Next Club Meeting:October 17, 2026,at the Fountaindale Public Library in Bolingbrook from 11:00 am - 5:00 pm
The Animatrix Network is an anime & manga fan club located in the Southwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. We usually meet on the third Saturday of each month (except when holidays or conventions coincide). The meetings are free and open to the public. Join us for a day filled with anime.
This site provides news, reviews, commentaries, and previews of the world of anime and everything it inspires in today's pop culture, such as live-action films, comics, music, art, and other weird things to enjoy and contemplate.
Studio Ghibli’s new A Night in the Valley of Witches gets
praise from legendary filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki
On July 8, 2026, Studio Ghibli premiered the 14-minute short film A Night in the Valley of Witches at Ghibli Park in Japan. Set in the park’s “Valley of Witches,” the fantasy anime explores mysterious magical events that happen after dark from the perspective of a confused night-shift worker. Director Goro Miyazaki said his father’s reaction was “insane in a good way.”
Co-directed by Goro Miyazaki and Ghibli veteran Akihiko Yamashita, the short takes fans into Ghibli Park’s magical Valley of Witches, featuring locations inspired by Kiki’s Delivery Service and Howl’s Moving Castle.
Yamashita previously worked on Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Mary and the Witch’s Flower, making his involvement a special connection to Ghibli’s history.
The short also features the park’s 65-foot-tall replica of Howl’s Castle. Goro once joked about the stationary structure:
“Howl’s castle is a ‘moving castle,’ but the castle in the park stays seated the whole time.”
“It’s not good for the [visitor’s] health if it doesn’t move.”
For Goro, the project marks another step in his long journey at Studio Ghibli. His early work, including Tales From Earthsea, faced criticism from his father, but he continued refining his own creative voice. Hayao later described Earwig and the Witch as “rather interesting,” despite its mixed reception.
With Goro now involved in discussions about Ghibli’s future alongside new president Kenichi Yoda, while Hayao Miyazaki remains deeply involved in selecting projects, the short feels like a meeting of Ghibli’s past and future.
A Night in the Valley of Witches is currently screening exclusively at Ghibli Park in Aichi, Japan.
This is Ghibli’s first major project after The Boy and the Heron, which was released in 2023. The short film titled Majyo no Tani no Yoru, which translates to Night in the Valley of Witches, was displayed at the Orion Theater in the park’s Ghibli Grand Warehouse starting July 8. This 14-minute-long film is directed by two renowned animators of the studio, Goro Miyazaki and Akihiko Yamashita.
Following the film’s announcement, the official website of Ghibli Park shared further details on the film, along with the first look featuring the main characters. The story takes place in the Ghibli Park’s Valley of Witches, centering around a new employee at the park who gets entangled in mysterious events, where ordinary requests such as repairing buildings and fireplaces turn into a major disaster by some unseen force.
The film showcases real buildings from the park, including the Guchoki Bakery, Howl’s Castle, Hatter’s Hat Shop, The Witch’s House, and more. The promotional film will be shown in the theatre, accompanied by a stage greeting where Goro Miyazaki and Akihiko Yamashita will be present. The theater hall has a 150-person capacity, and it will be on a first-come, first-served basis.
In 1977 Rankin Bass released their version of an animated THE HOBBIT film on television in 1977. The studio they used was a Japanese firm called TOPCRAFT. In 1985 they went bankrupt. However, all their assets and animators were bought by Hayao Miyazaki and reformed as STUDIO GHIBILI where he went to produce their first feature: NAAUSICA in the VALLEY OF THE WIND thus kickstarting a long string of animated features known world wide.
There's no better way to embrace the calm and aesthetic vibes than with this beautiful Ghibli-themed art video! Showcasing incredible works inspired by Studio Ghibli, these artists bring their creative imagination to life.
What if Terminator 2 was created by Studio Ghibli?
Thanks to AI technologies we can explore what Terminator 2 characters (T-800 by Arnold Schwarzenegger, T-1000 by Robert Patrick, John Connor, Sarah Connor, etc.) might have looked like if the story was set in Sudio Ghibli anime world.
This Might actually be made Illegal soon...
AI generated Studio Ghibli memes might actually get made illegal in Japan. Or maybe they won't. Then we talk about how artists all over the world are having an existential crisis because AI generated anime memes are often better than some people's hand drawn art.
(Source: Yahoo!News) Hayao Miyazaki is revered as a living legend, a figure whose influence rivals Walt Disney himself. Since Miyazaki cofounded Studio Ghibli nearly four decades ago, the animation house has released some of the most popular anime films ever made, including 2023’s Oscar-winning animated feature The Boy and the Heron.
The painstakingly crafted, hand-drawn Ghibli style is beloved by fans, and earlier this week, it was co-opted by the GPT-4o model in OpenAI's image generator. This resulted in a flood of Ghibli-inspired AI memes across social media, as well as pushback by anti-AI activists and ardent fans of Miyazaki and his studio.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli's The Boy and the Heron film for Best Animated Feature Film in the 96th Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday. The film was competing with Elemental, Nimona, Robot Dreams, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse in the category. Miyazaki and producer Toshio Suzuki could not accept the award in person. This is Miyazaki's second film to win after Spirited Away in 2003. He also received nominations for Howl's Moving Castle and The Wind Rises.
Hayao Miyazaki's first feature film in 10 years, The Boy and the Heron is a hand-drawn, original story written and directed by the Academy Award-winning director. Produced by Studio Ghibli co-founder Toshio Suzuki, the film features a musical score from Miyazaki's long-time collaborator Joe Hisaishi. The theme song for the film "Spinning Globe" was penned and performed by global J-pop superstar Kenshi Yonezu.
After debuting earlier this Summer in Japan, Hayao Miyazaki's latest film, The Boy and the Heron, is finally coming to the big screen in domestic theaters. As anticipation for the acclaimed director’s final animated outing, the official Fandango Twitter page has revealed the first images from the film, which promise to be another visually stunning masterpiece from Studio Ghibli. The images showcase the film’s characters in the middle of sweeping landscapes alongside a tease of fantastical elements that are typically featured in Studio Ghibli projects. Featuring the traditional art style that fans have come to love from Studio Ghibli, The Boy and the Heron is certainly shaping up to be another visually compelling animated film. Whether the film will similarly resonate with an international audience remains to be seen, but given the acclaim it has received in Japan so far, fans are likely in for another timeless masterpiece from the studio.
Three years after the war began, Mahito lost his biological mother, Hisako. His father, Katsuichi, who ran a munitions factory, remarried Hisako's younger sister, Natsuko, and Mahito was evacuated to his mother's family home. A tower where the blue heron lived had been built near the mansion where they evacuated. Mahito tried to open the blocked entrance of the tower and enter, but he was stopped by the maidservants of the mansion. That night, Mahito heard from Natsuko about the origin of the tower. The tower had been built by his great uncle, who had apparently disappeared in the tower. Also, because there had been a huge labyrinth in the basement of the tower, Natsuko's father (Mahito's grandfather) had blocked the entrance to protect it from rising water in the nearby river.
On his first day at the evacuated school, Mahito did not fit in well and was assaulted by local boys on his way home. Mahito then hit himself on the head with a stone on the side of the road, inflicting severe bleeding on himself. When he was sleeping in his room, a blue heron suddenly entered through the window and attacked him, so Mahito confronted the blue heron with a wooden sword. The blue heron said, "You must not have seen your mother's body. Your mother is waiting for your help," and began to be wrapped in fish and frogs, and disappeared. Mahito made his own bow and arrow from the feathers left by the blue heron.
Misunderstanding that Mahito's head injury was caused by local boys, Katsuichi got angry and complained to the school. On the other hand, Natsuko suffered from morning sickness due to pregnancy, and although she repeatedly told those around her that she wanted to see Mahito's face, Mahito could not accept Natsuko and had a curt attitude.
Mahito saw Natsuko disappear into the forest one day. In his room, Mahito discovered a book of novels titled "How do you live?" with a letter that Hisako had left for Mahito, and he burst into tears while reading it. At dusk that day, while the mansion was in a panic due to Natsuko's disappearance, Mahito and his maidservant Kiriko followed Natsuko into the back door of the tower and were trapped. In the tower, Mahito got angry when the blue heron showed him a fake Hisako and shot the blue heron with an arrow made from the feathers of the blue heron, piercing the blue heron's beak. Then, the blue heron became unable to return from the half-birdman (heron man). Ordered by a mysterious person on the top floor of the tower, Mahito and Kiriko were invited to the "lower world".
For the continuation of the story, please watch the movie.
Live On Stage in theaters April 23, 25, 27 & May 2
Hayao Miyazaki’s Academy Award-winning animated feature film comes to life in this first-ever stage adaptation, full of dazzling sets, captivating musical numbers, and wondrous puppets of beloved characters. Adapted and directed by Tony Award-winner John Caird (Les Misérables), two unique casts and performances were filmed during the show’s acclaimed 2022 run at Tokyo’s historic Imperial Theatre, featuring Kanna Hashimoto and Mone Kamishiraishi as Chihiro.
Today we are wandering through a moss-filled temple in the Japanese countryside of Ishikawa. Quite possibly one of the most beautiful temple grounds that the country of Japan has to offer. Today, we explore the beautiful grounds of the Natadera Temple.
‘Earwig and the Witch,’ Gets English-Language Oscar Qualification“
Earwig and the Witch,” the first CG-animated feature from Studio Ghibli, directed by Goro Miyazaki (“From Up on Poppy Hill,” “Tales from Earthsea”) — and son of legendary Hayao Miyazaki — will get an English-language release for Oscar qualification from GKIDS. The feature is slated to air on NHK in Japan December 30, 2020. GKIDS will release the film theatrically in North America in early 2021.
The voice work is headlined by Oscar nominee Richard E. Grant (“Can You Ever Forgive Me?”), Kacey Musgraves (“Golden Hour”), and Dan Stevens (“Legion”). The six-time Grammy-winning Musgraves will also record an English version of the theme song, “Don’t Disturb Me.”
Based on the children’s novel “Earwig and the Witch” by Diana Wynne Jones, the fantasy concerns the young Earwig (Taylor Paige Henderson) growing up in a British orphanage in the countryside with no idea that her mother (Musgraves) possessed magical powers. Her life changes suddenly she’s forced to live with a selfish witch, Bella Yaga (Vanessa Marshall), and her associate, The Mandrake (Grant). As the headstrong young girl sets out to uncover the secrets of her new guardians, she discovers a world of spells and potions, and a mysterious song that holds the key to unlocking her family’s secret identity.
“Earwig and the Witch,” an official 2020 Cannes Film Festival selection, is produced by Ghibli co-founder Toshio Suzuki and scripted by Ghibli vet Keiko Niwa (“From Up on Poppy Hill,” “Tales from Earthsea”) and Emi Gunji, an assistant director on “From Up on Poppy Hill.”
“Earwig and the Witch” obviously represents uncharted territory for the hand-drawn studio. In fact, at a press conference earlier this year, Miyazaki said that he was on his own with a young staff because of his previous expertise in CG with the anime series “Ronja, The Robber’s Daughter.” As for the heroine, he added that she marks a Ghibli departure because “she’s a strong girl who does every conceivable thing to live how she wants to live.”
21 of Studio Ghibli’s films are coming to Netflix, starting on February 1, 2020. Get spirited away into the visionary animation studio’s charming, whimsical world.
This is not an official licensed product. This independent non-profit short film is entirely self-funded and was made in Brazil as a tribute to the great artist Hayao Miyazaki, who has always been an inspiration to me. We are not a large company. Rather, we are a group of friends who have been working on this project for almost four years, fueled only by our love of the art. We are proud to finally release our first teaser trailer. We will release the film online free of charge, as our only aim is to pay homage to Mr. Miyazaki and the entire wonderful team at Studio Ghibli. Our dream is to donate all of our costumes and props (such as the glider, gun, etc) to the Ghibli Museum (in Tokyo, Japan), as a token of appreciation and also as a testament to the great influence Miyazaki has on Brazilian fans and artists who share his passion for fantastical story-telling. WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP US COMPLETE OUR FILM? We are still in post-production and in search of partners to help push us over the finish line. If you are interested in participating, please contact me directly. My social networks are below.
"Studio Ghibli has a bit of a monopoly when it comes to anime in the west. This video series, Beyond Ghibli, takes a look at the best of the business outside of their bubble. In this video I take a look at the best directors in Japan, both living and dead, and my favorite films from their portfolios."
In 2013, film director and animator Hayao Miyazaki suddenly announced his retirement at the age of 72. But he couldn't shake his burning desire to create. After an encounter with young CGI animators, Miyazaki embarked on a new endeavor, his first project ever to utilize CGI. But the artist, who had been adamant about hand-drawn animation, confronted many challenges. The film even faces the danger of being cancelled. 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 using CGI.
[Source: SyFyWire] For three decades, My Neighbor Totoro has withstood the test of time as one of Studio Ghibli’s greatest anime films. The forest spirit, Totoro, has become so beloved that Studio Ghibli adopted him as their official mascot, and he remains a very popular character to this day. Now, Totoro is even getting his own restaurant in Bangkok.
Via SoraNews24, May’s Garden House Restaurant is the first Totoro-themed restaurant officially licensed by Studio Ghibli. The restaurant isn’t officially open yet, but it’s currently welcoming hungry diners during its preview period while collecting feedback. There’s even a giant Totoro at the entrance of the dining room, which will probably be one of the most popular attractions there.
Studio Ghibli co-founder Toshio Suzuki was heavily involved with the creation of the restaurant, thanks to his friendship with the proprietor, Kanyada; whose nickname is “May.” The report notes that Suzuki was so taken by Kanyada’s chicken wings and sympathetic to her business struggles that he came up with the idea for May’s Garden House Restaurant. He also created the restaurant's official logo.
While there are numerous Totoro characters placed throughout the restaurant, May’s Garden House will also be home to Colko and Peeko, two new creations made and designed by Suzuki himself. Colko and Peeko are also the restaurant's official mascots.
There are a few parts of May’s Garden House that aren’t yet completed, including a playground for children, an orchid glasshouse, a boat water pool, and more. Even the menu hasn’t been finalized yet, although it will include dishes inspired by Totoro and his spirit pals. But we’re not quite sure what this Catbus snack is supposed to be.
May’s Garden House Restaurant also has its own official Instagram account, which will continue to entice visitors even after the grand opening later this this month.
Director of Grave of the Fireflies and Princess Kaguya
Co-Founder of Studio Ghibli
[Source: AnimeNewsNetwork) Anime director and Studio-Ghibli co-founder Isao Takahata passed away in a Tokyo hospital on Thursday. He was 82.
The Japanese websites Sanspo and NTV News 24 reported the news, and both cited unnamed related parties who said that Takahata had been in declining health since last summer.
Takahata joined Toei Douga (now Toei Animation) in 1959 after graduating from the University of Tokyo. He had a long career directing such classics as Little Norse Prince Valiant (Taiyō no Ōji - Hols no Daibōken), Alps no Shōjo Heidi, Anne of Green Gables, and Panda! Go, Panda! before he co-founded Studio Ghibli with Hayao Miyazaki. He went on to create the feature films Grave of the Fireflies, Only Yesterday, Pom Poko, and My Neighbors the Yamadas.
Takahata's final film as director was The Tale of Princess Kaguya, which debuted in 2013. Takahata told entertainment news website Variety in 2016, "I have several projects that I still have in mind that I am currently working on to get closer to realizing. Whether those will be finalized as films is something that no one, myself included, can know."
