Studio Ghibli’s films haven’t been on a streaming service before.
HBO
Fans of Spirited Away and other films from Japan’s legendary Studio Ghibli might be able to ditch that old DVD player soon. On Thursday, HBO announced that Studio Ghibli’s complete feature film library will be available on the HBO Max premium streaming service, which will launch in the spring of 2020.
This is the first time the 21 Studio Ghibli films have been available on a streaming platform.
“Studio Ghibli films are visually breathtaking, completely immersive experiences” Kevin Reilly, chief content officer of HBO Max, said in a statement. “Exciting, enchanting, and deeply humanistic, these wonderful films have captured people’s hearts around the world, and we are proud to showcase them in an accessible way for even more fans through HBO Max.”
In addition to Spirited Away, which won an Academy Award for best animated feature, Studio Ghibli’s films include My Neighbor Totoro, Howl’s Moving Castle, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Ponyo, Princess Mononoke, The Secret World of Arrietty and more. Oscar nominee The Wind Rises will be available on HBO Max not at launch, but in fall of 2020.
HBO Max is expected to launch in April 2020 at a cost of around $14.99 a month.