Three of the most critically acclaimed animated films of all time will be hitting Blu-Ray today, according to the Verge.
Disney will be releasing "Kiki's Delivery Service," "Princess Mononoke," and "The Wind Rises" this very day in the U.S. All three films were directed by Hayao Miyazaki and produced by his Japanese animation studio, Studio Ghibli.
"Kiki's Delivery Service" revolves around a young witch, Kiki, who moves to a new town and uses her ability to fly on a broomstick to make some money and earn a living.
"Princess Mononoke" is set in the late Muromachi period (approximately 1337 A.D. to 1573 A.D.) of Japan. The story follows the young warrior, Ashitaka, and his involvement in a struggle between forest gods and the humans who consume its resources.
"The Wind Rises" is a fictionalized biopic of Jiro Horikoshi, designer of the Mitsubishi A5M and its successor, the Mitsubishi A6M Zero, used by the Empire of Japan during World War II. The film is adapted from Miyazaki's manga of the same name, which was in turn loosely based on the 1937 short story "The Wind Has Risen" by Tatsuo Hori. It was the last film helmed by Miyazaki-san before his retirement from full-length animated films in September 2013.
Earlier this month, Miyazaki accepted a lifetime achievement award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Currently, the animation master is working on a short to screen at the Saturn Theater inside Tokyo's Ghibi Museum.
