Studio Ghibli is now approaching its 40th anniversary after opening in June 1985.
Studio Ghibli doesn’t have any need to introduce itself. For decades now, the studio has enjoyed a lofty reputation for releasing some of the best movies, animated or otherwise. Hayao Miyazaki has overseen plenty of the company’s hits alongside Studio Ghibli co-founders Toshi Suzuki and Isco Takahata. And in a recent interview, the future of Studio Ghibli was touched upon by none other than Goro Miyazaki, an award-winning film director and Hayao’s son.
This week, Goro Miyazaki made an appearance at the Cannes Film Festival to accept an honorary award for Studio Ghibli. It was there the director spoke with press about his father’s recent return to theaters. Last years, The Boy and the Heron debuted to critical acclaim and even won an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. The movie marks Hayao Miyazaki’s most recent as the 83-year-old artist left retirement nearly a decade ago. But as the company’s co-founders age, Goro Miyazaki admits the future of Studio Ghibli is uncertain.
“I’m not sure at all of what’s going to happen to Ghibli. The history of Ghibli is a history of failed generational handovers, after all,” the director confessed. “I think we’ll be OK once again thinking about what to do next once the two of them [Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki] are no longer around.”
There are few things harder in business than seeing a torch pass on, but Studio Ghibli has already laid the foundation for a bright future. Creators like Hayao Miyazaki may be getting older, but they still have a staff on hand to train. When it comes to animators, just about everyone can admit Studio Ghibli’s work helped inspire them at some point. So even when Studio Ghibli’s founders are all out of the picture, the company has built a legacy and fellowship to carry it into the future.
What do you make of this latest comment by Goro Miyazaki? Let us know what you think over on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!
