Little Touch of Heaven

Little Touch of Heaven (ヘブンズタッチ, Hebunzutatchi, lit. Heaven's Touch) is a 2005 anime romantic comedy-drama film directed by Nagisa Miyazaki from a story by Mamiko Ikeda, who co-wrote the film's screenplay. It was animated by Zexcs, and co-produced by Geneon Entertainment, Dentsu, Genco, LIVE Entertainment and Village Roadshow Pictures, with Garrett Fredrickson and Bruce Berman serving as producers and the former also helping co-write the film. Featuring the voices of Shawn Ashmore, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Ryan Phillippe, David Cross, Katie Holmes and Jim Broadbent, the film is about a man named Alfie Schuman (Ashmore), who returns to the town he grew up in as a kid looking for a new job and a fresh start on his life after being fired from his previous job, and whilst there, he reunites with his childhood best friend (Love Hewitt), who is currently going through a divorce with her boyfriend.

Little Touch of Heaven was Zexcs' first feature film production and their second original work after Kikō Sennyo Rōran in 2002. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2005, and was released in Japan by Toho-Towa on February 12, 2005 and in the United States by Newmarket Films on July 15, 2005. Though some critics made some comparisons between it and Garden State, it was nonetheless well-received by critics and audiences. It also grossed a worldwide total of $56.7 million at the box office.

Plot
Coming soon!

Cast

 * Shawn Ashmore as Alfie Schuman
 * Alexander Gould as a younger Alfie
 * Jennifer Love Hewitt as Raven Sarratt
 * Dakota Fanning as a younger Raven
 * Ryan Phillippe as Donald Meskill
 * David Cross as Nelson Bacchus
 * Katie Holmes as Britney Dittman
 * Jim Broadbent as Ross Schuman
 * B.J. Ward as Melissa Schuman
 * Nolan North as Alexander Holland
 * David L. Lander as Gilbert Brewer
 * Grey Delisle as Emma Heptinstall
 * Sirena Irwin as Maria Harmon
 * Michael J. Gough as Cole Field
 * Jeff Bennett as Robert Law
 * Kate Higgins as Alexander's Girlfriend
 * Dee Bradley Baker as the front desk worker
 * Fred Tatasciore as the divorce manager
 * Aileen Sander as Ruby Willis
 * Jess Harnell as Benedict Lambert

Additional Voices

 * Dee Bradley Baker
 * Steve Blum
 * Keith Ferguson
 * Quinton Flynn
 * Kerrigan Mahan
 * Aileen Sander
 * Fred Tatasciore
 * James Arnold Taylor
 * Maile Flanagan
 * Daran Norris
 * Cam Clarke
 * Michael Reisz

Production
The film began development at the then newly formed Zexcs in 2000, from a pitch by Mamiko Ikeda, who was inspired to come up with the story for the film after seeing A Penguin's Memories sometime prior. Nagisa Miyazaki was appointed to direct the film the year afterward. As Zexcs was still a relatively small company at the time, the film was largely financed by a small variety of companies consisting of Geneon Entertainment, Dentsu, Genco, and American production houses LIVE Entertainment and Village Roadshow Pictures, with the companies' CEOs, Garrett Fredrickson and Bruce Berman, serving as executive producers. According to Tomoko Kawasaki, the two's involvement ultimately led to Zexcs deciding to produce the film in English and have it be set outside of Japan, as a way to help appeal to the Western market along with the Japanese market.

The original script, written by Ikeda, was titled Alfie's Story, but would be changed to Heaven's Touch in Japan and internationally to Little Touch of Heaven. It was also written and translated into English by Erin Cressida Wilson and Garrett Fredrickson. While the animation production and digital intermediate production were handled by Zexcs and Imagica in Japan, respectively, the sound post production was done in Los Angeles at Soundelux and TODD AO Studios, while American composer Christopher Lennertz did the score. The voice cast for the film was announced in February of 2003, along with the 2005 release year. LIVE Entertainment handled the distribution sales outside of America and Japan through Kathy Morgan International.

Theatrical
Little Touch of Heaven premiered on January 24, 2005 at the Sundance Film Festival. After a bidding war between Roadside Attractions, Miramax, TH!NKFilm, Sony Pictures Classics and Warner Independent Pictures, Newmarket Films secured the theatrical distribution rights in the United States. The film would first be released in Japan by Toho-Towa on February 12, 2005. The U.S. theatrical release would follow on July 15, 2005, where it was released in 748 theaters before expaning to 1,132 theaters.

Home media
Little Touch of Heaven was released on DVD in Japan by Geneon Entertainment on October 19, 2005. This release contained both the English version and a Japanese dubbed version of the film, alongside a filmmakers' commentary, a behind the scenes featurette, and the Japanese theatrical trailer.

In the United States, the film was released on VHS and DVD by Paramount Home Entertainment and LIVE Entertainment on December 6, 2005, with Paramount Pictures taking over the distribution from Newmarket Films. The DVD release features a different commentary from Garrett Fredrickson and Erin Cressida Wilson, an alternate behind the scenes featurette, two deleted scenes, production drawings, and the film's U.S. trailer. It was the last title from LIVE Entertainment to be released on VHS. Paramount later released the film on Blu-ray on August 14, 2012.