Twenty-one Studio Ghibli movies will be available on Netflix in February worldwide, excluding the U.S., Canada, and Japan, according to Netflix.
The iconic Japanese animation studio produced Academy Award-winning Spirited Away, along with well-known titles such as My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Howl’s Moving Castle, Arrietty, and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya.
Studio Ghibli producer Toshi Suzuki expressed excitement at the Netflix launch.
“In this day and age, there are various great ways a film can reach audiences. We’ve listened to our fans and have made the definitive decision to stream our film catalogue. We hope people around the world will discover the world of Studio Ghibli through this experience,” Suzuki said in a statement announcing the Netflix release.
Americans, however, will have to wait until this spring for a Studio Ghibli windfall — and on a different streaming service, Variety reported. WarnerMedia streamer HBO Max secured the U.S. streaming rights to its movies in October 2019.
CNet announced that HBO Max will launch in May. Current HBO Now and AT&T HBO subscribers will get the streaming service for free, while others will have to pay $14.99 a month.
Meanwhile, fans in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa won’t have to wait for this trove, dubbed and subbed in their native languages, along with its original Japanese audio, Netflix said.
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