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Hayao Miyazaki's New Film Is an 'Action-Adventure Fantasy'

The Movie Natalie website reported on Wednesday that Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki described Hayao Miyazaki's new Kimi-tachi wa Dō Ikiru ka (How Do You Live?) film as a hand-drawn "action-adventure fantasy." In his letter, Suzuki also reportedly revealed that Miyazaki's son Goro Miyazaki (seen right) is producing a new CG work.

Suzuki reportedly said in the letter that he understood the reason for the director's return from retirement after he read the content of the film. Suzuki added that Studio Ghibli will continue to make films until "the day it fails."

Studio Ghibli appointed former Ghibli Museum director Kiyofumi Nakajima as the company's new president on Tuesday. Former Studio Ghibli President Koji Hoshino became chairperson for the company. Kazuki Anzai, who formerly directed the museum's planning and exhibitions, took over as the new director of the Ghibli Museum and the Tokuma Memorial Cultural Foundation for Animation that manages it. Suzuki described the personnel changes as a "restart" and "new wind" for Studio Ghibli.

Miyazaki expects that it will take three or four years to complete his new film. Miyazaki derived the film's title from writer Genzaburō Yoshino's 1937 masterpiece of the same name. He added that this book is a story that has great meaning to the protagonist of his film. Yoshino's book centers around a man named Koperu and his uncle, and through Koperu's spiritual growth, it discusses how to live as human beings.

In the Owaranai Hito Miyazaki Hayao (Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki) special that aired last November, Miyazaki reported that he wanted to return to making an anime feature film after his upcoming "Kemushi no Boro" short for the Ghibli Museum. According to the special, Miyazaki was not satisfied with doing just the CG short, and he presented a project proposal for a feature-length film in August 2016.

Despite not officially receiving a green-light for the feature film at the time, Miyazaki decided to start animation work on the project anyway. Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki reported in April that Miyazaki has been drawing the storyboards for the project since July 2016. However, Suzuki said at the time that Miyazaki has only drawn 20 minutes of storyboards so far.

Goro Miyazaki made his directorial debut with the 2006 film Tales from Earthsea. He then directed the 2011 anime film From Up On Poppy Hill and the 2014 CG-animated Ronja the Robber's Daughter series.

Source: Eiga Natalie