Pokemon and Mononoke

[August Ragone]

> From: Jasper Sharp <j.sharp at publitec.vnu.com> 
> Date: Fri, 12 Nov 1999 16:54:43 +0100 
> 
>And significantly no release in Europe!

I wonder if Disney negotiated for world-wide or North American territory
rights? With a giant like Disney, one would presume the former more than the
latter. 

> From: Dion Madrilejo <d.madrilejo at worldnet.att.net> 
> Date: Fri, 12 Nov 1999 11:43:45 -0500 
> 
>Pocket Monsters on the other hand is quite a different beast from MH; it is
>currently the biggest phenomenon in the US with the Game Boy games and kids
>getting into all sorts of trouble over the trading card game nationwide. So
>you basically have this huge number of just about guaranteed moviegoers
>($10mil on a _wednesday_ opening says a whole lot) and a movie that has
>nothing really overtly Japanese in it.

Agree. In addition, the POKEMON teleseries is on six times a week in the
States (on the WB network) -- talk about your Heavy Rotation! You cannot
seem to escape POKEMON in America. Fast food restaurant tie-ins, Home
Shopping Channel specials, constant reports on the news, references by
comedians and talkshow hosts. It's been hammered into the American pop
culture psyche. Quickly, all the competitors and imitators have grabbed
similar Japanese shows and have released them to American television in a
flash, such as DIGIMON (Digitarumonsutaa) and MONSTER RANCHER (Monsutaa
Fuaamu), both bowing on Fox. 

Newsweek or Time just ran an article called "Is Pokemon Evil?" Talk about
phenomenon. POKEMON is now a National Obsession, and one of the licensees,
Viz Communications of San Francisco (a subsidiary of Shogakukan Publishing)
predicts that the boom will last two more years, and is concentrating all of
their efforts in the creation of POKEMON and POKEMON-related publications,
and have put the majority of their other projects on the backburner.

To answer Newsweek's query: Yes.

> From: "The Gline" <thegline at thegline.com>
> Date: Fri, 12 Nov 1999 20:09:18 -0500 
> 
>I've seen Disney take out full-page recruitement ads (in English) in
>many prominent Japanese animation magazines, both for the public and
>for the trade.  They clearly want to try to brain-drain as many
>talented people as possible out of the industry; their jealousy is
>the stuff of legend.

Correct. One needs no further than Disney Corp. claiming that they were
absolutely unaware of Dr. Osamu Tezuka and his JANGURU TAITEI (Kimba the
White Lion) in the production of THE LION KING. This was brought up by
American anime fans in the press, and the media jumped on it. Tezuka
Productions refused to sue, but Disney finally conceeded, and presented them
an unnamed "settlement" out of court.

August Ragone