Hayao Miyazaki, legendary Japanese animator, has come out of retirement — to work in 3D


Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki insisted that his 2013 feature, The Wind Rises, would be his last. But the mastermind behind such beloved works as My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away is, in fact, back at the drawing board.
Still, he might not exactly be doing a lot of drawing, per se.That's because the proposed short film (only 10 minutes!) will be Miyazaki's first ever in a 3D CG format. This despite the director having claimed in 2005, "I think CGI has the potential to equal or even surpass what the human hand can do, but it is far too late for me to try it."
Miyazaki's new film will star a "hairy caterpillar" as its protagonist, Variety reports. While it is so far only slated to be shown in the Ghibli Museum in Tokyo, and will take an estimated three years to complete, don't despair — that gives you all the more time to start planning your trip to Japan now.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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