The Wind Rises

Hayao Miyazaki's most recent animation releases today in theaters across North America, called The Wind Rises. I was shocked when I thought I read that it would be his final animation before retiring, but found that his statement was retracted on New Years Eve of 2013. Yay! Apparently he's been coming in and out of retirement for years, but I'm very happy to report that he, as of now, intends to produce at least another.



Reading the synopsis and watching the trailer leads me to believe that this particular story is a bit more grown up than his last film Ponyo. It's supposed to be about a man who had wanted to become a pilot, but couldn't because of his nearsightedness. Instead, he used his genius to design and create beautiful aircraft. This story is set in the era of the Great Depression and I suppose goes into that and some Japanese history and events like the "great Kanto earthquake of 1923". I'm really excited to hopefully see the movie this weekend.

Fun facts! Joseph Gordon-Levitt is the voice of the main character Jiro Horikoshi. Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Stanley Tucci, Elijah Wood, and Glee actor Darren Criss are also starring in the movie. I'm really digging the cast. I hope it is yet another masterpeice, and I'm going to go ahead and throw on the hype I've been hearing, because it's already gotten rave reviews from Japan's release last year.

Other Hayao Miyazaki films I've seen and highly recommend (they* really are some of my top favorite movies of all time, order intended):

*1. Spirited Away
*2. Howl's Moving Castle
*3. Princess Mononoke
4. My Neighbor Totoro
5. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
6. Kiki's Delivery Service
7. Castle in the Sky