Thursday, January 25, 2018

A Story of Two Worlds Comes to Bluray with NAPPING PRINCESS




Jeri Jacquin

Coming to Bluray & DVD from writer/director Kenji Kamiyama, Shout! Factory and GKIDS is a story of daring, family history and adventure for the NAPPING PRINCESS.

In 2020, Kokone Morikawa (Brina Palencia) is a young girl who has become well known for dozing off occasionally and when she does, she finds herself in a world called Heartland. It is a dream world of factories, workers and a man who rules it all.

Believing they are all dreams, Kokone and her father Peach (Doug Erholtz) have been living a quiet life but Kokone knows little about her mother. Meeting up with her childhood friend Morio (Shinnosuke Mitsushima) they have a chance to reconnect as friends and it couldn't come at a better time.

In a twist she doesn't fully understand, Peach has been kidnapped by a man named Watanabe (Lex Wutas) who is looking for a mysterious laptop containing important technology. It is the technology that Peach has been hiding from both worlds. Watanabe is now on the hunt for Kokone because she and Morio have decided to find her father on their own and nothing is going to get in their way.

Kokone also discovers that the world she lives in now and Heartland are not so far apart when secrets are revealed and a plot that could change everything becomes known with a little magic. They must come together in Heartland to reconcile old wounds and remember that family and friendship is everything.

SHOUT! Factory has grown into a tremendous multi-platform media company. Releasing new animated features such as the exquisite Long Way North, and the epic fantasy Beauty and the Beast. Also their own original horror film, Fender Bender gives fans a good scare. For more of what SHOUT! Factory has to offer please visit www.shoutfactory.com.


GKIDS brings award winning feature animation for both adults and family audiences. The company has scored an astounding nine Best Animated Feature Oscar nominations with The Secret of the Kells, A Cat in Paris, Ernest & Celestine, Song of the Sea and When Marnie Was There. Also bringing Studio Ghibli library of films they include Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke.

NAPPING PRINCESS is an amazing story of two worlds that actually aren't so very different, except for the large engines of course, in that families make mistakes and friendship can give us even more courage. Kokone is a young girl coming into her own wanting to know more about the dreams and a family she knows so little about. Those two things alone make her character amazingly believable which is important to the story.


The animation is every bit spectacular filled with vibrancy and stunning color. This is a definite film that needs to be seen in Bluray. The journey between the two worlds is amazingly displayed with this animation and because the story is so dynamic I found myself totally wrapped up in every frame.

Director Kamiyama is also responsible for the films GHOST IN THE SHELL: Stand Alone Complex and EDEN OF THE EAST so it is no surprise that NAPPING PRINCESS is equally as stellar and my favorite of his pieces is AKIRA. NAPPING PRINCESS is also titles ACIEN and the MAGIC TABLET.

The Bonus Features include an Interview with Kenji Kamiyama, Special Interview with the Cast, Intro at Japanese Release, Okayama Scenery, Special TV Program and Trailers/TV Spots.

In the end - two worlds with one amazing girl!

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