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French-Japanese Film Ghost Cat Anzu Launches on Blu-ray Disc on March 4, Digital Platforms on January 28 (Updated)

GKIDS announced on Thursday that it and distributor Shout! Studios will release Shinei Animation and France's Miyu Productions' Ghost Cat Anzu 2D-animated film on Blu-ray Disc on March 4 and on digital platforms such as Amazon, Apple, Google, Fandango, Microsoft, and iNDEMAND on January 28.

Update: GKIDS streamed an English-dubbed trailer:

The film screened in North American theaters on November 15, and it earned about US$158,229 in its opening weekend in the U.S. box office. The film ranked #15 in the U.S. box office in its opening weekend.

Ghost Cat Anzu opened in Japan on July 19. The film screened as a work-in-progress at the Annecy Animation Festival in June 2023. The Paris-based CHARADES company is handling international sales for the film. GKIDS acquired the North American rights to the film.

Miyu Productions describes the film's story:

Karin, 11 years old, is abandoned by her father at her grandfather's house, the monk of a small town in the Japanese countryside. Her grandfather asks Anzu, his jovial and helpful although rather capricious ghost cat, to look after her. The meeting of their strong characters causes sparks, at least at the beginning…

The film stars:

• Mirai Moriyama as titular Anzu
• Noa Gotō voices Karin
• Munetaka Aoki as Tetsuya, Karin's father
• Miwako Ichikawa as Yuzuki, Karin's mother
• Moonriders' member Keiichi Suzuki as Oshō, Anzu's foster parent
• Shingo Mizusawa as the god of poverty
• Skirt (Wataru Sawabe) as Tanuki, another supernatural creature
• Ikue Ōtani as Pi-Pi-chan, the forest fairies

Mutsuo Yoshioka and Shōhei Uno also contribute voices.

Cast members also acted as the characters in footage that served as a reference for animating the characters, with their spoken lines during the filming of their movements also being used in the film.

Yōko Kuno and Nobuhiro Yamashita directed the film, and Shinji Imaoka wrote its script. The film is 90 minutes long and utilizes mixed animation techniques combining 2D digital animation with rotoscopy. Yōko Kuno was the character designer, Julien De Man was the art director and color key artist, Namiko Ishidate and Yukie Nakauchi were the animation directors, and Keiichi Suzuki composed the music.

Chiaki Satō (A.S.A.B) performs the theme song "Matatabi."

Kodansha published the one-volume Bakeneko Anzu-chan manga in 2007.

Update: Added English-dubbed trailer. Source: GKIDS' YouTube channel

Source: Press release