Understanding the Studio Ghibli Netflix Deal (VIDEO SCRIPT)

Sorry to burst your bubble America, but just like the oil in the Middle-East, that Netflix/Studio Ghibli announcement wasn’t meant for you...

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Hey Readers, how’s it going? Um...you might wanna sit down

So you know that, um... God, it’s so hard for me to say this. I don’t like disappointing people.

I mean, I DO like disappointing people, but only if they deserve it and it doesn’t seem like y’all deserve it.

OKAY. (claps hands) snatching off the bandage. Netflix announced something pretty spectacular earlier in the week involving everyone’s favorite high-brow Japanese animation studio, Studio Ghibli

/Starting February 1st, Netflix will be streaming 21 movies from the studio, including fan favorites like My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Pom Poko, Howls Moving Castle, Spirited Away and more./

Now I’m not saying YOU took it that way, but some people here in the states saw this announcement and got pretty geeked over it. And respectively so.

So geeked, that across the social media accounts that posted the announcement video, they didn’t even notice that it came from Netflix accounts OUTSIDE THE U.S.

And that’s when people started getting disappointed.

/Because since the announcement of Netflix’s acquisition of the streaming rights to these 21 Studio Ghibli movies, clarification has been made that they were only the INTERNATIONAL streaming rights to said movies. Meaning that starting February 1st, Netflix will be exclusively streaming these movies in pretty much every country across the world that allows Netflix, except the United States and Canada/

I know... (long pause) I know.

So if you were one of the individuals who got...prematurely excited when you saw this, I get it

However, at the same time, there’s a bit of me that looked at everyone who DID get amped about this thinking it was meant for them and just went:

Oh...oh, honey...

Because it was announced... back in October of 2019

/That up-and-coming streaming service and Disney+ competitor HBO Max will be the exclusive home for streaming Studio Ghibli in North America, placing every title on the platform when it launches in 2020 with the exception of Grave of the Fireflies/

Which might be a blow to anyone who clinically needs a Miyazaki movie in order to...in order to ACTUALLY cry.

Now there is a bit of leeway I’m willing to give for individuals on this matter, because I admit; I found myself asking the same question when the HBO Max announcement was made.

And that leeway is, out of all the streaming platforms the Studio Ghibli collection would be on, why isn’t it on Disney+?

Because if you remember, Disney had the distribution rights to Studio Ghibli’s works here in North America for the longest time.

But in regards to Ghibli establishing this partnership with Disney, that wasn’t always the case. As a matter of fact, there was a time back where working with Disney wasn’t even a consideration

Before 1996, Studio Ghibli co-founder and Paul Revere of anime Hayao Miyazaki didn’t really want to work with American companies because he was worried about how they would change his work in order to cater to American audiences, and specifically didn’t want to work with Disney because he felt they lacked decency. Which is true...

/What actually changed his mind on the matter was Studio Ghibli co-founder Yasuyoshi Tokuma asking him to consider the partnership, and taking into consideration all the times Tokuma had Miyazaki’s back in the past./ Studio Ghibli - Disney Deal

So for the longest -- pretty much 20 years -- Disney was the sole international distributor of everything Studio Ghibli. That means Blu-Rays, DVDs, and theatrical releases

But it was about two years after Miyazaki’s The Wind Rises was released that Disney decided to let go of the distribution rights to Studio Ghibli

/And with that, the New York based company GKIDS picked up the international distribution rights for Studio Ghibli everywhere but France -- which Disney held on to for some strange reason/

Once again, with the exception of Grave of the Fireflies

So that explains why the Studio Ghibli collection isn’t on Disney+. The only other rights they own to a Studio Ghibli work are the home video rights to The Wind Rises because it’s still younger than 10 years old as of this recording. GKIDS on the other hand can freely air it in theaters.

And with the House of Mouse no longer having the Studio Ghibli collection under their belt to put it on THEIR streaming service, Warner Brothers knocked on the door of GKIDS -- a media distribution company that isn’t owned by a major studio and can do business with whoever they want -- and clearly offered them a deal for the North American streaming rights that they couldn’t refuse.

As for how Netflix got the international streaming rights? Well, remember when I said that Disney held on to the French distribution rights? Well, those eventually fell to the German distribution company Wild Bunch, who worked with GKIDS in order to properly secure the deal

So if you are an American who wants to stream the Studio Ghibli library legitimately, you’ll have to wait until HBO Max is available and make the decision whether you think getting the streaming service is worth it.

Personally, from what I’ve seen of the lineup of exclusives and original content, I’m considering it.

Or if you prefer to OWN the movies -- because as Disney+ has proven to us, just because it’s on a streaming service doesn’t mean it’ll always be there -- you can find a link to the collected works of Hayao Miyazaki on Blu-Ray in the description below.

Because stop kidding yourself; you SAY Studio Ghibli, but you really mean Hayao Miyazaki

It’s BAD, and totally unfair to the other storytellers at Studio Ghibli, but I get it.

So with that being said Readers, your homework assignment for the day

Write in the comment section below whether or not you got prematurely hyped for the Studio Ghibli/Netflix announcement

Or, if you feel like sharing with the rest of the class, whether or not HBO Max having the Studio Ghibli collection is enough for you to consider signing up for the streaming service

Whichever one you answer, I’d love to know your thoughts.