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Japanese animation studio Nippon Animation is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year by releasing a theatrical film titled Sinbad: The Flying Princess and the Mysterious Island (シンドバッド 空とぶ姫と秘密の島). The studio has recently confirmed a release date of July for the film at movie theaters across Japan.

Want to know more about the upcoming movie, which is being backed by a team of some of the most illustrious names in the Japanese animation industry? We’ve got all the inside info, right after the jump!

Nippon Animation is the studio behind the long-running Chibi Maruko-chan series and the beloved World Masterpiece Theater, a hit line of anime television series spanning the decades which are based on classic works of international literature, including A Dog of Flanders (1975), Anne of Green Gables (1979), and Little Women (1987). These works are sure to usher in a wave of nostalgia for many Japanese and other people living around the world. Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata of Studio Ghibli fame have also both worked on several past series in the lineup.

This recent collaborative effort between Nippon Animation and Shirogumi, Inc. (a developer of cinematics for video games) to celebrate Nippon Animation’s 40th anniversary is fitting, seeing as the studio had previously produced a 52 episode TV anime series called Arabian Nights: Sinbad’s Adventures (アラビアンナイト シンドバットの冒険) back in 1975. Although the titular character of “Sinbad the Sailor” (as featured in the literary classic Arabian Nights/One Thousand and One Nights) has been adapted into countless works before, this latest rendition promises to bring a fresh perspective to the timeless story.

 ▼Nippon Animation’s 1975 television anime series Arabian Nights: Sinbad’s Adventures

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In this year’s Sinbad: The Flying Princess and the Mysterious Island (シンドバッド 空とぶ姫と秘密の島/Sinbad: Sora tobu hime to himitsu no shima), Sinbad becomes a sailor and sets out to explore mysterious new worlds with his monkey companion, Mimi. Before long, he encounters a girl named Sana who can fly on a wooden horse. As soon as they whisper, “The wind has changed,” their world begins to move…or so reads the descriptive text on the film’s official website.

2015 Sinbad‘s production team boasts a number of highly regarded pros who have their names listed in the credits of several famous anime series to date. Directing the film is Shinpei Miyashita (宮下新平), who served as Assistant Director of the 2006 film remake of Doraemon: Nobita’s Dinoasaur. Yoshiharu Sato (佐藤好春) is serving as Animation Director as he has in the past for many Studio Ghibli films, including My Neighbor Totoro (1988). Finally, Hiroyuki Kawasaki (川崎ヒロユキ), who is also working on the ongoing TV anime series Ronia the Robber’s Daughter (2014) co-produced by Studio Ghibli, is providing the series composition.

▼The 2015 theatrical poster’s catchphrase reads “We can go anywhere in the world.” sinbad3

In addition, Nippon Animation’s producer Takashi Inoue and Shirogumi’s producer Kentaro Koike have been quoted as saying, “The theme for the production of this series is ‘inheritance,’ or the precious things that should be passed down over generations from parent to child. We would like to create a modern animation masterpiece that follows the immortal works.”

July is still a long way away, so be sure to periodically check the film’s official website for updates!

Source: Niconico News
Images: Wikipedia (Theo’s Little Bot), Sinbad Official Website, Purisoku