You can’t keep Hayao Miyazaki away from what he loves. The celebrated anime director announced during a television special that he wants to come out of retirement to turn his 20-year pet project into a full-length animated feature.




Miyazaki announced his retirement three years ago and has since been working on Kemushi no Boro (or Boro the Caterpillar), a CG short for the Ghibli Museum. It’s based on a story he’s been developing for about two decades, about a caterpillar that’s so small “it may be easily squished between your fingers.” According to the NHK television special, translated to The Man Who Is Not Done, Miyazaki was unhappy with how the short turned out and has proposed expanding it into a feature.

It should be noted that this is not the first time Miyazaki has come out of “retirement,” in fact he’s done it several times already. The latest was when he came out of retirement to work on Kemushi no Boro in 2013, although that only partially counted because it was a short film. Still, every time he does I get super excited like it’s the first time.


Miyazaki said the film could take up to five years to make, which means he’d be around 80 years old by the time it’s done. But, if he sticks to his ideal timetable, it would be finished before the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, which would be perfect timing. It hasn’t officially been green-lit yet, but Miyazaki’s already planning storyboards. And come on, there’s no way Studio Ghibli would turn down another amazing piece of art from the legendary Hayao Miyazaki.

In the meantime, Miyazaki said he’ll continue making CG shorts for the Ghibli Museum, and that Kemushi no Boro should be finished in a year.

[Anime News Network]

Update: Fixed the timetable to say “up to” five years, since he’s hoping it will be completed sooner.