Apr 9, 2021

Among the animated titles that will be streamed for free on Fox's Tube, "Millennium Actress" "Liz and the Blue Bird"

A collection of well-regarded anime features has joined Fox-owned streamer Tubi. The slate is the result of a content deal struck between Tubi and Shout! Factory.

The films include Satoshi Kon's Millennium Actress, Naoko Yamada's Liz and the Blue Bird, and Hiroyasu Ishida's Pengiun Highway. Most are available in subtitled and dubbed versions, and most are on the platform now, with Sunao Katabuchi's World War II drama In This Corner of the World coming next year.

The other titles are Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms, The Wonderland, three Sound! Euphonium features, Haikara-San: Here Comes Miss Modern parts 1 and 2, Donten: Laughing Under the Clouds Gaiden, One Year After the Battle, The Tragedy of Fuuma Ninja Tribe, and Conspiracy of the Military.

Tubi is free to watch, as one of a growing number of ad-supported streaming platforms. The service is currently available in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Mexico. Founded in 2014, it was acquires by Fox Entertainment for $440 million last year. It has grown fast since then, building up its slate of reruns and licensed content; its customer base stood at 33 million people last September. Last month, Bloomberg reported that the platform was preparing to move into original programming.

Shout! Factory (and its development and distribution arm Shout! Studios) have a big presence in animation. Films the company has recently released or acquired include the forthcoming Chinese title The Legend of Hei, the Brazilian feature Tito and the Birds, and the library of American indie animation legend Bill Plympton.

Images at top, left to right: “Millennium Actress,” “Liz and the Blue Bird”