Amazon Adds Ghibli/Polygon's Ronja the Robber's Daughter Anime

Amazon announced on Friday that it has ordered Goro Miyazaki and POLYGON PICTURES' Ronja the Robber's Daughter television anime and plans to debut the series later this fall as an Amazon Original Kids Series on its Amazon Prime streaming platform.

The Studio Ghibli International Twitter account announced on Friday that David Freedman adapted and directed the English version. Actress Gillian Anderson (The X-Files) narrates the series.

The anime adapts a children's book of the same name by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren (Pippi Longstocking).

Amazon describes the story:
The daughter of a professional robber, Ronja realizes the complicated nature of her father's profession when she befriends Birk, the child of a rival tribe. Ronja struggles to balance the relationship with her family and the bond with her self-proclaimed brother Birk as she comes to understand the intricate issues of family and friendship and how differences can be overcome with the help of love and understanding.

Goro Miyazaki (Tales from Earthsea, From Up On Poppy Hill) directed the Ronja the Robber's Daughter television anime series, titled Sanzoku no Musume Ronia in Japan. POLYGON PICTURES (Knights of Sidonia,The Sky Crawlers) animated the 3D CG series in collaboration with Studio Ghibli. Hiroyuki Kawasaki (The Irresponsible Captain Tylor, Sorcerer Hunters, Ryoko's Case File, Psychic Detective Yakumo) handled the series composition. NHK Enterprise produced the series, and NHK and Dwango handled production and writing.

The series premiered in Japan in October 2014 and ran for 26 episodes. United Kingdom-based distributor Serious Lunch acquired the worldwide rights to the series and announced last June that it is seeking English-language broadcasters.

The anime won the Animation category at the International Emmy Kids Awards in April.​