Studio Ghibli producer, manager and erstwhile president Toshio Suzuki, who brought Hayao Miyazaki out of obscurity and into the light in the 1980s, has spoken up about what the upcoming changes at the animation house really mean. And we may be seeing more from Miyazaki, who has been hot and cold about his retirement in the past. Here’s what Suzuki told a Japanese morning show:
We’re changing the way we make (animation). … We wanted to make a dream company. We thought we would make what suited us and not make what didn’t suit us. We were able to realize (that dream) to some extent and we’re very happy about that. But now we’re at a point where we’ve got to think about what we’ll do next.
[Hayao Miyazaki] may make something again. This is my guess, but I’m thinking it will be something short.
Miyazaki has talked about returning to his manga roots in the past. But Suzuki suggests a short film may be in his future. Ghibli productions roll out slowly stateside, so this could take the form of an exclusive short at the Ghibli Museum in Tokyo, which houses Miyazaki’s one-off projects outside the realm of feature film. (We interviewed him during “The Wind Rises” days here.)
EARLIER: Early reports that one of the world’s most beloved animation studios, Hayao Miyazaki’s legendary Studio Ghibli, might shut its doors and stop making films seemed to be coming true. A news report translation of Studio Ghibli general manager and Toshio Suzuki’s TV announcement of Studio Ghibli’s closure was posted on an unofficial Studio Ghibli blog. stating that Suzuki was dismantling the Studio Ghibli animation production department. According to Variety, however, that report was exaggerated –or badly translated. Instead, Suzuki described “the need for big changes in all our operations.” He discussed taking a short break to assess the studio’s future, not a permanent shuttering.
TOH! ranked the Top Ten Studio Ghibli films here.
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