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Miyazaki Considers Totally Selling Out


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Errgh. Okay, I’ll go ahead and admit I’m overreacting. But the news that Hayao Miyazaki is thinking about making a sequel to his 1992 film Porco Rosso has me really, really upset. Partially because Miyazaki has never made sequels before (Studio Ghibli only kinda sorta has), just like most artists of his caliber. But mostly because I love Porco Rosso. It’s my favorite Miyazaki film, and one of my favorite films of all time; yes, it’s not his most popular, but it’s his most adult, melancholy work, but is still immensely fun and funny… look, I could go on. But the point is that it doesn’t need a sequel, and I don’t know why Miyazaki is thinking about one.

Obviously, I should probably trust Hayao Miyazaki’s opinion about whether Porco Rosso needs a sequel… but I don’t. Frankly, Howl’s Moving Castle was his worst film, Ponyo got mixed reviews, and The Borrowers looks dull — he may have lost it. More importantly, a sequel will inevitably color my feelings on the first film, which I already think is perfect. I know we always say “Oh, it’s not like the first movie has disappeared,” but this is kind of bullshit. Nowadays when we think of Star Wars, we have to think of the prequels, even if we don’t like them. We can’t think of the Spider-Man movies without remembering Emo Peter dancing his way down the street alongside the first and second flicks. There’s an association. Yes, the first Porco Rosso movie won’t go away, per se, but I really, really don’t want to have to think of a shitty sequel when I think about one of my favorite animated films of all time. Sigh. (Via ANN)