Studio Ghibli and Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland

Genkina Hito

Genkina Hito

映画男！！！
Slashfilm has run a story about the involvement of Studio Ghibli in the 80’s American film Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland.

Based on a comic strip by Winsor McCay and with a screenplay by legendary artist Moebius (Jean Giraud), the animation was a co-production between Japan and the US but the film had a very troubled development with many companies falling out with each other and leaving the film. One of those companies was Studio Ghibli with Miyazaki trying to get the project off the ground in 1984 with an elaborate test video seen below. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be as Studio Ghibli departed from the production with Miyazaki decribing the process as “the worst experience of his professional career”. Fortunately for the rest of the world he went on to make the classic Kiki’s Delivery Service but the test footage makes one wonder what might have been. The video shows elaborate footage of the pitch Studio Ghibli came up with. You can see by comparing the pitch with Studio Ghilbi’s work their clear influence can be seen.



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My thanks for this very interesting news item goes out to Raz112!

<a href="http://www.slashfilm.com/watch-scene-studio-ghiblis-abandoned-little-nemo-dreamland/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+slashfilm+%28%2FFilm%29">Source</a>
 
Yeah, I briefly mentioned this on the Ghibli podcast.

According to wikipedia, although both Miyazaki and Isao Takahata were involved with the project at an earlier stage, they had left by this point and the pilot film was co-directed by Andy Gaskill (no idea) and the late Yoshifumi Kondo (Whisper of the Heart). I think technically their involvement would predate the founding of the studio (and Kondo's joining), but it's a very nice little short and it does rather scream "Ghibli" when you watch it.

Apparently, there also exists a pilot film directed by Osamu Dezaki, but unfortunately it seems to have been taken down from youtube.
 
A classic little movie,one of my faves,Discotek is releasing it on dvd next month,i think it is going to be dub only though,but still it will be great to finally have a official domestic copy in my collection after all these years. :D
 
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