After nearly six years of anticipation, Studio Ghibli fans worldwide can finally celebrate. Per a new tweet from the company’s official Twitter account early this morning, Hayao Miyazaki’s newest animated film How Do You Live? is set to land in theaters across Japan on July 14th, 2023. The tweet shows a piece of hand-drawn artwork from the film, a charcoal and watercolor drawing showing the facade of a bird-like creature, likely a character in the upcoming film.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film is an adaptation of a children’s novel of the same name from 1937, authored by Yoshino Genzaburo. Miyazaki noted previously that the book is central to his life, both personally and as an animator. Therefore, it was only a matter of time before the book received the golden treatment from him and his animation team. The original book focuses on two narrators, a 15-year-old boy named Copper coping with his father’s death in prewar Japan, and the boy’s uncle who helps him overcome his suffering and tackle life’s biggest questions. Miyazaki’s rendition of the story, however, will amplify the story one hundred-fold and harness some of the greatest animation he has ever drawn.
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Before this newest project, Hayao Miyazaki, revered the world over as the ‘godfather of animation’, had initially retired after releasing his previous film The Wind Rises back in 2013. However, despite Studio Ghibli’s announcement, Miyazaki made the personal decision soon after to come out of retirement in order to make one last film for his grandson. Production on How Do You Live? officially began in 2016, and it had no planned deadline or release date then.
Miyazaki intended to put every last ounce of creative magic that he could into the project, which meant taking serious time to carefully develop the story and hand-draw every frame. With a team of 60 animators, it took Miyazaki three years just to complete the first 36 minutes of the film (out of a projected 125 minutes). Studio executive Toshio Suzuki periodically updated the progress, and stated that production actually increased during COVID-19 lockdowns, as the staff were required to work from home. Post-pandemic, the film finally reached its anticipated completion timeline of 2022. How Do You Live? brings a graceful, magnificent resting point to Miyazaki’s professional career, and will undoubtedly be as immaculate as his many other films, if not even more so.
