[UPDATED WITH WINNERS] Giveaway: Two Blu-ray/DVD Combo Packs of Studio Ghibli’s ‘From Up on Poppy Hill’

UPDATED WITH WINNERS

Thanks to everyone who entered the contest.

Aug. 27, 2013—Studio Ghibli is an amazing studio that, like Pixar, constantly churns out quality film after quality film, often taking us into magical places or delivering a down to earth and engaging story that can be appreciated by adults and children alike.

Their latest release to hit US shores was a sweet post WWII based film called From Up on Poppy Hill (review coming soon), directed Goro Miyazaki and written by the legendary storyteller Hayao Miyazaki, and it is making its way to home video and digital outlets on September 2nd.  To help promote the release of the film, GKIDs and Cinedigm were gracious enough to provide us with two Blu-ray/DVD combo packs of From Up on Poppy Hill to giveaway to two of our lucky readers.

There are two ways to enter this contest:

Option one: All you need to do is follow us on Twitter and retweet this contest out to your followers.

Option two: If you don’t have twitter, fear not, you can also email Contests@moviebuzzers.com with the subject line FROM UP ON POPPY HILL and include your full name, full mailing address and the answer to the following question: What was the first film Goro Miyazaki directed?

The contest is open to residents of US and Canada only.  We will accept one entry via Twitter and one entry via email so that means you can double up on your chance to win if you do both.  We will randomly select the two winners on September 3rd.

Full details on the film, voice cast and disc specs and special features can be found below.   You can order From Up on Poppy Hill (Blu-ray / DVD Combo Pack) from Amazon.

FROM LEGENDARY STORYTELLER HAYAO MIYAZAKI AND STUDIO GHIBLI COMES AN INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED COMING-OF-AGE TALE VOICED BY AN A-LIST CAST, ARRIVING SEPTEMBER 3RD ON DVD, BLU-RAY AND CABLE VOD

FROM GKIDS AND CINEDIGM

Gillian Anderson, Sarah Bolger, Beau Bridges, Jamie Lee Curtis, Bruce Dern, Isabelle Fuhrman, Christina Hendricks, Ron Howard, Chris Noth, Emily Osment, Aubrey Plaza, Charlie Saxton, Alex Wolff and Anton Yelchin Lend Their Talents to the English Language Version

 San Diego, CA, July 18, 2013 – This September, GKIDS, in conjunction with Cinedigm (NASDAQ: CIDM), invites home viewers to experience the latest masterwork from Studio Ghibli: FROM UP ON POPPY HILL, from the creators of Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and many other animated masterpieces. Written by legendary studio founder Hayao Miyazaki and directed by Goro Miyazaki, the film marks the first feature-length collaboration between father and son – and the results are stunning.  Fresh off a triumphant domestic and international theatrical run, Cinedigm will release this acclaimed gem in multiple formats: Blu-ray+ DVD 2-Pack ($34.95srp), DVD 2-Pack ($29.94srp) and Cable VOD on September 3rd, 2013.

The dazzling, hand-drawn FROM UP ON POPPY HILL is set in Yokohama in 1963. Japan is picking itself up from the devastation of World War II and preparing to host the Olympics. The mood is one of both optimism and conflict as the young generation struggles to throw off the shackles of a troubled past. Against this backdrop of hope and change, a friendship begins to blossom between high school students Umi (Sarah Bolger) and Shun (Anton Yelchin) – but a buried secret from their past emerges to cast a shadow on the future and pull them apart. From a screenplay by Academy Award®-winner Hayao Miyazaki, the English language version is   directed by multiple Academy Award®-winner Gary Rydstrom from a script adaptation by Karey Kirkpatrick (James and the Giant Peach, Chicken Run, Charlotte’s Web) and features an all-star English voice cast including Gillian Anderson, Sarah Bolger, Beau Bridges, Jamie Lee Curtis, Bruce Dern, Isabelle Fuhrman, Christina Hendricks, Ron Howard, Chris Noth, Emily Osment, Aubrey Plaza, Charlie Saxton, Alex Wolff and Anton Yelchin. Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy executive produced.

The Blu-ray+ DVD combo and DVD releases of FROM UP ON POPPY HILL both contain over three hours of bonus materials and include: original Japanese language and English language versions with subtitles and dubtitles; feature-length storyboards; celebrity cast recording featurette with behind-the-scenes footage and interviews; an interview with Goro Miyazaki; original Japanese trailer and TV spots; the music video for the theme song by Aoi Teshima; and a featurette about Yokohama, exploring the history of the sea-side setting where the film takes place. Bonuses exclusive to the Blu-ray edition include a staff speech and press conference by Hayao Miyazaki days after the Fukushima earthquake; and a 20-page booklet containing the original project proposal by Hayao Miyazaki and a letter from Goro Miyazaki.

Called “breathtaking!” (Variety) and “a beautifully artful, wistfully nostalgic coming of age romance!” (Twitch), FROM UP ON POPPY HILL, more than any other Studio Ghibli film, embodies a specific time and place, poignantly capturing the emotional landscape of its setting. Replete with a sense of yearning and possibility, the transportive power of the film evokes both a wide-eyed hope for the future, and an aching nostalgia for a past that can never be recovered.