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Ghibli's When Marnie Was There, Ronia, the Robber's Daughter Listed With Dub

From Up On Poppy Hill English dub producer Geoffrey Wexler's LinkedIn profile lists himself as the English-language dub and subtitle producer for Studio Ghibli's When Marnie Was There and Ronia the Robber's Daughter.

When Marnie Was There adapts Joan G. Robinson's classic English children's novel of the same name. In his second film, director Hiromasa Yonebayashi (2010's The Secret World of Arrietty) is shifting the setting from the novel's Great Britain to a Japanese village on the shores of Hokkaido.

Amazon posted a publisher's description of the original novel:

Anna hasn't a friend in the world - until she meets Marnie among the sand dunes. But Marnie isn't all she seems...An atmospheric ghost story with truths to tell about friendship, families and loneliness. Anna lives with foster parents, a misfit with no friends, always on the outside of things. Then she is sent to Norfolk to stay with old Mr. and Mrs. Pegg, where she runs wild on the sand dunes and around the water. There is a house, the Marsh House, which she feels she recognizes - and she soon meets a strange little girl called Marnie, who becomes Anna's first ever friend. Then one day, Marnie vanishes. A new family, the Lindsays, move into the Marsh House. Having learnt so much from Marnie about friendship, Anna makes firm friends with the Lindsays - and learns some strange truths about Marnie, who was not all she seemed...

American musical artist Priscilla Ahn is contributing the theme song "Fine on the Outside," which she wrote when she was in high school. The song is Studio Ghibli's first theme song performed entirely in English.

The anime film opened in Japan on July 19.

Goro Miyazaki (Tales from Earthsea, From Up On Poppy Hill) is directing the Ronia the Robber's Daughter television anime series.

The series, titled Sanzoku no Musume Ronia in Japan, will premiere on NHK and BS Premium in October. POLYGON PICTURES (Knights of Sidonia, The Sky Crawlers) is animating the 3D CG series in collaboration with Studio Ghibli. The show will mark the first time that Miyazaki is directing a television anime series.

The story revolves around Ronia, the only daughter of Mattis, the chief of a tribe of bandits who live in a large castle in a forest. Ronia studies the ways of the mysterious creatures who live in the forest.

Hiroyuki Kawasaki (The Irresponsible Captain Tylor, Sorcerer Hunters, Ryoko's Case File, Psychic Detective Yakumo) is handling the series composition. NHK Enterprise is producing the series, and NHK and Dwango are handling production and writing.

Thanks to Liam for the news tip.