Hayao Miyazaki has retired and Studio Ghibli last year announced a "restructuring" and a "hiatus". It's still not quite clear what that all means, and it seems incredible that it could possibly mean the end of the world-renowned, much adored animation house. But if it's at the very least going to be a good while before a revived Ghibli presents its next masterpiece, they're leaving us on a high note with Hiromasa Yonebayashi's When Marnie Was There. Here's the latest trailer.
The story involves a girl sent one summer from her foster home in the city one to a quiet town by the sea in Hokkaido. Feeling somewhat isolated as an outsider, she's pleased to encounter new new bestie Marnie, who lives in the spooky old Marsh House. But there are questions: their friendship has to remain a secret, and Marnie can't move far from the mansion...
Purists who prefer their Ghibli in the original Japanese with subtitles will note that the above trailer is the now-traditional all-star American dub. The English-language voices on this occasion come courtesy of Hailee Steinfeld, Kathy Bates, Ellen Burstyn, John C. Reilly, Kiernan Shipka, Geena Davis, Catherine O'Hara, Raini Rodriguez and Vanessa Williams.
Like Howl's Moving Castle and Arrietty, When Marnie Was There is based on a western source: in this case the 1967 novel by Joan G. Robinson (published here by HarperCollins). The film is out in the US on May 22, but we don't have a date in the UK yet.