New Year’s Message of Studio Ghibli Teases a 2nd New Film Production

Studio Ghibli has been a powerhouse in the anime and movie industry for years making blockbuster masterpieces like Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Howl’s Moving Castle, and so on.

The New Year has begun and the studio released their new year’s message on Wednesday. In the greeting, it was also mentioned that they are continuing to work on two new films this year. The first film is what the studio’s co-founder Hayao Miyazaki have been revealed previously, titled Kimi-tachi wa Dō Ikiru ka (How Do You Live?). It was reported by one of the former studio producer Yoshiaki Nishimura that the film is now 15% complete. No details have been revealed on the second film so far.

The studio’s message also revealed on other things like the kabuki stage play adaptation of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, the upcoming Ghibli Park, and its “active overseas expansion.” From the looks of it, 2020 might be a great year for Studio Ghibli.

As of this time, there no info on their new year’s message that reveal if the new film will be a short or a full movie. It also did not specify if the movie will be animated traditionally, in live-action, or mixed media.

Aside from their notable anime feature films, Studio Ghibli produced the 200 live-action feature Jitsu, as well as the 2012 live-action short “Kyōshinhei Tokyo ni Arawaru” (A Giant God Warrior Appears in Tokyo). In a report in 2016, former Studio Ghibli producer Yoshiaki Nishimura said that Miyazaki was planning to produce three more shorts for the Ghibli museum. One of these was Boro the Caterpillar that debuted last year. The current exhibition in the museum titled “Sketch, Flash, Spark! ~ From the Ghibli Forest Sketchbook” did not reveal the next upcoming short after Boro the Caterpillar.

In an essay published in Bugei Shinju magazine on March 2019, former producer Toshio Suzuki said that Miyazaki is working on Kimi-tachi wa Dō Ikiru ka without a deadline. Miyazaki presented a proposed schedule for the production of the film which is slated to be finished by 2019 , but Suzuki said that the studio is no longer following the planned schedule. “With the production of this new film, we’re experimenting with having no established deadline. I’m looking forward to how that comes through in the work.”, he said.

Kimi-tachi wa Dō Ikiru ka is based from the 1937 masterpiece of the same name written by Genzaburō Yoshino. Miyazaki stated that the book has great meaning to the protagonist of the film and the movie is sure to win a lot of people’s hearts. The story centers around a man named Kopera and his uncle. The film talks about how to live as human beings through the spiritual growth of Koperu.

With that said, 2020 might definitely be a great year for Studio Ghibli not just in its animation department but also in its other business ventures. We hope we will be able to get at least a teaser of their upcoming film project very soon.

Source: Studio Ghibli Official Website, ANN