Photo cortesy of Shout! Studios and GKIDS. ©2009 SUMMERWARS FILM PARTNERS
Series of New Issues Kicks Off with SUMMER WARS and WOLF CHILDREN, Coming to 4K UHD on Home Entertainment Platforms for the First Time
Source: Shout! Studios press release
Official Site: www.HosodaCollection.com
Special Thanks to Lauren Blum
GKIDS, the Academy Award-winning distributor of artist-driven and award-winning animation from around the world, announced today that beginning in 2025, it will issue in partnership with Shout! Studios all-new 4K UHD releases of award-winning director Mamoru Hosoda’s early film catalog.
The first titles in the series to receive a reissue are Oscar-nominated director Mamoru Hosoda’s seminal 2009 feature SUMMER WARS, and critically lauded 2012 hit WOLF CHILDREN. The new home entertainment releases will be presented with brand new artwork in a 4K UHD SteelBook version, a standard Blu-ray issue, and on digital download-to-own platforms. New issues for SUMMER WARS will be released on April 1, 2025, and WOLF CHILDREN on August 5, 2025. Both titles are now available for preorder...
SUMMER WARS Pre-Order: gkids.com/films/summer-wars
WOLF CHILDREN Pre-Order: gkids.com/films/wolf-children
SUMMER WARS (サマーウォーズ, Samā Wōzu, 2009)
Kenji is a shy, part-time moderator for OZ, the virtual reality world that powers everyday life, until pretty and popular Natsuki recruits him to be her fake boyfriend. While posing as an affluent suitor to Natsuki’s family, Kenji finds that a rogue A.I. program has stolen his online identity, and Kenji is accused of hacking OZ and causing real-world catastrophes. As the destruction in OZ throws Natsuki’s family into disarray, Kenji must unite his newfound connections to overcome an impending cyber apocalypse.
Against a backdrop of stunning countryside vistas and virtual spaces bursting with color, Summer Wars is a timeless epic that explores life in the digital age.
Run-time: 114 min
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Release Date: April 1, 2025
- Interviews with the Original Cast - Ryunosuke Kamiki (Kenji Koiso)
- Interviews with the Original Cast - Nanami Sakuraba (Natsuki Shinohara)
- Interviews with the Original Cast - Mitsuki Tanimura (Kazuma Ikezawa)
- Interviews with the Original Cast - Ayumu Saito (Wabisuke Jinnouchi)
- Interviews with the Original Cast - Sumiko Fuji (Sakae Jinnouchi)
- Interview with Mamoru Hosoda
- Teasers & Trailers
Photo cortesy of Shout! factory and GKIDS. ©2012 Wolf Children Film Partners
WOLF CHILDREN (おおかみこどもの雨と雪, Ōkami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki, 2012)
College student Hana falls in love with a “wolf man” and together they have two half-human, half-wolf children, Ame and Yuki. The young family’s happy but humble life comes to an abrupt end when the father is tragically killed during a hunt. After struggling to raise her children in the busy city, Hana boldly decides to move to a dilapidated house in the countryside, in hopes that her children may one day decide their own path to happiness – whether “human” or “wolf.”
This heart-wrenching modern fairy tale is a staggering work of beauty and emotion. Rich with gorgeous animation and set to a poignant musical score, Wolf Children is a sweeping tale about self-discovery and the bonds of family.
Run-time: 117 min
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Release Date: August 5, 2025
Last year, GKIDS announced it had acquired the North American distribution rights to the Mamoru Hosoda catalog of films. GKIDS previously released the Academy Award and Golden Globe-nominated MIRAI (2018), and the critically lauded BELLE (2021), which became Hosoda’s highest grossing film to date in North America. The director Mamoru Hosoda’s six features have all been nominated for, and five have been awarded, the Japan Academy Prize for “Animation of the Year.” Hosoda remains the only Japanese animation director outside of the famed Studio Ghibli to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature.
About GKIDS, Inc.
GKIDS is the Academy Award-winning producer and distributor of artist-driven and award-winning animation from around the world. After an astounding 13 Best Animated Feature nominations, the company took home the Oscar in 2024 for Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli’s acclaimed feature, THE BOY AND THE HERON. The company’s previous nominations include THE SECRET OF KELLS in 2010, A CAT IN PARIS and CHICO & RITA in 2012, ERNEST & CELESTINE in 2014, THE TALE OF THE PRINCESS KAGUYA and SONG OF THE SEA in 2015, BOY AND THE WORLD and WHEN MARNIE WAS THERE in 2016, MY LIFE AS A ZUCCHINI in 2017, THE BREADWINNER in 2018, MIRAI in 2019, WOLFWALKERS in 2021, and THE BOY AND THE HERON in 2024.
For more than a decade, GKIDS’ influence on cinema has redefined the perception of animation as an artistic medium on par with live-action film through its stewardship of the Studio Ghibli catalog and by introducing American audiences to the critically-acclaimed films of other master filmmakers from around the world such as Makoto Shinkai (WEATHERING WITH YOU), Mamoru Hosoda (BELLE), Masaaki Yuasa (INU-OH), Tomm Moore (WOLFWALKERS), Hideaki Anno (NEON GENESIS EVANGELION), Nora Twomey (THE BREADWINNER), Satoshi Kon (PERFECT BLUE) and Hiroyuki Imaishi (Promare), among countless others. GKIDS is also the founder and host of ANIMATION IS FILM, the annual LA-based film festival which embraces the highest aspirations of animation as a cinematic art form, and is a vocal advocate for filmmakers who push the boundaries of the medium to its fullest range of artistic expressions.
About Studio Chizu
Studio Chizu is Director Mamoru Hosoda's headquarters that was established during the production of WOLF CHILDREN. Director Hosoda gave the studio its name, Chizu ("map" in Japanese).
The main characters in Hosoda films possess a vitality and life force for choosing and cultivating a future of one's own free will. Studio Chizu's logo manifests that exuberance and energy. Director Hosoda's philosophy of movies is that "they should serve the public like a park where many people gather," and the logo uses "minchotai," a font favored by many newspapers and books. Studio Chizu is a place that embraces Director Hosoda's thoughts and philosophies on movies and is his works themselves. We at Studio Chizu will keep such thoughts and philosophies in mind and remain sharp and resolute in our production of animation films that children and adults can enjoy together.
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 operates the acclaimed streaming service Shout! TV and its family of FAST channels. The company produces, acquires, and distributes new films, including Shout! Studios’ original OLD HENRY (Tim Blake Nelson), LINOLEUM (Jim Gaffigan, Rhea Seehorn), WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT (Lily James, Emma Thompson, Shazad Latif), THE KILL ROOM (Uma Thurman, Joe Manganiello, Samuel L. Jackson), DRUGSTORE JUNE (Esther Povitsky), and the upcoming Viggo Mortensen-directed western THE DEAD DON’T HURT (Vicky Krieps, Viggo Mortensen). Shout! Studios is based in Los Angeles, California. For more on Shout! Studios, visit ShoutStudios.com