Anime fans rejoice: Studio Ghibli has announced that directors (and Ghibli co-founders) Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata will each come out with a new film in 2013. More than that, the two films—The Wind is Rising and The Tale of Princess Kaguya—will be coming out on the same day.
Of the potential uses for a cuddly Totoro plush, this is not one that I would have put at the top of the list. But this friendly neighbor promises to sit quietly and cradle your smartphone within his very body until you’re ready to remove it, leaving him empty and cold. All while staring at you with those black, black eyes. I bet his fur’s really soft, though.
Studio Ghibli is perhaps one of the most famed animation houses in the world. Animation being the key word. The studio has never done a live-action film–until now. Their first will be the short film Giant God Warrior Appears in Tokyo, which will be directed by Neon Genesis Evangelion director Hideaki Anno, and the trailer of which can be watched above. The film–which was created entirely without CGI and in the style of old-school Japanese sci-fi–will feature creatures from Hayao Miyazaki‘s 1984 animated film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Nausicaäfocused on the title character’s struggle with “a kingdom that tries to use an ancient weapon to eradicate a jungle of giant mutant insects,” and was considered to be a landmark start for the studio.
It’ll be interesting to see where the studio goes with the possibilities of live action. We will say this: With their extensive use of miniatures, the trailer for their first foray into it already looks pretty impressive.
Here’s a thing you didn’t know you wanted until just now. It’s Marceline as San, and Lumpy Space Kodamas. The creator of this ball of awesome is David, and he’s only seventeen.
Do you ever think to yourself, “Man, you know what I’d love to make the time for one of these days? A marathon of Hayao Miyazaki movies.” Well, let this collection of minimalist posters from The Art of Animation provide you a little more motivation for such a thing. More after the jump.
See, this sort of thing makes me wish that I had any kind of steady hands. And the ability to do anything mundane task when my nails are even slightly longer than my fingertips. (The Uniblog)
Jill Pantozzi
Holy cow! Congrats to my pal @ArkhamAsylumDoc who has her clinical dissection of #IronMan3 on the Hollywood Reporter! http://t.co/lYZtkU7o9Z