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Hayao Miyazaki Works With CG Animator Yūhei Sakuragi

CG animator Yūhei Sakuragi announced in a Niconico live broadcast for Japan Animator Expo on Monday that he is teaming with Studio Ghibli's Hayao Miyazaki for an upcoming project.

Sakuragi also mentioned that advertising animation studio Steve N' Steven, which was founded in 2011, is working on the project.

Sakuragi served as CGI director on The Case of Hana & Alice, which opened in Japan in February. Most recently, Sakuragi wrote and directed the short Japan Animator Expo short "Neon Genesis Impacts," which debuted on Friday. The short was animated at Steve N' Steven.

Studio Ghibli's Goro Miyazaki (Ronia the Robber's Daughter, Tales from Earthsea, From Up On Poppy Hill), Hayao Miyazaki's son, revealed in June that his father was working on a CG-animated short for the Ghibli Museum. Studio Ghibli co-founder Toshio Suzuki added in July that the short will be 10-minutes long, but it took three years to complete. The new work will be Hayao Miyazaki's first CG-animated work.

The short will be about a small hairy caterpillar named Boro (pictured below). Miyazaki sketched the character in 1995, and started planning a full length movie around the same time he was working on Princess Mononoke.

Despite his retirement from feature films in 2013, Hayao Miyazaki continues working on a multitude of projects, including a samurai manga for Model Graphix magazine, short films for the Ghibli Museum, and the Japanese cover for Westall's The Call and Other Stories.

Hayao Miazaki also told The Hollywood Reporter last year, "I do want to continue making short films such as the ones we show at the Ghibli Museum. I will continue making those. We will continue to make short films for the Ghibli Museum with a small staff of animators. But I think gradually it will quietly disappear in the future."

Regarding CG animation, Hayao Miyazaki told Variety last year, "I think talent decides everything. More than the method, what's important is the talent using it. There's nothing inherently wrong or right about a method, whether it be pencil drawings or 3-D CG. Pencil drawings don't have to go away, but those who continue to use the medium lack talent. So sadly, it will fade away."

Sources: Variery, animeanime.jp