Word is coming out of Japan confirming recent rumors that Japan's legendary animation house, Studio Ghibli, the long-time home of Oscar-winning animator Hayao Miyazaki, will be shutting its doors.
This sad and shocking news comes out of an appearance by Studio Ghibli general manager Toshio Suzuki on Japanese television that's been translated on Oh-Totoro.com (via The Film Stage), basically saying they would be closing the animation feature film department, maintaining a small staff to focus on trademarked material.
Studio Ghibli's founder Hayao Miyazaki retired last year after finishing his final film, the Oscar-nominated The Wind Rises, handing the studio over to Suzuki, who retired from producing to become the general manager. Before his retirement, Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli crated some of the most beloved and iconic 2D animated films of the past thirty years including Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Howl's Moving Castle and many more.
When Marie Was There, based on the novel by Joan G. Robinson and released in Japan on July 19, will be the studio's last feature film with no signs of a U.S. release date, as of yet. In the meantime, GKIDS will release Isao Takahata's The Tale of the Princess Kaguya in select cities on October 17.
