My Neighbor Totoro: Last News

J. Kim Murphy Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron” looks to soar atop domestic charts this weekend after earning about $5.4 million across Friday and various preview screenings. Playing in 2,205 theaters, the GKids release has the benefit of Imax and other premium large format auditoriums to boost those numbers.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Studio Ghibli, the animation studio behind “My Neighbor Totoro” and the Oscar-winning animated feature “The Boy and the Heron,” is being awarded an Honorary Palme d’Or at the 77th annual Cannes Film Festival. It marks the first time that the award will be given to a group.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Miyazaki Hayao’s “The Boy and the Heron,” which recently won the Oscar for best animated feature film, will head to global streaming giant Netflix later this year, excluding the U.S. and Japan. The hand-drawn, critically acclaimed fantasy adventure film is part of a renewed worldwide catalog deal between Netflix and the Japanese producer Studio Ghibli, sales agent Goodfellas and independent distributor GKids.

On the heels of Best Animated Feature wins at the Oscars and Golden Globes, Hayao Miyazaki’s hand-drawn original The Boy and the Heron has been set to stream exclusively in the U.S. on Max, following the streamer’s move to extend its multiyear U.S. licensing deal with famed Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor The 10th annual Variety Artisans Awards at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival hosted its biggest crowd to date at this year’s event, with 2,000 attendees packing the Arlington Theater to hear artisans behind Oscar-nominated films discuss their projects. After one-on-one conversations, honorees Stephane Ceretti, visual effects supervisor on “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” Billie Eilish and Finneas, songwriters on “Barbie’s” “What Was I Made For,” Ludwig Göransson, composer on “Oppenheimer,” Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer, production designers on “Barbie,” Kazu Hiro, makeup artist on “Maestro,” Jennifer Lame, editor on “Oppenheimer,” Rodrigo Prieto, cinematographer on “Killers of the Flower Moon,” Michael Semanick, re-recording mixer on “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” and Holly Waddington, costume designer on “Poor Things,” gathered for a panel discussion.

“My Neighbor Totoro” — with a throaty, gravely American accent.The freaky heron takes a little boy named Mahito into a magical world where his thought-to-be-dead mother could be hiding.“Your mother, she’s awaiting your rescue. I’ll be your guide,” Pattinson croaks like a chain-smoking frog in his first-ever animated role.

Valerie Wu Intern Miyazaki’s first animated feature in 10 years, “The Boy and the Heron” has come out with its official English voice cast. GKIDS, which serves as animation group Studio Ghibli’s North American distributor, announced that the full cast will consist of Christian Bale as Shoichi Maki; Dave Bautista as The Parakeet King; Gemma Chan as Natsuko; Willem Dafoe as Noble Pelican; Karen Fukuhara as Lady Himi; Mark Hamill as Granduncle; Robert Pattinson as The Gray Heron and Florence Pugh as Kiriko. They’re joined by Luca Padovan as protagonist Mahito Maki and Mamoudou Athie, Tony Revolri and Dan Stevens as the Parakeets.

Peter Debruge Chief Film Critic More often than not, Hayao Miyazaki’s heroes have been young women — from Ponyo to Princess Mononoke, mischief-seeking Kiki to the two sisters spirited away by furry forest guardians in “My Neighbor Totoro.” That’s the most obvious departure the anime maestro’s fans will notice in “The Boy and the Heron”: It’s about a boy, Mahito Maki (voiced by Soma Santoki), grieving the loss of his mother during wartime. He’s surrounded by women, but this quest falls on the shoulders of a character who’s reportedly closer to Miyazaki than any of his previous protagonists.

Jaden Thompson Studio Ghibli has pulled back the curtain on Hayao Miyazaki’s animated fantasy epic “The Boy and the Heron,” the director’s first feature since his 2013 drama “The Wind Rises.” The movie will get a U.S. theatrical release on Dec. 8.

Sophia Sun Intern Hayao Miyazaki is back! It’s been 10 years since the release of his last film, “The Wind Rises,” and now the acclaimed Studio Ghibli director returns with his supposedly final film, “The Boy and the Heron.” Released in Japan on July 14 under the title “How Do You Live?,” the latest film takes its name from a best-selling novel of the same name penned by Japanese author Genzaburo Yoshino. The film, which released with little promotional material, follows the journey of a 12-year-old boy named Mahito Maki as he stumbles upon a fantasy world with a talking grey heron.

“The Boy and the Heron,” the first film in a decade by Japanese anime master Hayao Miyazaki, will open the 48th Toronto International Film Festival, organizers announced Thursday.

Naman Ramachandran The Royal Shakespeare Company’s theater adaptation of Studio Ghibli’s “My Neighbor Totoro” swept the Olivier Awards on Sunday, taking home six out of the nine categories it was nominated in, including the Sir Peter Hall Award for best director, awarded to Phelim McDermott and the Noël Coward Award for best entertainment or comedy play. The Almeida Theatre also had a successful night, with three of its productions taking home awards. Will Keen won best supporting actor for his performance in “Patriots” and “Tammy Faye” garnered two acting awards – Katie Brayben for best actress in a musical and Zubin Varla for best actor in a supporting role in a musical. Rebecca Frecknall’s revival of Tennessee Williams’ “A Streetcar Named Desire” won best actor for Paul Mescal’s portrayal of Stanley Kowalski and best actress in a supporting role for Anjana Vasan’s performance as Stella. The play also won the best revival award.

Kung Fu Panda and The Little Prince director Mark Osborne talked about his respect for Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki, his creative processes and the impact Netflix has had on global audiences for animation in a masterclass at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa on Tuesday. 

The acclaimed Japanese animation company Studio Ghibli indicated that it was collaborating with the Disney-owned production company Lucasfilm in a tweet shared to its account on Thursday.The tweet, which didn't include any text or additional details, featured a short clip opening with the recognizable Lucasfilm logo, before fading into Studio Ghibli's iconic blue logo featuring the title character from My Neighbor Totoro.Although the post doesn't explain what kind of collaboration is forthcoming, it may be an indication that Studio Ghibli is working on the upcoming second season of the animated series Star Wars: Vision, according to Polygon. Big collaboration? The iconic Japanese animation company Studio Ghibli teased a collaboration with Disney's Lucasfilm, which produces Star Wars, on ThursdayStudio Ghibli's short video post also didn't include any kind of music to hint at the potential project.Although Lucasfilm is also home to the Indiana Jones franchise, a Star Wars collaboration seems more likely, as that franchise has already dabbled extensively in animation.  The outlet suggested that the second season of Star Wars: Visions was the most logical project, as the first season had been animated by several Japanese animation firms, which would make Ghibli's participation on the second season a logical evolution.The first season was created in anime-style, though the anthology series featured a different look depending on the episode.

Studio Ghibli took to Twitter on Thursday to hint at a collaboration with Lucasfilm.

Pat Carroll, an Emmy-Award-winning screen, stage star and voice actress, has died. She was 95.

Naman Ramachandran France’s Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinemas kicks off Feb. 1 with a gala screening of Iranian auteur Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s 2001 Cannes winner “Kandahar” and will conclude on Feb.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefStreaming giant Netflix has licensed rights to “Earwig and the Witch,” the most recent animated feature from Japan’s Studio Ghibli. The deal excludes the U.S.

Marta Balaga Finland’s Tekele Productions, composed of Julia Elomäki, Miia Haavisto, Marja Pihlaja and Tia Talli, will present three new projects at the Finnish Film Affair this year. “Bad Women” will be shown in the Fiction in Progress section, Variety has learned, while Ulla Heikkilä’s “Viva la Vida” – about a Finnish expat family living in southern Spain – and “The Beast Friend” will make their way to Fiction in Development.

Nippon TV, Japan's multiplatform entertainment powerhouse, said Friday that it will produce and globally distribute Joe Hisaishi & World Dream Orchestra 2021, a concert featuring the composer's iconic scores from Studio Ghibli's Princess Mononoke and other works. The 90-minute concert will be held and recorded April 27 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theater, and Nippon TV will then sell the worldwide broadcast rights to the show.

GKIDS announced on Thursday its domestic release plans for Studio Ghibli’s newest feature, Earwig and the Witch. The film will open in select theaters on Feb.