When it comes to being old school, Hayao Miyazaki is as genuine as it can get. He’s infamously not too fond of new technology, and it seems that his own studio, Studio Ghibli, ain’t too fond of streaming services either. In fact, Ghibli’s North American distributor, GKids, has reported that the studio doesn’t have any plans of showing their works to streaming services like Netflix and Hulu.

A GKids representative sent an email to Polygon regarding Ghibli’s decision on streaming. They said that “Studio Ghibli does not make their films available digitally, whether for download or streaming, anywhere in the world”. The statement also told the website that “They continue to believe that presentation is vital and particularly appreciate opportunities for audiences to experience the films together in a theatrical setting.”

However, in a huge reversal, GKids and HBO’s streaming service, HBO Max, have announced that Studio Ghibli’s catalog of 21 animated feature films will be exclusively streaming in their service. These films are:

  • Castle in the Sky 
  • The Cat Returns 
  • From Up On Poppy Hill
  • Howl’s Moving Castle
  • Kiki’s Delivery Service
  • My Neighbor Totoro
  • My Neighbors the Yamadas
  • Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
  • Ocean Waves
  • Only Yesterday
  • Pom Poko
  • Ponyo
  • Porco Rosso
  • Princess Mononoke
  • The Secret World of Arrietty
  • Spirited Away
  • The Tale of The Princess Kaguya
  • Tales From Earthsea
  • When Marnie Was There
  • Whisper of the Heart
  • The Wind Rises

HBO Max is yet to launch, and the prices for its services is still unknown. They will be announcing more details soon.

Ghibli co-founder and Oscar-winning anime director Hayao Miyazaki infamously stated that he’s a man of the 20th century, and he doesn’t really want to get involved in 21st century things. And with the rise of streaming services, and them venturing more into anime, it seems that Ghibli is standing by their ideals for the time being. However, Studio Ghibli chairman Koji Hoshino himself confirmed the deal, so it seems that the legendary studio is more flexible than expected.

source: Polygon and Deadline