Hayao Miyazaki is a titan in Japanese cinema. For over six decades, Miyazaki has been working as an animator, and has established himself as one of the legends in Japanese animation. He's such a commanding presence that he was even able to convince Takeshi Honda, a veteran animator, to set aside his role as one of the animators of the new Evangelion film in order to work on Miyazaki's latest and supposedly, his last film, The Boy and The Heron.
Honda recounts Miyazaki's appeal saying that this would most likely be his last film because no one in the Miyazaki family ever lived beyond 80. And so Honda acquiesced and agreed to work with him on the film. By the way, Miyazaki is now 82 years old and appears to have more left in him as there are further rumors that he has ideas for another film in the future.
As for Honda's experience working with Miyazaki, one would think that everything would be smooth and cooperative between two industry veterans, but to Honda's surprise, Miyazaki was very meticulous when it came to how the film was to be animated.
During the first few years working with him, Honda found Miyazaki commenting about the style of animation, which is distinctive of Ghibli films, and how he wanted certain features drawn in a particular way. However, Honda remarked that, after a while, he reverted to his own style, to which Miyazaki simply relinquished his persistence.
It took approximately seven years for The Boy and The Heron to be completed, and much of that time was spent trying to get the details just right, as one would expect from any Ghibli film. This is Miyazaki's eleventh feature, and purportedly based on his own life. The Boy and The Heron is scheduled to be released in North America next month.
(Image credit: MEXT/Wikimedia Commons)