Studio Ghibli is one of the greatest animation studios around. At one point, Ghibli was seen as the East’s equivalent of Disney (and hell, many still do) thanks to the amazing vision and talent from Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki. It’s Miyazaki’s many films, including My Neighbor Totoro, Porco Rosso, Princess Mononoke, and Spirited Away, that helped elevate the widespread acceptance and critical praise of feature-length anime films in the West. However, with the rising costs of production and the lack of financial profit guarantee following Miyazaki’s retirement last year, the company has decided to go on a temporary hiatus as they re-evaluate their future.
Over the past few days, many outlets reported this news as Studio Ghibli completely shutting down. Thankfully, however, it was all a misunderstanding over a translation error. What is known is this: Studio Ghibli will be cutting back on production in an attempt to find a better financial solution that will allow them to continue creating films post-Miyazaki. After all, while the iconic director was arguably the most well-known from the studio, there are many other talented animators working for Studio Ghibli, including Miyazaki’s own son, Goro, that will help keep the studio going for a long time.
Here’s hoping the future of Studio Ghibli is just as successful as its past.
[via Collider]