Isao Takahata, co-founder of Studio Ghibli and director of acclaimed features such as Grave of the Fireflies and Only Yesterday, confirmed last week that he is working on a new movie. The acclaimed helmer, whose last movie was the 1999 feature My Neighbors the Yamadas revealed the news at a special event in honor of Canadian animator Frederic Back at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo, according to the Anime News Network. Takahata noted that the feature probably won’t be ready before 2013.
Two years ago, Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki had mentioned that Takahata was working on a project based on the classic Japanese folk tale Taketori Monogatari (The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter), in the style of classical Japanese scroll. The classic story follows the adventures of a princess named Kaguya who discovers a baby inside the stalk of a magical glowing bamboo plant.
In addition, Suzuki revealed that Ghibli co-founder and anime master Hayao Miyazaki is also working on a project that is an “autobiography.” Because of vague phrasing, it’s not clear whether the Oscar-winning helmer will be crafting his own autobiography or an animated adaptation of another person’s autobiography. No matter, we’ll be watching closely!
