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"Ponyo" Cast List and Other Details released

William R. : 23 Jun 2008

Toho Co., Ltd. released the official cast list for "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea." A notable inclusion on the new list is Rumi Hiiragi, who provided the voice of Chihiro in "Spirited Away."

http://www.toho.co.jp/lineup/ponyo/credit.html

Toho Co., Ltd., long-time distributors of Studio Ghibli films, announced the full cast list for "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea."

One notable inclusion on the official Toho list linked to above (in Japanese) is Rumi Hiiragi, who played the voice of Chihiro in "Spirited Away," although it is not known (as of this writing) what character she will play in "Ponyo."

Also, Toho announced technical details on the film:

Run time: 101 minutes
Screen size: Vista size
Sound: Dolby Digital Surround EX, dts-ES (6.1)
Chain master theater: Tokyo Hibiya SCALA-ZA1

Also, Studio Ghibli announced that American filmmakers Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy will helm the US version of "Ponyo." Toshio Suzuki announced this during a conversation with George Lucas, who was in Japan to promote the new Indiana Jones movie. Here follows the applicable transcript from GhibliWorld.com(for the full transcript of the conversation, go to http://www.ghibliworld.com/news.html#2206):

Suzuki Toshio: Actually, yes, we are doing quite well in the DVD market. We are hoping for the future to do better in the theatre. That is why with this new film, Gake no ue no Ponyo, we are getting Kathleen (Kennedy) and Frank (Marshall) to help us.

George Lucas: They are very good at bringing films to the United States and bringing them into the theatres.

Suzuki Toshio: So now we will leave everything in their hands, do nothing and wait for things to happen (laughing).

Kathleen Kennedy: Today we finished the movie… Today!

Suzuki Toshio: Today? Is that so? Congratulations!

Kathleen Kennedy: I have to assume that everybody is waiting for the movie to be shown in Japan and I think that they will be very, very happy with this new movie. It is everything that the other three (Mononoke, Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle) were and more. I am a big fan.
Suzuki Toshio: Can you give one comment on our new film Ponyo?

Kathleen Kennedy: Ponyo is going to break hearts. It is such an incredible new character that Miyazaki-san is bringing to the screen.

Suzuki Toshio: Thank you very much.

Special thanks to Nausicaa.net's GhibliWiki users (specifically Lawrence Lin and "T. Ishikawa") and the folks at GhibliWorld.com for bring this news to my attention.