For 30 years, Studio Ghibli made some of the finest animated movies in the world. Films like Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro and Howl’s Moving Castle transcended their Japanese origins and become beloved all over the world. And then, after 2014’s sweet-but-forgettable When Marnie Was There, and the retirement of Hayao Miyazaki, they announced that they were ceasing production on any future projects. Animation fans wept, and the film world got that little bit bleaker.
But the good times are (sort of) coming again—Studio Ghibli are co-producing a new feature! It is only a co-production, with European distributor Wild Bunch, but still! The film, called The Red Turtle, will be directed by Dutch-British animator Michaël Dudok de Wit (the first non-Japanese Ghibli director), and Grave of the Fireflies director Isao Takahata is credited as Artistic Producer. No word on the plot, but there’s probably going to be a turtle in it. And he’ll probably be red.
It’s not due out in Japan until September 2016, and it sound like a bit of a departure from the Ghibli norm. But still, new Studio Ghibli!
[via Kotaku]
