Studio Ghibli Closing 2014, Shutting Down? [RUMORS] Japanese Anime Movie Production Company 'Housecleaning' For Now After Hayao Miyazaki Retirement

Over the weekend, a rumor started circulating that the iconic Japanese animation studio, Studio Ghibli, was shutting down nearly a year after co-founder and Walt Disney of Anime, Hayao Miyazaki, retired. The other co-founder and current general manager, Toshio Suzuki, has cleared up this rumor a bit, explaining that the studio might be dissolved, but for now they are doing some "housecleaning" in order to try to save it.

This rumor started when a clip from the Ghibli documentary, The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness, started floating around the Internet with a quote from Miyazaki.

"The future is clear. It's going to fall apart," he says. "I can already feel it."

This documentary has yet to be release in the U.S., so we only have this clip to go on, which could have been taken out of context.

So is the company closing down? The short answer is no!

Suzuki hasn't announced the closing of the studio, but says, "On what to do with Studio Ghibli's future, it is by no means impossible to keep producing [movies] forever."

Anime News Network reports:

While there has been talk among some about dissolving the studio outright, Suzuki emphasized that the truth is that the studio is considering "housecleaning" or restructuring for now. The end result would be "rebuilding" the studio and creating an environment for the next generation.

So Ghibli is not closing just yet, but who knows what the future holds for the iconic Anime studio. What do you think of this news? Let us know in the comments section below!

(via Slash Film)