“When Marnie Was There” gets film treatment at Studio Ghibli

PanARMENIAN.Net - Anime hit factory Studio Ghibli will bring British author Joan G. Robinson's children's book When Marnie Was There to the big screen in summer 2014. The feature will be titled Omoide no Marnie, directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, The Hollywood Reporter said.

This is the first new production to be announced since Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki went public in September with his decision to retire.

Yonebayashi previously directed The Secret World of Arrietty, which took $145 million globally, including nearly $20 million in the U.S.

Miyazaki's final film, The Wind Rises, took more than $120 million in Japan and has been tipped as an Oscar contender. Ghibli's other 2013 release, The Tale of Princess Kaguya, directed by co-founder Isao Takahata, failed to light up the box office, spending only a week at No. 1, compared with two months for Miyazaki's film.

Robinson's story of an adopted girl who makes a ghostly friend by the English seaside will be transported to Japan.

When Marnie Was There will be distributed in Japan, as usual for Ghibli productions, by Toho.