Confirmed: Studio Ghibli Pioneer Hayao Miyazaki Is Coming Out Of Retirement (Again)
Yay!
Legendary Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki has pulled the plug on his short-lived retirement, and is reportedly hard at work on a brand new feature film.
According to Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki, who spoke to reporters at a pre-Oscars event on Thursday night, the 76-year-old Miyazaki, whose filmography includes Ponyo and Howl’s Moving Castle, is “putting all his effort into making [his new film].”
Toshio Suzuki confirms at the Academy that Miyazaki is definitely un-retired. And Suzuki is producing his next feature.
— Cartoon Brew (@cartoonbrew) February 24, 2017
Miyazaki previously announced that he was finished with feature-length projects following the release of The Wind Rises in 2013. Shortly thereafter it was announced that he would direct his first CGI short film Boro the Caterpillar, described by Miyazaki as “the story of a tiny, hairy caterpillar, so tiny that it may be easily squished between your fingers.”
The 12-minute short film was initially slated for a release at the Studio Ghibli museum in Tokyo in the second half of 2017. It is believed that Miyazaki’s new project is a feature length version of Boro. In November last year, the Japanese TV documentary The Man Who Is Not Done revealed that Miyazaki had pitched the feature version to Ghibli producers last year. Seems as though they liked what they heard.
While fans of Miyazaki will no doubt be thrilled by this news, it’s worth pointing out that they shouldn’t really be surprised, given that he’s done this before. He previously announced his retirement after 1997’s Princess Mononoke, only to return in 2001 with Spirited Away which won an Oscar for Best Animated Film.
Based on Miyzaki’s comments in November, a feature length version of Boro could be completed by the start of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.