Studio Ghibli are one of those rare studios that produce consistently fantastic work over and over again. Even Pixar have given us reprehensible garbage such as CARS 2, but Ghibli have never delved below ‘pretty good’ (that would go to TALES OF EARTHSEA). So it’s with great joy that we can report Studio Ghibli have added two new films to their slate of upcoming releases.
First of all Hayao Miyazaki returns yet again, which is great but for a man who intended to retire after PRINCESS MONONOKE in 1997. Miyazaki’s latest will be titled THE WIND RISES and is based on the manga he wrote. It tells the story of Jiro Horikoshi, the man who designed the Japanese Zero Fighter, used in World War II. Miyazaki used pigs instead of humans for his manga, which will probably translate well to film giving his previous effort PORCO ROSSO (1992) featured a pilot cursed with the looks of a pig.
Next we have the latest film from the man responsible for the greatest animated film ever, GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES (1988). Isao Takahata will direct PRINCESS KAGUYA STORY (which will probably lose the ‘Story’ part). It is to be based on a Japanese folk tale ‘Tale Of The Bamboo Cutter’.
There’s an old saying where I come from “The more Ghibli the better.” Which I think is very apt given this particular piece of news.
Here are some pictures from Miyazaki’s manga of THE WIND RISES:
Source: Ghiblicon
