We can effectively show wind blowing during a moving scene and such. Whereas the entire screen is in motion in a live-action film, with hand-drawn animation we get to choose what we want to bring across to the viewer. In America, it isn’t very often that we get to see animated films that are about regular people.ĭramatic expression is certainly one of animation’s strengths, but I believe hand-drawn animation is particularly effective with films like Marnie that appeal to the senses. I do occasionally refer to previous Ghibli films, but I try to develop such expressions further than just using them as they are. In terms of Marnie, I thought a great deal about how best to adapt the qualities of the book onto the screen. Just as viewers now look at the forest and wonder if Totoro may be out there, I wanted viewers to wonder if Arrietty may be out there somewhere in the grasses. She’s introduced at first as Anna’s ideal friend before she gradually becomes the real Marnie.ĭid you channel any of the pre-existing Ghibli films for inspiration?Īrrietty was influenced by Whisper of the Heart, and I was also conscious of My Neighbor Totoro while making it. This way, it’s okay for Marnie to be an idealized visualization. The degree to which she’s a product of Anna’s own heart is emphasized more than in the book. She needs to be distinctive enough to stick to the viewer’s heart, and so, setting aside all the contexts, I decided to make her blonde-haired and blue-eyed. But I couldn’t picture a Japanese Marnie. If we’re making this film for a Japanese audience, I figured it was only natural for it to be set in Japan. One of the first decisions made in the production was to relocate the story to Japan, and yet you decided to give Marnie blonde hair. What I wanted was to portray a life-size 12-year-old girl. But I think there’s value in making a film about a girl like Anna who has such negativity in her and yet manages to take a big first step. Certainly, strong and upbeat protagonists appeal to audiences more. At Ghibli, it’s difficult to make a film based on a book that Miyazaki isn’t a fan of. I’m sure one of the reasons for my producer’s selection of the material was that Miyazaki was a fan of the book. Was it a conscious decision on the part of the company to make a film that was about a different kind of girl? Anna is obviously in a very different place: shy, downbeat, still developing. Studio Ghibli is known for their strong young female heroines, who are often very upbeat and energetic about life. Considering that ending I wrote, I knew I had to end my life of borrowing. But I wrote the ending of the story so that the tiny people break loose from their life of borrowing and leap into the wilderness, their hearts swelling with hope. But the time that Anna and Marnie spend together is so sweet and fascinating that I began wanting to see what Ghibli’s terrific art department and animators could do with it, so I ultimately decided to accept.Īfter directing The Secret World of Arrietty from Miyazaki’s script, did you feel strongly like you had to go out on your own and make something yourself this time out?Īrrietty was a story about tiny people who borrow things in order to live, so in making the film, I figured it’s fine to borrow from the ideas and skills of my forerunners in telling the story. It was a terrific, moving story, but too much of it took place inside her head for it to be suitable for animation, so I figured it was too difficult and turned it down. ![]() I hadn’t read the book before it was handed to me. Robinson’s novel of When Marnie Was There? What was your first reaction when your producer handed you Joan G. Time Out New York connected with Yonebayashi over email to discuss working with Miyazaki, the end of Ghibli, and the slightly dimmed future of animation. ![]() Robinson novel of the same name, Marnie tells the story of a depressed 12-year-old orphan who makes an otherworldly new friend when she moves in with her aunt and uncle in Hokkaido. If his new film does prove to be Ghibli’s swansong, however, it sure makes a fond farewell. Marnie director Hiromasa Yonebayashi, who once represented a new generation of Ghibli, recently left the company. The house that Totoro built hasn’t closed its doors for good, but when founding fathers Hayao Miyazaki ( Spirited Away) and Isao Takahata ( The Tale of the Princess Kaguya) both announced their retirements, it was only a matter of time before Ghibli was forced to stop and consider how to move forward.Īlas, there isn’t much reason for optimism. After three decades of providing the world with some of the most memorable characters and stories in all of filmmaking ( animated or otherwise), Japan’s legendary Studio Ghibli has ceased production, making this month’s excellent When Marnie Was Therethe company’s last feature film for the foreseeable future.
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