Iconic Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli has just recently announced that 2020 will be an extra fruitful and productive year with 2 upcoming film projects that are on the way as well as live shows and the ongoing work on Ghibli Park, which is set to open outside Nagoya, Japan in 2 years time.
This will also feature the new film created by Hayao Miyazaki, the co-founder of the animation studio.
The news was announced along with a charming ‘Year of the Rat’ illustration by Hayao Miyazaki.
After Japanese to English translation, the studio expressed its message and latest updates through a post.
‘Congratulations to all of you.Thank you for always supporting Studio Ghibli.
Last year was a pretty good year for Studio Ghibli, with Kabuki and other works staged and the official announcement of Ghibli Park, as well as aggressive overseas expansion, which provided a topic for everyone. I think it was. However, the disasters such as typhoons and heavy rains in Japan are continuing, and it is painful to think that there are many people who are forced to have a hard life even at this time. We would like to express our sincere condolences to those affected by the damage, and pray for the rebuilding of our lives as soon as possible.
By the way, the zodiac sign of 2020 is “child”. Rats are symbolic of their prosperity because of their prolific production, and are also said to be the angels of the god of fertility. I hope that the mood of the stagnating society will be renewed and that we will have a year of hope.
Studio Ghibli continues to work on two new films. Also, Ghibli Park has started in earnest, so we hope to be able to deliver a lot of excitement again this year.
In 2020, Studio Ghibli will begin work on January 6 (Monday).
Thank you very much for Studio Ghibli and Studio Ghibli this year’.
2020.1.1.
One of the movies in the pipeline is ‘How Do You Live?’ (Kimi-tachi wa Dou Ikuru ka), produced by Miyazaki inspired by the early 20th-century manga by Genzaburo Yoshino.
It was officially announced 3 years ago, bringing the animation legend out of retirement. The project is proceeding at a very careful pace.
Producer Toshio Suzuki said during an NHK interview last month that the film was about 15% completed after 3-plus years. The 78-year-old helmer used to direct 7 to 10 minutes of animation a month, Suzuki explained, but now completes about 1 minute in the same amount of time.
‘How Do You Live?’ had been expected to debut at the same time as this year’s Summer Olympics in Tokyo, but the film does not have an official release date as of yet.
Miyazaki’s ‘last’ feature animation, Oscar-nominated ‘The Wind Rises’, was released in 2013/14.
No additional information on the second film project was included in the announcement.
However, the studio could also be referring to the CG-animated film directed by the son of Miyazaki himself, Goro Miyazaki, which include ‘Tales from Earthsea’ and ‘From Up on Poppy Hill’, all of which were announced in 2017.
Are you excited for the upcoming films produced by Studio Ghibli? Let us know in the comments below!
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