Once Upon a Time in Japan

Once Upon a Time in Japan (Japanese: グレイソン, Hepburn: Gureison) is a 1994 animated comedy-drama film directed by Hisayuki Toriumi and written by Tomoko Konparu, Yoshio Urasawa and William Goldman. Produced by Anime International Company, Hakuhodo, Longfellow Pictures and Castle Rock Entertainment and distributed by Toei Company, it is a co-production between Japan and the United States. The film follows an American teenager named Grayson Hale who moves to Japan following the death of his parents, and the film chronicles various events in his life as well as some of the other characters in the film.

Production began in 1991 and concluded in 1993. The film had it's theatrical premiere in Japan on May 7, 1994, with an English release in the United States on August 26, 1994. The English version features the voices of Alex Winter, Billy Crystal, Kristy Swanson, Chris O'Donnell, Michael Keaton, Mary Steenburgen and Richard Farnsworth. It was a box office success and received positive reviews from Japanese and American critics.

Plot
Coming soon!

Additional Voices

 * Stephen Apostolina
 * Arlene Banas
 * Steve Blum
 * Hank Crowell, Jr.
 * Mari Devon
 * Dyanne DiRosario
 * Gary Dubin
 * Dorothy Elias-Fahn
 * Richard Epcar
 * Jonathan Fahn
 * Tom Fahn
 * Jeff Frayer
 * Wendee Lee
 * Dan Lorge
 * Jill Lyons
 * Joe Montane
 * Tony Pope
 * Simon Prescott
 * Joe Romersa
 * Anthony Santacrose
 * Kevin Seymour
 * John Snyder
 * Ellyn Stern
 * Doug Stone
 * Thomas White
 * Mimi Woods
 * Daniel Woren

Release
The film was first screened at the Tokyo Square Cinema on April 9, 1994, followed by a theatrical release in Japan on May 7, 1994. Columbia Pictures and Castle Rock Entertainment released an English dubbed version of the film in theaters on August 26, 1994. It was the first animated film Columbia released since Astro Boy in 1988 and the last one they would release until Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within in 2001.

Home media
In Japan, the film was released on VHS and Laserdisc by Pony Canyon on March 10, 1995, followed by a DVD release in 2002. It was later released by Blu-ray on April 9, 2010.

In the United States, it was released on VHS and Laserdisc by Columbia/Tristar Home Video and Turner Home Entertainment in on February 14, 1995, followed by an additional VHS release from Warner Home Video in 1998 and a DVD release in 2000. The film was rereleased on DVD in 2005 to promote it's sequel, Once Upon a Time in Japan: The Second Chapter. A double pack Blu-ray with it's sequel was released by Warner Home Video on November 10, 2009.

Sequel
See: Once Upon a Time in Japan: The Second Chapter