If I could live in any filmmaker’s works for the rest of my days, hands down I would choose Hayao Miyazaki. Japan’s greatest animation director makes such warm and heartfelt films for children and families while personally having a very gruff and nihilistic personality. It’s a fascinating dichotomy. After his retirement from feature films in 2013, Miyazaki announced he would be returning to work on the short film Boro the Caterpillar, his first CG-animated project.
Miyazaki’s journey from retirement to full-fledged working again is depicted in the new documentary, Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki, out in select theaters from GKIDS and Fathom Events on December 13 and 18. Check out our exclusive look at the movie below.
The clip shows storyboards for Boro‘s birth with Miyazaki’s narration before the team of computer animators begin turning those character designs and storyboards into 3D objects and scenarios. Miyazaki watches intently before uttering, “Fascinating,” a short and succinct remark typical of the filmmaker, who will turn 78 on January 5.
The tone of the documentary, directed by Kaku Arakawa for Japanese television in 2016, is subdued and still, perfectly befitting the Studio Ghibli founder’s vibe. It’ll be interesting to see his wonderment at CG animation, given how cautious and publicly suspicious of it he’d been for so long.
For information on locations and tickets for Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki, visit GKIDS tickets or GKIDS’ Facebook and Twitter.
Image: GKIDS
Kyle Anderson is the Associate Editor for Nerdist. He’s the writer of Studio Ghibli retrospectives Miyazaki Masterclass, Takahata Textbook, and Ghibli Bits. Follow him on Twitter!
