Spanish home video distributor Aurum Producciones has announced that it has reached an agreement with Studio Ghibli to distribute all titles from the famous Japanese animation studio on DVD and Blu-ray. The first movie to be released on Blu-ray will be the latest work by Hayao Miyazaki, '
Ponyo' (also known as 'Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea').
Igor Ibeas, Deputy Chief Executive of Aurum Producciones, said: "We are delighted that, after two years of long negotiations, we are finally able to announce this agreement. After several unsatisfactory experiences, Ghibli has been very cautious in the choice of a distributor, which is why we are so proud to have been the chosen ones to market the largest animation catalog awaiting distribution in Spain. We know that the fans of this product have been waiting for these releases for a long time. Therefore, we will spare no efforts to fulfil those expectations and to release editions which are worthy of the quality of the movies."
Notably, Aurum will be the first studio to market a Blu-ray edition of a Ghibli movie: 'Ponyo' ('Gake no ue no Ponyo').
"Obviously", explained Ibeas, "we want Ghibli to enter the new format, but we depend on what is done in Japan first. For the moment, we can assure that 'Ponyo' will come out on Blu-ray, but after the DVD release, as is going to happen in Japan." In Japan, 'Ponyo' will be released on DVD in July and on BD in December, as has been discussed on
this forum thread. Likewise, the DVD will come out in Spain in 2009, whereas the Blu-ray is expected for next year.
Aurum Producciones is owned by Canadian studio Alliance Atlantis.