Hayao Miyazaki’s New Short Film Has An Expected Release Date

Studio Ghibli fans, this is not a drill. After a long wait, it looks like the newest film from Hayao Miyazaki is closer than expected. The famed animator will debut a brand-new short film next year called Boro the Caterpillar, and it is set to debut in either June or July 2017.

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According to Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki, Miyazaki will wrap production on Boro in spring 2017 for the summer release. The short film will be released exclusively at the Studio Ghibli museum in Mitaka, Tokyo and stay that way for a period of time. There’s no word on whether the short film will be released on home video at some point as a standalone item or special feature on an upcoming studio film.

Of course, Boro is not the first short film that Miyazaki has made for the Studio Ghibli museum. He made a short sequel to My Neighbor Totoro titled Mei and the Kittenbus. The animator also created Mizugumo Monmon in 2006, and it was partially based on Miyazaki’s ideas for Boro. The artist has had plans to create his upcoming short film since he was working on 1997’s Princess Mononoke.

According to Suzuki, Boro is expected to run about 12 minutes. However, there will hopefully be plenty of more catepillar cuteness to come in the future.

In a recent television special Owaranai Hito Miyazaki Hayao (The Man Who Is Not Done: Hayao Miyazaki), the director said he wants to make another full-length animated film. The anime movie would tell the complete story of Boro, and Miyazaki hopes to have it done before the 2020 ends.

Miyazaki explained that he began Boro as short CG project for the Ghibli Museum. However, he realized the anime was deserving of an entire film, so he proposed plans for the film in August. The artist said the full movie would take him five years to complete, so Boro would arrive in time to celebrate the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The film’s final cut would be completed the same year Miyazaki turns 80 years old.

Currently, Miyazaki is waiting to hear back about the project’s approval, but the artist is not waiting on the green-light to start working. He has already started animation work on Boro and has made storyboards for 100 cuts of footage.

If you can’t wait to see Miyazaki’s new projects debut, then you can stave off your appetite with an upcoming TV series from Studio Ghibli. Earlier this year, Amazon announced its Prime users will be able to stream Ronja the Robber’s Daughter before 2017 rolls in.

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So, will you be curious to see Hayao Miyazaki’s new short film? Would you want the animator to turn the story into a full-length feature? Let us know what you think in the comments below!

[H/T] IndieWire