Disney Dives Into Japanese Film Business

Walt Disney Studios plunged into the Japanese film business Tuesday by acquiring worldwide distribution rights for the works of Japan’s best-loved animated-film director, Hayao Miyazaki.

“In the U.S., when people think of animation, they think of Disney; in Japan . . . they think of Miyazaki,” Joe Roth, chairman of Walt Disney Studios, said in a satellite linkup from Los Angeles.

The deal is unusual in two respects. First, it is a major investment by a U.S. studio in Japanese-made entertainment, which has generally not shown mass-market appeal in America.

Second, Tokuma Shoten Publishing Co. has relinquished the rights to distribute Miyazaki’s films on home video not only abroad but also in Japan. Japanese companies typically keep tight control over their domestic markets even when signing international agreements.

Disney executives say they control 65% of the Japanese market for children’s videotapes. Tokuma sells only to video rental stores, and a consumer wishing to purchase a Miyazaki classic would have to pay the rental store price of up to $140 per tape. Disney executives said they could market Miyazaki videos for the same price as Disney films, $42 each--a bargain by Japanese standards, but a highly lucrative market for Disney.

So far, only one Miyazaki film, “My Neighbor Totoro,” has been released in the United States. A Disney executive said privately that it did not do as well as hoped, in part because of poor dubbing.

Disney expects to make most of its money in the Japanese market as well as in Taiwan, where Miyazaki has a following.

Miyazaki himself has in the past been critical of the quality of Disney’s recent films, but said Tuesday that he distinguishes between film production and film distribution, and is not disturbed by having the U.S. film giant market his work. He said he has earned enough money to last him a lifetime, but added: “I sincerely hope this alliance will be good for Mr. Tokuma.”