Studio Ghibli’s The Wind Rises is Hayao Miyazaki’s Last Film

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Koji Hoshino, the president of Studio Ghibli, has announced that the legendary co-founder of the prestigious animation studio will retire after he completes his new film, The Wind Rises. Hoshino made the announcement at the Venice Film Festival; he didn’t go into too much detail, but stated that Miyazaki is retiring from feature-length films. 

It is likely that Miyazaki will remain a presence in the studio, consulting on all its major released but handing over the majority of control to other directors such as his son Goro Miyazaki (Tales from Earthsea) and fellow Ghibli co-founder Isao Takahata (The Tale of Princess Kaguya).

The 72-year-old director has worked at Studio Ghibli for over fifty years, creating some the the studios most memorable on-screen adventures, including Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle and Ponyo. He is an inspirational influence on animation, and hopefully we’ll see more of Miyazaki-san outside of feature films.

Film4’s Studio Ghibli Season is Here

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Film4 will be showing a total of nineteen Studio Ghibli titles over the Easter holiday, and, whether you’ve seen them before or have yet to be exposed to the Ghibli legacy, they are not to be missed. The full line up is listed below, with some titles repeated so viewers can choose their preference between English dub or subtitles:

  • Tues, 26 March at 6:30pm – Spirited Away (Subtitled)
  • Weds, 27 March at 6:05pm – Princess Mononoke (Subtitled)
  • Thurs, 28 March at 11am – The Cat Returns (Subtitled)
  • Thurs, 28 March at 4:35pm – Porco Rosso (English dub)
  • Fri, 29 March at 4:45pm – Kiki’s Delivery Service (English dub)
  • Sat, 30 March at 4:55pm – My Neighbour Totoro (English dub)
  • Sun, 31 March at 5:15pm – Arrietty (English dub)
  • Mon, 1 April at 4:35pm – Howl’s Moving Castle (English dub)
  • Tues, 2 April at 3:15pm – The Castle of Cagliostro (English dub)
  • Weds, 3 April at 2:50pm – Ponyo (English dub)
  • Thurs, 4 April at 11am – Ocean Waves (Subtitled)
  • Thurs, 4 April at 2:35pm – Pom Poko (English dub)
  • Fri, 5 April at 12:15am – Grave of the Fireflies (Subtitled)
  • Fri, 5 April at 2:40pm – Whisper of the Heart (English dub)
  • Fri, 6 April at 4:35pm – Spirited Away (English dub)
  • Sun, 7 April at 3pm – The Cat Returns (English dub)
  • Mon, 8 April at 2:25pm – Tales From Earthsea (English dub)earth
  • Tues, 9 April at 12:55pm – Only Yesterday (Subtitled)
  • Weds, 10 April at 1:10pm – Princess Mononoke (English dub)
  • Thurs, 11 April at 11am – Little Norse Prince (Subtitled)
  • Thurs, 11 April at 2:35pm – Laputa: Castle in the Sky (English dub)
  • Fri, 12 April at 12:45pm – Howl’s Moving Castle (Subtitled)
  • Sat, 13 April (time TBA) – Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (Subtitled)

More information is available on Film4’s website.

Studio Ghibli Gets its own Series of Zippo Lighters

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A multitude of Studio Ghibli films are now featured on a collection of Zippo lighters. From classics such as Princess Mononoke and Laputa to the more recent on-screen adventures like Tales from Earthsea and Ponyo, the lighters are available online and range between $99.99 – $150.

Despite Ghibli’s popularity with young audiences, the studio has clearly branched out to more mature audiences in this particular merchandising. Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki is a smoker himself, having said in an interview in 2008 with Robert Whiting “Both of my parents were heavy smokers, though they didn’t die of lung cancer. So I’m OK. I scanned my lungs the other day and there was no problem.”

Even with the health issues surrounding smoking and the complaints from some fans and anti-smoking groups, it’s hard not to admire the artistry of these pieces. If it makes those against smoking feel any better, they could always be used to light candles.