Actress Daisy Ridley recently became a household name, thanks to her portrayal of Rey in one of the biggest movies of all time, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which opened in theaters several weeks ago.
However, Ridley recently took on another role, too, as Taeko in Studio Ghibli's English-dubbed version of Isao Takahata's Only Yesterday (Omohide Poro Poro) anime film.
What makes this film so interesting is that it originally premiered in Japan way back in 1991. Based on the manga of the same name by Hotaru Okamoto and Yuko Tone, it stands out as one of the few anime films targeted at adults, specifically women. It became a box office success and scored 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.
However, the film never received an English dub until now. In a video interview with Entertainment Weekly, Ridley speaks about her role in the movie and its importance, particularly in terms of when it was originally released.
"It's funny because, I guess, Ghibli films, a lot of the time, they are fantastical and everything," says Ridley in the clip. "But then the human stories are so human. They are what so many people around the world can identify with."
Only Yesterday takes place in 1982 and follows Taeko, a 27-year-old unmarried woman who lives in Tokyo. After she gets on a train to visit family in the countryside, she begins to reminisce about being a schoolgirl in the 1960s. Even after arriving at her destination, she becomes increasingly nostalgic for her childhood, while juggling her adult issues. The film's theme revolves around the old adage, "to thine own self be true."
"I think the reason, probably, why this is such a loved film — and will continue to be so — is because it doesn't feel foreign," says Ridley. "It feels exactly right, like, you know, how do you make your dreams come true and stuff like that. And, I guess, you live, you go day to day, and you try new things and you meet new people, and eventually, you'll kind of end up where you should be."
The film's English-dubbing cast also includes Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire), Ashley Eckstein (Star Wars: The Clone Wars) and Alison Fernandez (Law & Order: SVU).
The English-language version of Only Yesterday will first screen at the IFC Center in New York on Jan. 1. After that, the movie opens Feb. 26 nationwide.
