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When Marnie Was There Song Eligible for Oscar Nomination

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the 74 songs eligible for nomination in the Original Song category at the 88th Academy Awards. The theme song "Fine on the Outside" from Studio Ghibli's When Marnie Was There is included in the list. American musical artist Priscilla Ahn performed the song, and it is Ghibli's first theme song that is entirely in English.

When Marnie Was There was also submitted for consideration in the Animated Feature Film category. The film won the Children's Jury Prize in the Animated Feature Film category of the Chicago International Children's Film Festival last month.

The Academy Awards will announce its nominations on January 14. The awards ceremony will then be held on February 28.

GKIDS, the North American distributor for Studio Ghibli's When Marnie Was There, describes the film's story:

Sent from her foster home in the city one summer to a sleepy town by the sea in Hokkaido, Anna dreams her days away among the marshes. She believes she's outside the invisible magic circle to which most people belong – and shuts herself off from everyone around her, wearing her “ordinary face.” Anna never expected to meet a friend like Marnie, who does not judge Anna for being just what she is. But no sooner has Anna learned the loveliness of friendship than she begins to wonder about her newfound friend...

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) has shifted the setting from the novel's Great Britain to a Japanese village on the shores of Hokkaido. Yonebayashi wrote the screenplay with Keiko Niwa (The Secret World of Arrietty) and Masashi Ando (A Letter to Momo, Spirited Away and Paprika). Ando also handled the character designs and animation direction. Takatsugu Muramatsu composed the film's soundtrack.

The film premiered in Japan in July 2014, and it then premiered in North America at The New York International Children's Film Festival (NYICFF) in February. The film shipped on home video in North America on October 6. The Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) nominated the film for the Best Animated Feature Film category, alongside Keiichi Hara's Miss Hokusai.

Thanks to Daniel for the news tip.

Source: Deadline