to get a slot on HBO with the idea of broadcasting mature animation to a wider audience. So, 1989 brought us the dub of
Mobile Suit Gundam, for better and for worse. The impact would be felt though, with Cartoon Network also having their Elder Hour at their launch.
Mobile Suit Gundam was the first animated series on a major network that was given a more adult feel in tone. It added to the idea that anime was more for adults than western animation and added to the erosion of the attitude that cartoons were just for kids.”
“These years were interesting, as an anime fan, to say the least. A lot of smaller companies started at this time, to help snap up the anime they could to make the most of the medium's popularity. Some of the dubbing was poor, not going to lie, but seeing an explosion of anime at this time was huge, even if it did add into the whole moral panic at the time.”
- Quote from OreGriz, member of Alternate History.com, 2011
STUDIO ELEVEN PRESENTS
STEPHEN SONDHEIM'S
INTO THE WOODS
DIRECTED BY DON BLUTH
- Poster advertising Studio Eleven's adaptation of
Into The Woods, November 1989
1: A modified version of a review of the same movie by Roger Ebert IOTL
2: I could only find one source online regarding the budget of Grave of Fireflies, which said it was 3.27 million dollars. I looked into The Little Mermaid's Budget and decided to fudge the numbers and make a wild guess. If anyone's able to correct me, that'd be nice.