Hayao Miyazaki could return to movies with his 12th animated picture. - AFP/VNA Photo |
JAPAN - The Japanese master of animation is thought to be preparing his 12th feature film, three years after announcing his retirement.
Just a few months after the release of his movie The Wind Rises, in September 2013, Hayao Miyazaki took the decision to stop directing animated feature films. Now, as his 76th birthday approaches, the Japanese filmmaker could be coming out of retirement with an upcoming film entitled Boro the Caterpillar.
Miyazaki has had the story of this little caterpillar in mind since the 1990s. In 1997, the director set the project aside to work on Princess Mononoke, before taking it up again a few years later to create a short film for the Studio Ghibli museum, which opened on the outskirts of Tokyo, Japan, in 2001.
If the movie comes about, it will be the 12th feature-length film from Miyazaki, following The Wind Rises, released in 2013. Since 1979’s The Castle of Cagliostro, the Japanese filmmaker’s work has enjoyed success all around the world. Many of his works (Castle in the Sky, Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro) are now considered classics of the animated genre. Hollywood paid tribute to the director in 2014 with an honorary Oscar recognising his entire career. AFP