# Miyazaki DVD release questions **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 3, 2003, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miyazaki-dvd-release-questions/172803 "2003-05-03T04:30:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Archergal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Archergal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archergal)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miyazaki-dvd-release-questions/172803/1 "2003-05-03T04:30:42Z")
Ok, I know Disney has already released **Spirited Away, Kiki’s Delivery Service** and **Castle in the Sky.** So two questions: 1. Is Disney also going to release all the other Miyazaki works? If so, does anyone know the timeline? 2. If **Nausicaa** and **My Neighbor Totoro** won’t be released by Disney any time soon, are there good DVD versions already out there? Ok, so it was three questions. It’s late. ---
**Author:** ![Archergal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Archergal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archergal)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miyazaki-dvd-release-questions/172803/2 "2003-05-03T14:19:21Z")
Geez, nobody knows the answer to this??? ☹ ---
**Author:** ![RobuSensei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/919ad9/32.png) [@RobuSensei](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobuSensei)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miyazaki-dvd-release-questions/172803/3 "2003-05-03T14:21:07Z")
The best place to go for more information on this would be [Nausicaa.net](http://Nausicaa.net), specifically: [http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/disney/](http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/disney/) If I recall correctly, although Disney has the worldwide (sans Asia, but including Japan) rights to distribute most of Studio Ghibli’s films, there are no current plans for releasing more of them in the States. Fox still has the U.S. distribution rights for My Neighbor Totoro, and they released a dub-only, pan-and-scan DVD in December of last year. ---
**Author:** ![pung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@pung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pung)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miyazaki-dvd-release-questions/172803/4 "2003-05-03T14:33:45Z")
Theres a not so legal Studio Ghibli 12 film DVD set discussed here: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=172459](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=172459) I bought the DVD box a week ago. I’m mostly happy with it, my biggest issue is that some of the English subtitles are timed poorly (too fast, out of sync). The package was probably aimed at a Chinese audience with english added on as an afterthought. If you have any questions feel free to ask. ---
**Author:** ![RobuSensei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/919ad9/32.png) [@RobuSensei](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobuSensei)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miyazaki-dvd-release-questions/172803/5 "2003-05-03T14:54:21Z")
Almost forgot – Grave of the Fireflies, which is a Ghibli movie, but not a Miyazaki movie, is out in the states in a “collectors edition,” from Central Park Media. I own a copy of this movie, but I have yet to make myself watch it. Because I visited the Hiroshima Peace Museum last week, it’ll probably be a while yet.☹ That box set mentioned in that previous thread is almost certainly a [bootleg](http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/feedback/faq.html#recentissues). ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miyazaki-dvd-release-questions/172803/6 "2003-05-03T15:11:18Z")
Sorry for hijacking, but I was wondering about the American release of **Castle in the Sky**. What did they name the flying city? Somehow, I think using the Japanese version of Laputa would run into a snag or two. ---
**Author:** ![Wumpus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8c91f0/32.png) [@Wumpus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wumpus)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miyazaki-dvd-release-questions/172803/7 "2003-05-03T18:48:36Z")
The name Laputa was used in the Hallmark family-friendly TV version of Gulliver’s Travels starring Ted Danson without raising any eyebrows. And according to this: > **[Movies](https://movies.disney.com/)** > > Explore all our Disney Movies to find Disney+ originals, classic and new upcoming films, and even Blu-rays, DVDs and downloads. Plus, find movies to stream now on Disney+ or Hulu. …the city name in Disney’s release of Castle in the Sky is still Laputa, though it’s no longer featured in the title. As so often happens with classic literature, what was originally a sly little joke has been drained of all meaning over the years. Except, presumably, in Spanish-speaking markets. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Netbrian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71e660/32.png) [@Netbrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Netbrian)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miyazaki-dvd-release-questions/172803/8 "2003-05-03T20:25:32Z")
Okay, okay. What on Earth does Laputa REALLY mean? ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2003, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/miyazaki-dvd-release-questions/172803/9 "2003-05-04T04:13:03Z")
In Spanish, _la puta_ means ‘the whore’. In Gulliver’s Travels, Johnathan Swift named his flying island populated by scientists and thinkers “Laputa” as part of his satire on society. 200+ years later, Miyazaki was looking for a name for the flying island of his new movie, and probably decided that since “Laputa” had been used in a piece of classical literature, it was a perfectly appropriate choice. He’s had some bad luck with his names. The name of the giant insects in _Nausicaa_ is written in Japanese katakana as Oumu. At the time it was perfectly ok, but a few years later it became famous as the name of the religious cult that nerve-gassed the Tokyo subways.