Walt Disney Studios’ Motion Picture Line-up for 2014
Walt Disney Studios just released their motion picture lineup for 2014. There are quite a few planned out through the year, including a couple we’re most excited about. We’ll say one thing for sure, it’s going to be a good year at the movies for all ages.
1. The Wind Rises
Director/Writer: Hayao Miyazaki
English-Language Voice Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, John Krazinski, Emily Blunt, Martin Short, Stanley Tucci, Mandy Patinkin, Mae Whitman, Werner Herzog, Jennifer Grey, William H. Macy, Zach Callison, Madeleine Rose Yen, Eva Bella, Edie Mirman, Darren Criss, Elijah Wood, Ronan Farrow, David Cowgill
In “The Wind Rises,” Jiro (voice of Joseph Gordon-Levitt) dreams of flying and designing beautiful airplanes, inspired by the famous Italian designer Caproni (voice of Stanley Tucci). Nearsighted from a young age and unable to be a pilot, Jiro joins a Japanese engineering company in 1927 and becomes one of the world’s most innovative and accomplished airplane designers. The film chronicles much of his life, depicting historical events, including the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, the Great Depression, the tuberculosis epidemic and Japan’s plunge into war. Jiro meets and falls in love with Nahoko (voice of Emily Blunt), and grows and cherishes his friendship with his colleague Honjo (voice of John Krasinski). Writer and director Hayao Miyazaki pays tribute to engineer Jiro Hori in this epic take of love, perseverance, and the challenges of living and making choices in a turbulent world.
There isn’t a single Miyazaki film we don’t hate, so this one is bound to blow us away. Plus it seems Miyazaki is taking a break from the realm of fantasy and plunging into an era steeped in historical wonder. A lot of the non-fantasy types that come out of Studio Ghibli don’t quite make it to the silver screen here, so we’re glad to see that the rest of America is finally figuring out what we already knew: whatever Miyazaki and his people touch is pure, poignant gold.
U.S. Release Dates: February 21, 2014 (limited), February 28 (expanded)
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