Source: Shout! Studios press release
Official Site: https://www.toei-anim.co.jp/movie/digimon-adventure/ (Japan)
Special Thanks to Tom Chen (Shout! Studios) and Scott Barretto (Publicity Partners)
Photo courtesy of Fathom Events. © Akiyoshi Hongo, Toei Animation, Toei
Shout! Studios, a multi-platform media company, and Toei Animation Inc., the legendary anime studio, announced a new home entertainment distribution deal to bring DIGIMON ADVENTURE 02 THE BEGINNING (デジモンアドベンチャー02 THE BEGINNING, Dejimon Adobenchā 02 THE BEGINNING), the highly anticipated 2023 feature film based on the original TV sequel series from the globally popular Digimon anime franchise, which marks its 25th anniversary this year.. The announcement was made by Melissa Boag, Shout! Studios’ Executive Vice President, and Masayuki Endo, President and CEO of Toei Animation Inc.
This multi-year partnership provides Shout! Studios with North American home entertainment distribution rights to DIGIMON ADVENTURE 02 THE BEGINNING for cross-platform releases in the U.S. and Canada, including all packaged media and electronic sell-through digital rights. Shout! Studios plans a strategic rollout of this new movie across multiple entertainment platforms and home entertainment shelves in 2024. As excitement builds for the release, Shout! Studios and Toei Animation will announce additional news and activities for fans in the coming months.
“We are delighted by this new opportunity with Toei Animation and excited by this contemporary story of the DigiDestined from DIGIMON ADVENTURE 02,” said Melissa Boag, Shout! Studios EVP, Kids & Family Entertainment. “Over the years, we enjoyed tremendous success with Digimon Adventure tri. film series and DIGIMON ADVENTURE: LAST EVOLUTION KIZUNA. We look forward to presenting DIGIMON ADVENTURE 02 THE BEGINNING to anime fans and families through home entertainment very soon.”
“DIGIMON ADVENTURE 02 THE BEGINNING was a hit with franchise fans around the world and we’re thrilled to bring it to homes across North America through this partnership with Shout! Studios,” said Masayuki Endo, President and CEO of Toei Animation, Inc. “Today’s news is one of many exciting things planned during 2024 as part of Toei Animation’s year-long celebration of the 25th anniversary of Digimon.”
Produced by Toei Animation, DIGIMON ADVENTURE 02 THE BEGINNING delighted movie audiences and loyal fans across Japan and around the world in 2023, including its two-day U.S. theatrical relase on November 8 and 9 by Toei Animation and Fathom Events. Based on the TV sequel series DIGIMON ADVENTURE 02 and its new cast of children that aired in 2000, this brand-new movie adventure is a contemporary continuation of the series but with the DigiDestined children now 20-year-old young adults. Director Tomohisa Taguchi and scriptwriter Akatsuki Yamatoya with production by Toei Animation – the same team behind the most recent film DIGIMON ADVENTURE: LAST EVOLUTION KIZUNA – reunite to weave this new story. Just as the last scene of the Digimon Adventure 02 depicted a future where all people and Digimon live together, the movie DIGIMON ADVENTURE 02 THE BEGINNING is for all the children and adults who have walked with Digimon.
The home entertainment release of this highly sought-after anime movie features an English dub produced by Toei Animation specifically for the U.S. theatrical run. Soon, North American fans can once again, or for the very first time, enjoy the film’s stellar English voice cast. Brian Donovan, who voiced the character Daisuke Motomiya in the TV series, returns to the role for this new feature film, along with an exciting team of voice talent and Digimon luminaries, including Jeannie Tirado (MY HERO ACADEMIA), Bryce Papenbrook (DIGIMON ADVENTURE), Tara Sands (DIGIMON ADVENTURE: LAST EVOLUTION KIZUNA), Johnny Yong Bosch (DIGIMON ADVENTURE tri.), Derek Stephen Prince (DIGIMON ADVENTURE 02), among others.
Movie Synopsis
It’s 2012, and ten years have passed since the adventure in the Digital World. Daisuke Motomiya is now twenty, and he and the rest of the DigiDestined seem to be changing bit by bit in terms of appearance and lifestyle. Then one day, a giant Digitama suddenly appears in the sky over Tokyo Tower. Daisuke and the others encounter a mysterious young man named Lui Ohwada, who informs them that he’s the first ever DigiDestined in the world…
For more on information on DIGIMON ADVENTURE 02 THE BEGINNING, please see the earlier coverage here on SciFi Japan...
- DIGIMON ADVENTURE 02 THE BEGINNING Press Notes and Image Gallery From Toei For New Anime Film
- DIGIMON ADVENTURE 02 THE BEGINNING New Film Adaptation Lands in U.S. Theaters on November 8 & 9
About Toei Animation Inc.
Based in Los Angeles, Toei Animation Inc. manages the distribution of Toei Animation’s top properties, including franchise series Dragon Ball, Sailor Moon, One Piece, Digimon, Saint Seiya and many others, to North America, Latin America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. In addition, Toei Animation’s Los Angeles office also oversees all categories of consumer product licensing based on its film and television brands within these territories. For more information, please visit toei-animation-usa.com
About Shout! Studios
Shout! Studios is a multi-platform media company specializing in film and TV distribution, development, and production. The company has evolved with the changing entertainment landscape to excel in all forms of content distribution, including theatrical, digital streaming, broadcast and in-flight licensing, physical media, and more. Shout! Studios owns and manages a large portfolio of contemporary and classic feature films, series, animation, and documentaries. The company’s creative acquisition mandate has established it as a leading independent distributor, with partners and properties including Aardman Animations, ALF, THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW, Stephen J. Cannell Productions, the Roger Corman New Horizons Pictures Library, GKIDS, Studio Ghibli, ITV Studios, THE JOHNNY CARSON SHOW, LAIKA Studios, MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 (in partnership with creator Joel Hodgson), and SESAME STREET, alongside many others. Shout! Kids focuses on live-action and animated kids and family properties including anime, and the company releases genre and horror films and television shows under the Scream Factory imprint. Shout! Studios also produces, acquires, and distributes new films, and operates the acclaimed streaming service Shout! TV and its family of FAST channels. Shout! Studios is based in Los Angeles, California. For more on Shout! Studios, visit ShoutStudios.com