Originally released by Sony Pictures when it first came out, Satoshi Kon’s Tokyo Godfathers ended up with a bit of a standard release over the years that you’d expect from a large company not dealing with anime domestically much. Late last year, the film finally found itself in new hands as GKIDS has revealed their acquisition of the title. The theatrical side was recently set up as they’ve revealed a partnership with Fathom Events for it with a planned March 9th and March 1th, 2020 debut. They’ll be showing the subtitled edition and dubbed edition on those dates respectively. With that closing in, GKIDS has now revealed the main dub cast for the film.
With the leading characters, the film will feature the voices of Jon Avner (Just Cause 3), Victoria Grace (Mirai), and Shakina Nayfack (“Transparent,” “Difficult People”), and was produced by GKIDS and NYAV Post.
“Hana is a transwoman with a heart of gold,” said Shakina Nayfack, “I connected instantly to her faith, and her worldview is so clearly rooted in Satoshi Kon’s love for humanity. Kon was ahead of his time when he introduced Hana to the anime canon, and I’m so glad this GKIDS restoration and new English dub will give more people the chance to meet and fall in love with his beloved yet undersung heroine!”
“Satoshi Kon was a master visual storyteller, whose body of work continues to inspire ten years after his untimely passing,” said David Jesteadt, GKIDS’ President. “We are grateful to play a small part in preserving his legacy with the re-release of a newly remastered Tokyo Godfathers, and look forward to bringing the film to new and returning audiences alike.”
English Voice Cast
- Gin – Jon Avner
- Miyuki – Victoria Grace
- Hana – Shakina Nayfack
- Mother – Kate Bornstein
- Miyuki’s Father – Crispin Freeman
- Old Man – David Manis
- Oota – Jamieson Price
- Yasuo – Kirk Thornton
The company has picked up the North American theatrical and home video rights for the film. The company plans a new 4K restoration for this year while the film will be released in both with both the original Japanese language track as well as a new English language dub. Home video plans will be revealed at a later date.
Check out our review of the film.
Plot Concept: It’s Christmas Eve in Tokyo. Three homeless people – alcoholic Gin, drag queen Hana, and teenage runaway Miyuki – discover an abandoned baby in a pile of garbage. Rather than turn the infant over to the police, the trio decides instead to find the baby’s parents themselves.
Following the only clue they have, a locker key, the three godfathers embark on a surprising journey of danger, humor, and excitement. And in the process, they revisit their own haunted pasts and learn to face their future.
