September Animation Preview: Demon Slayers (including Jesus)
Coming off of an animation-packed August, September is going to keep things rolling with another busy month. On a personal note, September also marks the first anniversary of this very blog! So thanks to everyone who's stopped by, all of the filmmakers who have shared their work with me, and to the companies and festivals who have welcomed me into the animation press community. It's been a treat and a dream!
In Theaters
Throughout September, Animation Mixtape, an a short film anthology curated by legendary filmmaker Don Hertzfeldt, will be rolling out in theaters across the country. Hertzfeldt has made it clear that this is a theatrical-only deal -- it'll never be released digitally or physically. It's more of a concert vibe. The program is a mix of work by up-and-coming filmmakers, Oscar nominees, and classic shorts that inspired Hertzfeldt as he was cutting his filmmaking chops. Should be a cool time at the movies. To check for showings near you, click here.
On September 5, GKIDS is bringing The Legend of Hei 2 to theaters. This was a pretty recent announcement/acquisition, and an exciting one, too. This is the follow-up to 2019's The Legend of Hei, a charming movie about a little boy/cat shape-shifting spirit who gets drawn into a magical world where a supposed guardian is actually trying to steal his follow spirits' powers to subjugate humanity. Sounds intense, yeah, but it's actually a very humorous and cute affair (with some very cool action, to boot). Definitely excited for more!
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| The Legend of Hei 2 |
Also on September 5 (at least here in LA), the Quay Brothers' Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass hits the big screen. This is their first feature in like 20 years, so it's cause for excitement, for sure. Based on a book by Bruno Schultz, the film follows a man who's visiting his father at a sanatorium, and gets transported by a ghostly train to a forest. Sounds suitably creepy and mysterious. I can't wait to see this one.
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| Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass |
We're not done with September 5 just yet. That's also the release date for Light of the World, an animated account of Jesus's life through the eyes of the apostle John. This year has been absolutely packed with religious animated movies, including quite a few Christian ones. I think this one looks pretty promising -- the hand-drawn animation reminds me of the sort of stuff we would watch in church when I was a kid.
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| The Light of the World |
One of the biggest animated movies of the year (and one of my most-anticipated) is Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba -- The Movie: Infinity Castle, which finally makes its way to the US on September 12. Demon Slayer ranks among my favorite anime. It was one my gateway series that helped me get more into anime, and the previous "actual" movie, Mugen Train, was my first movie back in theaters after the pandemic shut everything down for a year. So it's a special series for me, and I'm really excited to see this first part of the finale on the big screen. This is the beginning of a trilogy of movies that will bring the franchise to its conclusion. Hopefully we don't have to wait too long for the next part (is it too much to hope for yearly releases?).
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| Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba -- The Movie: Infinity Castle |
The month ends with a bang, as Gabby's Dollhouse: The Movie comes to theaters on September 26. Like the Netflix show on which it's based, this movie is a blend of live-action and animation. In this big-screen iteration, Gabby's dollhouse ends up in the hands of the villainous Vera, an eccentric cat lady played by Kristen Wiig, who looks like she's having a blast. It looks like a cute movie that's certainly aimed pretty squarely at young girls, but yes, I will be checking it out. I am who I am.
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| Gabby's Dollhouse: The Movie |
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| The Girl Who Leapt Through Time |
HBO Max has been the streaming home for Studio Ghibli movies for a while, as well as a handful of other GKIDS-distributed titles, but that partnership is getting beefed up on September 1. A bunch of titles from GKIDS will be joining the service, including some live-action movies. The animated slate is killer, including little-seen gems like Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko and Lonely Castle in the Mirror, both of which come highly recommended. Throughout the rest of the year and into next year, more titles will be added including newer releases and classics like Angel's Egg (which I've shamefully never seen) and Perfect Blue (one of the best movies ever made). Really exciting news!
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| Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko |
If you have a VPN (or live in Korea), you might want to fire up Disney+ on September 3. On that day in Korea, the service will be adding the animated horror film Exorcism Chronicles: The Beginning to its service. No word on if/when it'll be added in other territories, and I don't know if it'll have English subtitles, but something to keep an eye on, at least.
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| Exorcism Chronicles: The Beginning |
On September 9, The Worlds Divide will make its debut. This movie was made by a single filmmaker, Denver Jackson, and has been playing at various festivals over the past year or so. Now, it'll be more widely available to watch. It's a sci-fi/fantasy deal where a girl is transported to a lush fantasy world, which stands in stark contrast to the dystopian cityscape she's used to. She ends up joining up with a colorful cast of characters to try to bring balance to both worlds. For the first week of release, the film will only be available to Kickstarter backers, but after that, it'll be available for anyone to watch through the end of the month. I'm excited to finally see it!
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| The Worlds Divide |
Batman, like many superheroes, has been transported to and re-imagined in many settings. On September 19, we get yet another re-imagining of the Dark Knight in Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires. In this story, Batman is a priest working under King Moctezuma II, and fights against Spanish conquistadors (including Hernán Cortés as Two-Face). Seems like an interesting spin on the character, but some of the recent animated Batman movies have been underwhelming, so I'm not sure how I'll land on this one. I believe it's being released for digital rental/purchase initially, though some articles report it's going straight to HBO Max.
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| Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires |
Sometime in September, a 55-minute film called Ashita no Arika will be released online to celebrate the 120th anniversary of construction machinery company Kobelco. I don't know if a subtitled version will be released, but it looks beautiful, and counts come Ghibli alum among its creative team, so hopefully. If not, I'll need to use my Japanese prowess to try to understand it. You can check out the trailer here.
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| Ashita no Arika |
Festivals
The Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) takes place in -- you guessed it -- Ottawa from September 24 - 28. They have a great lineup, and their Feature Film Competition includes a few titles I've reviewed here, like Death Does Not Exist, ChaO, and The Great History of Western Philosophy. I have a review of one of the others ready to go, and hopefully I can find a way to cover the remaining two.
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| Death Does Not Exist |
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