Hayao Miyazaki Returns With New CGI Short film
I am a huge animation fan and when I discovered the films of Hayao Miyazaki in college (ya I guess I’m a late bloomer) I gained a whole new appreciation for what animation as an art-form could do. Needless to say I have nothing but the utmost respect for Hayao Miyazaki and was incredibly disappointed because of his retirement. However after reading up on the man and his career I realized he’s “retired” a couple of times and something normally pulls him back in. So I was cautiously optimistic there could still be another film left in him. According to Animation Magazine, there is a CGI short film about a caterpillar titled “Kemushi no Boro” (“Boro the Caterpillar”). The short will be shown in the Studio Ghibli museum in Tokyo, Japan. No word if or when it will find its way to the states which means I now have another reason (aside from being able to see the sequel to “My Neighbor Totoro,” “Mei,” and “the Kittenbus”) to go visit the museum.
Now something that may worry or bother some people is the fact this is going to be a CGI short film. To put it plainly, Studio Ghibli is known for its breathtaking hand-drawn animation. The detail in every background is unbelievable and stunning. Since they’ve never done a CGI film before but were still one of the shining beacons of the art-form, some fans will be upset. While it’s a shame to see less and less hand drawn films (I personally don’t believe for a second that it’s going away), there will always be an audience for it. Just like how stop-motion animation has continued despite technology passing it by a long time ago.
Even with all that said Miyazaki has used CGI in his films before, you just didn’t notice it, they purposely made it look 2D to blend in with the rest of the animation and animate certain things that would have been too hard to draw (i.e. the demon worm things consuming creatures in “Princess Mononoke”). Miyazaki is one of the best filmmakers of all-time so I have no worries that it’ll have just as much artistic merit as his hand-drawn films. In case you hadn’t somehow seen any of Pixar’s films (especially Inside Out which might just be their best (Yes that good!)), CGI films can be just as great. It’s important to remember it’s just one art-form (yes it’s perhaps overused at the expense of more hand-drawn film getting made but that doesn’t mean it’s any less capable) and with Miyazaki at the helm it’s even more capable.