Legendary director Hayao Miyazaki has revealed that he is coming out of retirement to direct a new animated feature film. In an interview with the New York Times, Miyazaki didn’t give away much about the project, but did mention that it is based on Genzaburo Yoshino‘s 1937 book How Do You Live?, which follows a teenage boy in Tokyo who moves in with his uncle after his father dies.
The novel is reportedly one of the director’s favorites. When asked why he was returning, Miyazaki answered in his typically forthright fashion: “because I wanted to.” The film will obviously be developed for Studio Ghibli, the legendary animation studio Miyazaki co-founded. Fellow co-founder and producer Toshio Suzuki described the new film as “fantasy on a grand scale.”
This is clearly terrific news for film fans. Miyazaki is widely regarded as one of the most accomplished filmmakers in the history of animation, and his films include acclaimed masterpieces such as Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro, and Kiki’s Delivery Service.
His last film was 2013’s The Wind Rises, after which he announced his retirement. However there have been rumours that he’s been itching to return.
In January 2019 Vincent Maraval, a frequent collaborator with Miyazaki, tweeted a hint that the director may be planning another film, and there were other rumours that he was working on something to be released in conjunction with the 2020 Olympics.
That didn’t happen, but no one is going to bemoan Miyazaki taking his time with another film after it seemed unlikely we’d ever get one at all. He has always dealt with existential, environmental, and familial themes, and there’s a good chance that this is another spellbinding emotional journey. We await more news regarding How Do You Live?
#Peace.Love.HowDoYouLive
