Studio Ghibli Creates Live-Action Anime Adaptation For Theme Park's Anniversary: Watch

Studio Ghibli's Amusement Park has a new live-action anime adaptation out now.

By Evan Valentine

Studio Ghibli has earned it status as a legendary anime studio more times than we can count at this point. With its latest outing, The Boy And The Heron, Hayao Miyazaki and his production house were able to snag another Academy Award as the movie won for Best Animated Picture this year. Thanks to the popularity of all things Ghibli, the studio decided to open up its own amusement park in Japan that recreates characters and locales for park-goers. To celebrate two years of operation, Ghibli has created a live-action adaptation of one of their earlier films as a gift for anime fans around the world.

When stacked against the likes of Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, The Boy And The Heron, and Princess Mononoke, Whisper of The Heart might not get as much recognition. First released in 1995, the romance follows its protagonist Shizuku as she tries her hand at becoming a writer but encounters some magical and supernatural experiences along the way. Also on her journey, Shizuku comes into contact with a mysterious boy who just might turn out to be the love of her life. The Studio Ghibli Theme Park is hinting at a big arrival to its park and seemingly, Shizuku's story will play a major part in it.

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(Photo: Studio Ghibli)

Whisper of The Heart in Live-Action

While Whisper of The Heart might not have warranted a sequel, as few Ghibli projects do, it did receive a spin-off film that arrived years later in The Cat Returns. In the department of live-action adaptations, we haven't seen Ghibli wade into creating new takes of their older stories on the silver screen, rather, they have focused on forging stage plays for some of their biggest projects. For example, you can currently catch "Spirited Away: Live on Stage" on MAX if you are looking to see what some of Miyazaki's greatest characters might look like if they were a part of our world.

The official Studio Ghibli website shared new details about the upcoming attraction along with the new video, "The World of Ghibli Park." Nobody knows this world yet. To mark the second anniversary of the opening of Ghibli Park, new events are finally being planned. The "Autumn Dondoko Festival" will be held from November 2nd (Sat) to 4th (Mon) and 15th (Fri) to 17th (Sun)."

Anime Theme Parks Are Finally Coming To America

For some time, we here at ComicBook.com have had to watch from across the sea as Japan was privy to some amazing attractions that had spawned from such locales as the Ghibli Park and Universal Studios Japan. For the latter, the theme park created attractions and entire establishments to honor the likes of Attack on Titan, One Piece, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Sailor Moon, Jujutsu Kaisen, Hunter x Hunter, and more. Luckily, beginning next year, Universal Studios Hollywood is planning to have "Fan Fest Nights" that will focus on the Straw Hat Pirates, and the students of Jujutsu Tech as One Piece and Jujutsu Kaisen will have attractions of their own.

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As of the writing of this article, there has been no hint that a Ghibli Park is making its way to North America. Hopefully, with the upcoming anime events at Universal Studios Hollywood, anime fans might see more anime attractions coming their way in the West.

Want to stay up to date on Ghibli Park and the future projects of Studio Ghibli as a whole? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook.com for the latest updates on Ghibli and hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime. 

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