Just when you thought he was out, they pull him back in. That’s right, boys and girls, the man behind hand-drawn animated classics like SPIRITED AWAY, HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE, PONYO and THE WIND RISES, Hayao Miyazaki, will come out of retirement to direct another full-length film. And yes, he was found chopping wood in the middle of nowhere, and after hours of grizzly-voiced arguing was talked into coming back. No, not really. I just wanted to sound cool.
Anyway, despite having retired from directing in 2013 the legendary figure in animation is currently working on his next full-length movie based off a short film he's been working on called BORO THE CATERPILLAR, meant to be shown at the Studio Ghibli museum in Tokyo. However, Miyazaki was not satisfied with the final product, and is committed to turning it into a feature-length film.
What is most surprising about the news is less that he is returning to the director's chair, and more that the film will possibly be the 75-year-old filmmaker's first foray into CG animation. The short itself was made using CG technology, and Ghibli head Toshio Suzuki talked about how Miyazaki has been struggling to master the format, but assured fans saying, “Ghibli will carry on as long as Miyazaki continues to make films.”
The news that the legend could be moving into CG after all these years may come as a shock for die-hard fans, but his coming out of retirement should go down as a big bowl of normal. The man has always come back to the world of animation, despite repeatedly saying he was done. His most recent film, THE WIND RISES from 2013, was said to be his last film as he announced retirement from directing that year. But the ever-tempting whispers have brought the genius back to us. You can never escape, Miyazaki. Never…
No matter how you look at the news, Miyazaki is an undeniable artist, using sweeping animation to bring his unparalleled imagination to life for decades. There’s little reason to think he can’t master CG animation if he wanted to, offering us something we’ve never seen before from the man, which is more than enough reason to step back into the world of directing. Hell, he may scrap the whole CG thing and go back to hand-drawn for the movie. I know chopping wood is fun, sir, but the world needs your genius more than ever.