Crunchyroll announced today that Makoto Shinkai’s Suzume will return to North American theaters for a special engagement beginning on Friday, October 27, through Sony Pictures Entertainment. The critically-lauded animated feature will return to over 200 theaters across the United States and select cities in Canada, screening in both Japanese with English subtitles and dubbed in English.
Tickets are now on sale at suzume-movie.com.
The film follows young Suzume and her companion, a talking chair, as they race to protect the world from impending disaster, guided by a mischievous cat. Inspired by the filmmaker’s observations in the wake of the 2011 earthquake that devastated Japan, this anime action-adventure is a combination of hand drawn and CGI animation.
The English-language dub version of the film features Nichole Sakura as the voice of Suzume Iwato, Josh Keaton as Souta, Jennifer Sun Bell as Tamaki, Joe Zieja as Serizawa, Rosalie Chiang as Chika, Amanda C. Miller as Rumi, Mela Lee as Miki and Cam Clarke as Munakata.
Produced by CoMix Wave Films and Story Inc., Suzume is directed, written and conceived by Shinkai, with character design by Masayoshi Tanaka (Darling in the Franxx, Eureka Seven: Hi-Evolution 1), animation direction by Kenichi Tsuchiya (Weathering with You, Your Name.) and art direction by Takumi Tanji (Your Name., Children Who Chase Lost Voices).
Suzume had its International Premiere in February 2023 at the Berlinale — the first time an anime feature has screened in its competition section in over two decades. The film was met with critical acclaim and went on to gross over $300 million worldwide during its initial theatrical run, making it the fourth highest-grossing anime film of all time. The film also earned a “Certified Fresh” 96% critics score and 98% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The film has recently been nominated for Discovery of the Year by the World Soundtrack Awards and Best Animated Feature Film by the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, and was previously awarded Outstanding Achievement in Music at the 46th Japan Academy Awards.
Auteur filmmaker Shinkai has been considered a visionary in animation decades, a reputation spread worldwide by his most recent films Your Name. (2016) and Weathering With You (2019). The latter was selected as Japan’s entry for the Best International Feature Film category of the 2020 Academy Awards and nominated in four categories in the 47th annual Annie Awards, including Best Animated Feature – Independent.
