The Prince Charles Cinema

Perfect Blue
1997 81mins Japan (18) Anime
Directed by Satoshi Kon| Toshi Starring Junko Iwao, Rica Matsumoto, Shinpachi Tsuji

"THE COLOUR OF ILLUSION IS PERFECT BLUE"

A young Japanese singer is encouraged by her agent to quit singing and pursue an acting career, beginning with a role in a murder mystery TV show.

Redline
2009 102mins Japan (15) Anime
Directed by Takeshi Koike Starring Takuya Kimura, Yû Aoi, Tatsuya Gashûin, Yoshinori Okada, Kanji Tsuda

A daredevil driver is determined to compete in Redline, the most popular race in the galaxy. The race only occurs every five years, but in order to participate he must overcome the mafia, the government and even love.

Ghost in the Shell
1995 89mins Japan (15) Anime
Directed by Mamoru Oshii Starring Akio Ôtsuka, Atsuko Tanaka, Iemasa Kayumi

In this Japanese animation, cyborg federal agent Maj. Motoko Kusanagi (Mimi Woods) trails "The Puppet Master" (Abe Lasser), who illegally hacks into the computerized minds of cyborg-human hybrids. Her pursuit of a man who can modify the identity of strangers leaves Motoko pondering her own makeup and what life might be like if she had more human traits. With her partner (Richard George), she corners the hacker, but her curiosity about her identity sends the case in an unforeseen direction.

Tokyo Godfathers
2003 88mins Japan (12) Anime
Directed by Satoshi Kon Starring Aya Okamoto, Tory Emori, Yoshiaki Umegaki

Middle-aged alcoholic Gin, teenage runaway Miyuki and former drag queen Hana are a trio of homeless people surviving as a makeshift family on the streets of Tokyo. While rummaging in the trash for food on Christmas Eve, they stumble upon an abandoned newborn baby in a trash bin. With only a handful of clues to the baby's identity, the three misfits search the streets of Tokyo for help in returning the baby to its parents.

My Neighbor Totoro
1988 87mins Japan (U) Anime
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki Starring Toshi, Chika Sakamoto, Hitoshi Takagi, Noriko Hidaka

Satsuki and Mei's mother has taken ill. In order to be closer to her while she recovers in a rural convalescent hospital, their father moves the two sisters from their home in a city to the countryside. The house they move into is a ramshackle old place in the shadow of an ancient camphor tree, and Satsuki and Mei embark on adventures with the wondrous forest spirits who live nearby.

Presented in Both Subtitled and Dubbed Performances; see SUB or DUB tags next to film time for performance info.

English Dub Voice Cast: Dakota Fanning, Elle Fanning, Tim Daley, Pat Caroll, Lea Salonga, Frank Welker and Paul Butcher

Japanese Language Voice Cast: Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, Shigesato Itoi, Sumi Shimamoto, Tanie Kitabayashi, Hitoshi Takagi

Princess Mononoke
1997 133mins Japan (PG) Anime
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki Starring Yôji Matsuda, Yûko Tanaka, Yuriko Ishida

As civilization draws ever nearer to their idyllic forest home, a group of mischievous Japanese raccoons try to scare humans away. But they soon discover that man is not their only rival in their struggle for their age-old territory. Released in 1994 as the Japanese economy slumped, but looking back to the sixties construction boom in Tokyo's Tama Hills, Pom Poko questions the money grabbing ethics of yuppie Japan, and mourns the loss of the countryside. Drawing on Japanese myths and legends, writer and director Isao Takahata presents a satirical view of woodland spirits using every available magical ruse to take on modern developers: including transformations sabotage and trickery. Pom Poko is a unique window into Japanese folklore, a comedy of modern failings, and an elegiac tale of unlikely heroes fighting insurmountable odds.