It seems the rising sun is soon to set on the career of Japanese Filmmaking legend Hayao Miyazaki. After a long career which has achieved international renown with the animation company Studio Ghibli, Miyazaki will be retiring after the release of his latest film, THE WIND RISES, which is due early next year and already generating a wash of Oscar buzz.
While the news is certainly sad, it’s comforting to see that Miyazaki’s legacy will continue through the fabled anime studio which has recently announced plans to adapt children’s novel ‘When Marnie Was There’ by Joan G. Robinson. The book tells the story of a young misfitted girl who is sent to stay in Norfolk by her foster parents. Out in the sand dunes she meets Marnie, a strange little girl who fast becomes her first ever friend, but Marnie is not all she seems…
This boils down to a sweet coming of age story with a good old ghostly twist and it should be in keeping with the studios prior work. The films screenplay will be co-written by Niwa Keiko (FROM UP ON POPPY HILL, OCEAN WAVES) and Ando Masahi who worked as character designer on SPIRITED AWAY and PRINCESS MONONOKE. We’ll certainly be on the look out for this one as well as Miyazaki’s last venture THE WIND RISES.
You can check out the official website for ‘When Marnie Was There’ or as its known in Japanese ‘Omoide No Marnie’ here: marnie.jp.
Source: FirstShowing
