Fans of master Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki may be justified for feeling let down; he has not released a single film after 2004's Howl's Moving Castle. This fact, interspersed with frequent rumors of his retirement, has given umbrage to scores of his devotees.

But those in the know are aware that Miyazaki and his staff have, in fact, been working on his next venture at his headquarters, Studio Ghibli, since 2004. The Ponyo on a Cliff is scheduled for release next July in Japan, and the plot of the movie reportedly came from the childhood experiences of his son Goro Miyazaki, now an animation director. His longtime collaborator, Joe Hisaishi, is composing the music once more.

Inspired by his son

The Ponyo on a Cliff is an animated adventure centered on a 5-year-old boy, and his relationship with a goldfish princess who longs to become human.

The outline of the original script became apparent when Miyazaki spent holiday at the Seto Inland Sea, where the views are stunning. According to the movie's producer Toshio Suzuki, the film can be regarded as "The Little Mermaid of Japanese Miyazaki", for about 70-80% of the movie apparently shares some thematic elements with The Little Mermaid.

The 5-year-old boy Sosuke, one of the leading characters, is based on Miyazaki's son, Goro, who is reported to have maintained a negative relationship with him for a long time, according to Suzuki.

Suzuki noted that the cause of these strained relations, from Miyazaki's standpoint, came from his continued absence as a father when Goro was a boy.

"My father is just like a devil when he is working. He goes on business trips frequently, so my mother has to work harder than others," said Goro during an interview, after his first movie Tales from Earthsea debuted in 2006.

Goro served as managing director of Ghibli Museum in Mitaka from 2001 to 2005, and has worked in his father's production company since then.

According to Goro, his father was strongly opposed to his decision to be an animation director from the very beginning. What's more, there was little or no contact between them for the following two years.

"He was very strict with my staff and me during the production," Goro added. "I've noticed afterwards that the movie I created was indeed a dream of his. To this extent, his fastidiousness is understandable. He scores nil as a father, but full marks as an animation director."

The Ponyo on a Cliff is widely considered his effort to resurrect relations with his son.

Ambitious creations

The movie's CGI-devoid, pastel-colored, hand-painted look is deliberate.

"The skill of drawing is basic to the animation creator, although it is the era of technology. Is that the result we want -- that all animation follow the Disney style? Definitely not," said Miyazaki in 2006's The Secret Signal of Hayao Miyazaki by Hiroshi Aoi. "I've thought about retirement several times, but I'm eager to present it in my own way when I've read a moving screenplay. So I'm still working in the world of animation."