It was sad when Hayao Miyazaki announced his retirement after the release of The Wind Rises in 2013. Who could fault him for wanting to take off his iconic apron after working in the animation world since the early ’60? He could sit back, enjoy life without the burden of a release deadline and take in the beauty of The Ghibli Museum that celebrates his creations. But he wasn’t ready to completely detach from creating. Never-Ending Man has Miyazaki learning how to use CGI to create one more short film for an event at the museum. The documentary comes out on April 30 on Blu-ray with two different cuts of the film. Here’s the press release from GKIDS and Shout! Factory:
The Academy Award®-Winning Director of
SPIRITED AWAY, PRINCESS MONONOKE AND MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO
Begins a New Adventure
NEVER-ENDING MAN:
HAYAO MIYAZAKI
ON BLU-RAY™ & DVD COMBO PACK
APRIL 30, 2019
FROM GKIDS, DISTRIBUTED BY SHOUT! FACTORY
“Fascinating! A real treat!” – Peter Debruge, Variety
“A privileged glimpse into the creative processes of one of the greatest animators who ever lived.” – Kenneth Turan, The Los Angeles Times
“A precious and fascinating glimpse into the inner life of the world’s greatest living animator.” – Marc Savlov, The Austin Chronicle
Los Angeles, CA – The documentary feature Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki will be released on Blu-ray + DVD combo pack on April 30, 2019 from GKIDS and Shout! Factory. The film offers a new look at the rarely-interviewed filmmaker as he faces the challenges of working with unfamiliar CGI technology to create a new short film. Never-Ending Man will make its home video debut following a limited theatrical release this December.
This release contains two different versions: a 70-minute version in Japanese with English subtitles, and an alternate cut, a 48-minute broadcast version with English narration, which includes footage not included in the 70-minute version.
In 2013, Academy Award®-winning film director and animator Hayao Miyazaki suddenly announced his retirement at the age of 72. But he can’t shake his burning desire to create. After an encounter with young CGI animators, Miyazaki embarks on a new project to utilize CGI for the first time ever. But the artist, who has been adamant about hand-drawn animation, confronts many challenges that threaten to cancel the film. Can an old master who thinks he’s past his prime shine once again? This program goes behind the scenes over two years as Miyazaki overcomes struggles to create his short film Boro the Caterpillar using CGI.
About GKIDS
GKIDS is a producer and distributor of award-winning feature animation for both adult and family audiences. Since 2010, the company has scored an astounding ten Best Animated Feature Oscar nominations with The Secret of Kells in 2010, A Cat in Paris and Chico & Rita in 2012, Ernest & Celestine in 2014, The Tale of The Princess Kaguya and Song of the Sea in 2015, Boy and the World and When Marnie Was There in 2016, My Life as a Zucchini in 2017, and most recently, The Breadwinner in 2018. GKIDS also handles North American distribution for the famed Studio Ghibli library of films, one of the world’s most coveted animation collections with titles Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke and others.
GKIDS recently launched ANIMATION IS FILM, an annual LA-based film festival. The second edition took place October 19-21 at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood. ANIMATION IS FILM embraces the highest aspirations of animation as a cinematic art form and is a vocal advocate for filmmakers who push the boundaries of their work to the fullest range of expression that the medium is capable of.
About Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory, LLC is a diversified multi-platform media company devoted to producing, uncovering, preserving and revitalizing the very best of pop culture. Founders Richard Foos, Bob Emmer and Garson Foos have spent their entire careers sharing their music, television and film favorites with discerning consumers the world over. Shout! Factory’s entertainment offerings serve up feature films, classic and contemporary TV series, animation, live music and comedy specials. In addition, Shout! Factory maintains a vast entertainment distribution network which delivers culturally relevant programming, movie and audio content to all the leading digital service providers in North America and across multiple platforms. Shout! Factory owns and operates Shout! Studios, Scream Factory, Shout! Factory Kids, Shout! Factory Films, Mystery Science Theater 3000, Timeless Media Group and Shout! Factory TV. These riches are the result of a creative acquisition mandate that has established the company as a hotbed of cultural preservation and commercial reinvention. Shout! Factory is based in Los Angeles, California. For more on Shout! Factory, visit shoutfactory.com.
