» Hayao Miyazaki

The teaser for Ghibli’s ‘The Borrowers’ sneaks in!

Nathan Bartlebaugh — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:39:36 +0000

Last year it was announced that Studio Ghibli, the animation studio headed up by Japanese maestro Hayao Miyazaki (Princess Mononoke, Ponyo) was in the process of adapting Mary Norton’s classic The Borrowers .

At the time we were left with only vague sketches and a few designs and our own childhood memories of the book.What kind of film would Ghibli create from them?

Based on what I’ve seen here, the team headed up by director Hiromasa Yonebayashi are working in a very similar vein to many of Miyazaki’s own films, capturing the beauty of a hidden world existing at the edge of our own.

This also won’t be the first time Ghibli has adapted an ostensibly Western story into the Japanese anime form. Miyazaki’s 2005 feature ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’ was based off a young adult fantasy novel by Dianne Wynn Jones and one of its strengths was the way in which it blended an Asian aesthetic with a more European sensibility. The next year Ghibli also released ‘Tales from Earthsea’ based on the fantasy/science-fiction worlds of author Ursula K. Leguin.

Part of that cultural melding and collaboration is present in the teaser, which also takes a peek into the creation of the movie’s theme song, performed by celtic harpist and singer, Cecile Corbel. The sound achieved is a perfect blend of J-pop energy and a richer, more haunting tone that suits the imagery well.

To say I’m looking forward to this one is an understatement. Bring on The Borrowers!

Studio Ghibli to Make The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter

John Cooper — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 01:41:46 +0000

Studio Ghibli, the Japanese animation studio behind films such as My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away and the recent Ponyo, has announced that co-founder and director Isao Takahata (Grave of the Fireflies) will be directing The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, based on an ancient folktale. It will be Takahata’s first film in 10 years.

According to asianmoviepulse.com, the story has particular historical storytelling relevance in Japanese culture:

“The story is considered to be the oldest surviving example of Japanese narrative, and every Japanese person knows this story. A little baby is found inside the stalk of a glowing plant by a bamboo cutter. He takes her home, and raises her with his wife as their own daughter, and they give her the name Kaguya-Hime (radiant-night princess). She grows into a beautiful adult woman, with many suitors, even the Emperor of Japan – and she rebuffs them all. Then, things become even more complicated as her true lineage becomes revealed, and her special relationship with the moon.”

Sounds like the perfect recipe for a visionary Studio Ghibli fantasy film, if you ask me.

In further Studio Ghibli news, Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle director Hayao Miyazaki has signed on to direct two more feature-length films with the company in the next three years. Hot off the heels of Ponyo, Miyazaki is an incredibly busy man with a vision that never falters under pressure. Keep your eyes posted to AtomicPopcorn.net for updates on the details of these Studio Ghibli films!

Warner Bros & Miyazaki Comic-Con It Up

Melissa Molina — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 21:52:26 +0000

Already counting down the days until the 40th Annual San Diego Comic-Con International? Are you not because you were one of the unfortunate ones to not be able to get the tickets on time? I will tap onto that later, but first we’ll concentrate on Warner Bros. and what they have in store for us this year.

This studio tends to always have the biggest presentations, especially with their ‘tower’ booth on the main floor and the ridiculously huge bags that each one of the attendees crave for every year. This time around, their list on Hall H starts off on Thursday with the first ever 3D presentation (I know, how will they pull that off?) of The Final Destination, and not to confuse you, this is the 4th movie of the Final Destination series, not the first movie all over again.

Warner Bros. continues on by dominating the late morning/early afternoon on Friday. Going along with a huge list of film presentations between The Book of Eli, Where the Wild Things Are, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Box, Sherlock Holmes and Jonah Hex, there is not a single film that doesn’t peak a person’s interest at the Con that they wouldn’t like to check out. Even though it is not confirmed, talk of a couple of cast and crew of each film would be at their respected presentations could most likely happen. What is confirmed though is Robert Rodriguez appearing for a Q&A session for his upcoming family friendly film Shorts.

Last but not least is the newest announcement, confirming that popular animated film director and writer Hayao Miyazaki will attend this year’s Comic-Con for the first time. Making his way in with brand new clips of his latest Japanese animated film, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, this particular San Diego convention is filling up with a bunch of famed first timers.

Also, if any of you still do want to go to this year’s Comic-Con and do not have any tickets, keep your eyes peeled at Comic-Con on Twitter for even more tickets that are on sale (for a limited time!). (Special thanks for SD Examiner, Coming Soon! & Warner Bros for the information)