Since retiring from feature filmmaking, Hayao Miyazaki has dabbled in working on a manga while Studio Ghibli, sadly, shows no signs of creating another full-length film. However, the director thankfully will be back behind the proverbial drawing board, this time taking on computer animation for the first time for a new project.
“Actually I think CGI has the potential to equal or even surpass what the human hand can do, but it is far too late for me to try it,” Miyazaki told The Guardian a decade ago, revealing he uses no more than 10% of the technology in his own movies. His mindset has now changed as his next project will break new ground for the director as he relies 100% on CG and the use of 3D for the ten-minute film. Said to feature a “hairy caterpillar” as its lead, the ten-minute short will take three years to complete and will be shown at the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Tokyo.
“I think talent decides everything. More than the method, what’s important is the talent using it,” Miyazaki said last year. “There’s nothing inherently wrong or right about a method, whether it be pencil drawings or 3-D CG. Pencil drawings don’t have to go away, but those who continue to use the medium lack talent. So sadly, it will fade away.” As we await more updates on the project, which seems a long way off considering its projected 2018 debut, for another taste of Miyazaki’s short-form work, check out his 1994 music video On Your Mark by Chage & Aska. [Anime News Network/Variety]