To the delight of fans, director and award winning animator of Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke, Hayao Miyazaki breaks from retirement to work on a brand new feature film at the age of 75.
....And it’s about a Caterpillar!
In 2013, Miyazaki originally planned to lay down his animating ‘brush’ and retire once completing the biographical, yet heart wrenching tale, The Wind Rises. After working on a few animation projects for the Studio Ghibli museum, he admitted to Kyodo News that he was unable to detach himself from his work. According to Miyazaki, his upcoming film, Kemushi no Boro, or Boro the Caterpillar, had been planned for over twenty years and intended for the Studio Ghibli museum. Unsatisfied, he convinced producer Toshio Suzuki to turn the short story into a full feature length film. Other than “it’s a story of a tiny, hairy caterpillar, so tiny that it may easily be squished in your fingers”, Miyazaki hasn’t formally released details regarding the film. Clips of Boro The Caterpillar are currently available to the public.
Although not officially approved, Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli estimate the feature film will take at least five years to create and released after Miyazaki’s 80th birthday, in time for the 2020 Olympics. We can’t wait to see it!
