Studio 4°C’s animated anthology films GENIUS PARTY and GENIUS PARTY BEYOND are coming to Blu-ray and digital download from GKIDS and Shout! Factory. Image courtesy of GKIDS. ©Genus Party

Source: Shout! Factory press release Special Thanks to Shannon Meehan

Blu-ray cover art, courtesy of Shout! Factory. ©Genus Party

Studio 4°C’s animated anthology films GENIUS PARTY (??????????, J?niasu P?ti, 2007) and GENIUS PARTY BEYOND (???????????????, J?niasu P?ti Biyondo, 2008), which feature an eclectic collection of stories from 12 acclaimed directors, will be released together on Blu-ray on October 15, and separately via digital download on October 1 from GKIDS and Shout! Factory. Now available for the first time ever in North America, GENIUS PARTY consists of seven connected and visually experimental stories while GENIUS PARTY BEYOND includes five, making it the perfect anthology piece for the devoted anime collector. From groundbreaking animation outfit Studio 4°C (MFKZ, MIND GAME) comes two extraordinary projects with a shared, simple vision: to take an all-star team of some of the best animators working in anime today, and give each free rein to tell a unique short story built around “the spirit of creativity.” Full of boundless imagination, fantastic worlds, and unique visual styles, these two acclaimed films spotlight directors like Masaaki Yuasa (LU OVER THE WALL, MIND GAME, DEVILMAN: CRYBABY) and Shinichiro Watanabe (COWBOY BEBOP), along with Hideki Futamura, a key animator on the cult-classic anime PERFECT BLUE. Other renowned contributors include Atsuko Fukushima, Shoji Kawamori, Shinji Kimura, Yoji Fukuyama, Mahiro Maeda, Koji Morimoto, Kazuto Nakazawa, Shinya Ohira, and Tatsuyuki Tanaka. Blu-ray SKU: 826663202823 Release Date: October 15, 2019 Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1 Region: A/1 Discs: 1 Run Time: 188 Minutes Language: Japanese Subtitles: English SRP: $26.99

TOUJIN KIT from GENIUS PARTY BEYOND. Image courtesy of GKIDS. ©Genus Party Beyond

About GKIDS

GKIDS is a producer and distributor of award-winning feature animation for both adult and family audiences. Since 2010, the company has scored an astounding nine Best Animated Feature Oscar nominations -- including THE SECRET OF KELLS, A CAT IN PARIS, THE TALE OF THE PRINCESS KAGUYA and BOY AND THE WORLD. GKIDS also handles North American theatrical distribution for Oscar winner Hayao Miyazaki`s famed Studio Ghibli library of films, one of the world`s most coveted animation collections with titles SPIRITED AWAY, MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO, PRINCESS MONONOKE and others. GKIDS founder and CEO Eric Beckman is also co-founder of New York International Children’s Film Festival, an Oscar-qualifying event and North America’s largest film festival for children and teens.

About Shout! Factory

Shout! Factory, LLC is a diversified multi-platform media company devoted to producing, uncovering, preserving and revitalizing the very best of pop culture. Founders Richard Foos, Bob Emmer and Garson Foos have spent their entire careers sharing their music, television and film favorites with discerning consumers the world over. Shout! Factory’s entertainment offerings serve up feature films, classic and contemporary TV series, animation, live music and comedy specials. In addition, Shout! Factory maintains a vast entertainment distribution network which delivers culturally relevant programming, movie and audio content to all the leading digital service providers in North America and across multiple platforms. Shout! Factory owns and operates Shout! Studios, Scream Factory, Shout! Factory Kids, Shout! Factory Films, Mystery Science Theater 3000, Timeless Media Group and Shout! Factory TV. These riches are the result of a creative acquisition mandate that has established the company as a hotbed of cultural preservation and commercial reinvention. Shout! Factory is based in Los Angeles, California. For more on Shout! Factory, visit shoutfactory.com.

About Studio Ponoc

Studio Ponoc is an animation film studio based in Tokyo, Japan. Founded by Studio Ghibli producer Yoshiaki Nishimura in 2016 and staffed with veterans of Studio Ghibli and some of the finest talent in Japanese animation, Studio Ponoc creates beautiful hand-drawn, hand-painted animated films for families to enjoy together and for general audiences around the world. Producer Nishimura was nominated for two Academy Awards for Studio Ghibli’s THE TALE OF THE PRINCESS KAGUYA and WHEN MARNIE WAS THERE, and produced Studio Ponoc’s first film, MARY AND THE WITCH’S FLOWER, directed by Oscar-nominated director Hiromasa Yonebayashi (THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY, WHEN MARNIE WAS THERE) and released in 2017 to worldwide acclaim. The Studio’s newest project, Ponoc Short Films Theatre, begins with MODEST HEROES (2018), an anthology of three short films.