At Studio Ghibli in Tokyo, the lair of the master of animation, his collaborators do not believe that the master of Japanese animation will soon retire.
The legendary Studio Ghibli, in Tokyo, is a small building with a huge tree in front, a fallow garden on the roof, several floors and various rooms which are workshops and offices. We did not meet Miyazaki in person, but his producer Toshio Suzuki, his son Goro and his right-hand man on the film The Boy and the HeronTakeshi Honda, who worked with Miyazaki for six years.
“I knew Miyazaki’s reputation for being very bossy and a perfectionist, so I was a little tense. For sure, he knows what he wants, recognizes Takeshi Honda. But, even though this film is the quintessence of Miyazaki’s works, the fact that I have experience at other studios gives this film a bit of a different feel. Me too, I’m still from an analog generation!”
“For Miyazaki, expressing himself through animation is essential. He wants to draw.”
Takeshi Hondaat franceinfo
It’s so essential that he wants to master everything, even at the risk of annoying his son Goro: “He draws himself and he would absolutely like to do everything alone, but he has to surround himself. Even if the collaborators are excellent, in all cases, he wants to put his touch on it, retouch something, even if it is just one line.” But this is also what constitutes Miyazaki’s genius.
We heard that The Boy and the Heron was a testament, probably Miyazaki’s final film, which is over 80 years old. But nothing is less certain. Firstly because he stays in shape, he is omnipresent and his work by hand, without a computer, enchants him: “He gets up at 6 a.m., he arrives at the studio around 10 a.m., he works while talking non-stop, he really gives the impression of taking real pleasure in working”, testifies Takeshi Honda. According to his producer Toshio Suzuki, he is not about to stop: “He is 82 years old, I think he will continue until he is 90!”
See you somewhere in 2031!