The Asian Reporter
Pacific Northwest News q Volume 24 Number 21 q November 3, 2014 q www.asianreporter.com
Disney pens love letter
to Japan with robot film
Joko Widodo sworn
in as new president
Page 2
Beijing marathoners
wear face masks
Page 4
TECH-SAVVY SUPER-HIRO. Big Hero 6, an action-packed comedy-adventure film, is about the special bond that develops between plus-sized inflatable robot
Baymax and prodigy Hiro Hamada, who team up with a group of friends — adrenaline junkie Go Go Tomago, neatnik Wasabi, chemistry whiz Honey Lemon, and fanboy
Fred — to form a band of high-tech heroes. (Photo courtesy of Walt Disney Animation Studios)
By Yuri Kageyama
The Associated Press
OKYO — Disney executives call
their next film “a love letter to
Japanese culture.” No wonder:
Japan can’t get enough of animation,
especially Disney’s.
Walt Disney Animation Studios is
practically bending over backward to woo
Japanese moviegoers after the stupendous
success of Frozen. The fifth-highest-
grossing movie of all time made more than
$250 million of its total in Japan alone,
nearly a third of its overseas numbers and
more than five times what it made in
T
Poor Asian health
systems cause alarm
Page 5
France, according to Box Office Mojo.
Frozen is third all time in Japan, behind
Titanic and Japanese animation classic
Spirited Away, delivering success that
even Disney executives acknowledge was
surprising.
Following Frozen into theaters in the
country that is the birthplace of manga and
Hello Kitty is Big Hero 6, which stars a
Japanese whiz kid as its hero, aptly named
Hiro.
Disney shows its love for Japan by
setting the story in a picturesque town
that’s a cross between Tokyo and San
Francisco, San Fransokyo, complete with
cable cars and futuristic trains.
Meet Dr. James Chan
Your trusted Facial Plastic Surgeon Resource
Big Hero 6 opened the Tokyo Film
Festival — the first Disney animation film
to have its global premiere in Japan. It
opens at theaters around the world in
November and December.
Its directors, Don Hall of Winnie the
Pooh and Chris Williams of Bolt, did a lot of
research and tapped Japanese sources to
help make San Fransokyo authentic, down
to signposts, manhole covers, and faces of
passersby.
Williams said the world they created
was inspired by Hayao Miyazaki, the
animation legend who won an Oscar for
Spirited Away.
Continued on page 16
Overwhelmed by debt? Want a fresh start?
KELLY K. BROWN
Specializing in:
BANKRUPTCY ATTORNEY
s Asian
Faces
s Asian Eyelid Surgery
s Facial Plastic Surgery
s Rhinoplasty
503·224·4124
www.kellybrown.com
★ LOW-COST BANKRUPTCY ★ Free consultation
★ Stop foreclosure and garnishment
★ Evening and weekend appointments
Look your best! You’ve earned it!
520 SW Yamhill · Suite 420 · Portland 97204 · We are a debt relief agency.
We help people file for bankruptcy under the Bankruptcy Code.
Call today for a consultation: (503) 953-1230
The Asian Reporter
922 N. Killingsworth St.
Portland, OR 97217 USA
PRSRT STD
US POSTAGE
PAID
Portland, OR
Permit # 2474
Celebrate
the
Year of
the Horse!
January 31, 2014 to
February 18, 2015
SPiLt ink Gallery
Acrylic
Colour Pencil
Graphite
Oil
Pen & Ink
Watercolour
Pets w Holidays w Special Occasions w Just for Fun
www.spiltinkgallery.com
(503) 442-6427