Studio Ghibli Is Releasing Hayao Miyazaki’s Last Film With No Trailers Or Ads
By Nicole Rodrigues, 06 Jun 2023
In the months leading up to a film, production studios would typically start pushing out trailers, visuals, and press junkets. Contrary to this routine, Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki, a director and animator who was never one to stick to traditional confines, are taking a rather bare-bones approach to his last movie with the animation house and giving no promotion whatsoever to the upcoming How Do You Live?.
As revealed in an interview with producer Toshio Suzuki, translated by the Twitter account Catsuka, the only promotional item for the film would be a poster, seen below. The imagery is obscure and leaves much to the imagination as fans are left with a simple blue sketch of a bird.
Today producer Toshio Suzuki declared that Studio Ghibli won't publish any image / trailer / advertisment before the release of new Hayao Miyazaki's movie "How do you live ?" on July 14th.
— Catsuka ðî¨ (@catsuka) June 2, 2023
This old teaser poster will remain the only picture available.https://t.co/Is13FxZIZ7 https://t.co/thY5idUvTf pic.twitter.com/SePSPFqtYS
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Suzuki referenced an unnamed American movie that had previewed several trailers which spoiled the plot before it was even released.
While unorthodox, it’s hard to say that no promotion isn’t promotion in itself. The announcement has since picked up a lot of press and seems to have gained just as much traction as if a trailer had been released beforehand. Teasing fans with as little information as possible seems like a pretty viable tactic, and adds to the allure of Miyazaki’s work ethic and the mysterious nature of the How Do You Live?.
Not much about the film has been known since it was first announced. There has been no word on its plot, cast, or what period Miyazaki will set it in. The only information given was that it would be based on a book of the same name, and follows a young boy named Koperu who lives alone with his mother after his father passed away. He is close to his uncle, who regularly visits and routinely records their time together in a journal. The movie promises to be a coming-of-age film that explores the pains of growing up and loss.
Miyazaki may depart from the book’s more somber and quiet tone for something more whimsical, as in many of his other productions. This is also said to be his last film. However, he had mentioned this before and returned to the animation studio after other retirement announcements. That said, if it really is his last, it would be one to remember.
How Do You Live? will hit theaters in Japan on July 14.
[via Hollywood Reporter and Collider, cover image via Studio Ghibli / IMDb]