Gkids Acquires Mamoru Hosoda’s “Mirai” for Fall Release

Gkids Acquires Mamoru Hosoda’s “Mirai” for Fall Release

February 17th, 2018

Jerry Beck

GKIDS has announced it has acquired the North American distribution rights for the animated feature Mirai from Japan’s Studio Chizu. The film is written and helmed by Mamoru Hosoda, the director behind The Boy and the Beast, Wolf Children, Summer Wars, and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. GKIDS will release the film theatrically this fall in both its original Japanese language and a new English dubbed version.

Mirai follows a young boy named Kun who feels forgotten by his family when his little sister Mirai arrives. Running away from home, Kun stumbles upon a magical garden that serves as time-travelling gateway where he encounters his mother as a little girl and has a series of adventures with his baby sister all grown up, opening up a new perspective on his world.

The all-rights deal was negotiated by Eric Beckman of GKIDS and Yohann Comte and Carole Baraton of Charades.

“GKIDS is both thrilled and honored to be releasing the newest film from the great Mamoru Hosoda, a true master and one of the most exciting, iconic, and humanist filmmakers working in animation,” said Eric Beckman, Founder/CEO of GKIDS. “His previous films The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars, Wolf Children, and The Boy and the Beast rank among my favorite animated films of all time and everyone at GKIDS is so excited to be working together with Studio Chizu and Charades on this project!”

SYNOPSIS
One day, Kun’s mother brings home a new family member. For the four-year-old boy, joy quickly turns to disappointment when the little sister replaces her brother as the center of attention. The boy can’t bring himself to accept her as his sister. But things turn magical when, with a mysterious garden as his gateway, the boy encounters his mother as a little girl and his great-grandfather as a young man, and has a series of surprising adventures with his “older” sister from the future. These experiences change how he sees the world and help him grow into the big brother he was meant to be.

Author
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Jerry Beck

Writer, cartoon producer and author of more than 15 books on animation history. A former studio exec with Nickelodeon and Disney; currently on the faculty at both CalArts in Valencia and Woodbury University in Burbank, California.