GKIDS Reveals Plans For Mamoru Hosoda’s Early Work On 4K UHD Including 'Summer Wars' & 'Wolf Children'

GKIDS & Shout! Studios will be issuing all-new 4K UHD releases of award-winning director Mamoru Hosoda’s early film catalog in 2025. The first titles in the series to receive a reissue will begin this spring with Summer Wars on April 1, 2025, followed by Wolf Children on August 5, 2025. Both titles are now available for preorder. The new home entertainment releases will be presented with brand new artwork in a 4K UHD SteelBook version exclusive to Amazon, a standard Blu-ray issue, and on digital download-to-own platforms.

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. Get more details below!

Synopsis:

Summer Wars: 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.

Wolf Children: 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 from Academy Award®-nominated director Mamoru Hosoda. 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.

Bonus Features – Summer Wars

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

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