8-bit Miyazaki tribute film will fill you with nostalgia

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It's rainy out there for neighbors. Screengrab: Pablo Fernandez Eyre
It's rainy out there for neighbors. Screengrab: Pablo Fernandez Eyre

My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle. Ponyo, Kiki’s Delivery Service. Chances are you’re thinking of these lovely, peaceful, wonderful animated films right now.

And these are just a few of the fantastic and bewitching animated films that Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli have made together over the past couple of decades. Now, however, Miyazaki has retired after making one final, autobiographical film, The Wind Rises. Studio Ghibli has put its film-making on hold, as well, citing restructuring.

Independent filmmaker Pablo Fernandez Eyre was a little sad when he heard the news.

“I decided to make a tribute to show my love for movies like Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away,” he told Cult of Mac in an email. Check out his moving 8-bit piece below.

Can you see all the Miyazaki characters in that? There are a ton. First, though, Eyre created and published a video test of the rainy Totoro bus-stop to gauge the response from people who subscribe to his YouTube channel. They liked it, which encouraged him to pursue the final project.

The 46-second full tribute to the film master took about a month to make, with Eyre working up to two hours a day in his free time. He did the drawings in Photoshop and put it all together in Final Cut on his Mac.

“My whole idea about this tribute was to hopefully push Studio Ghibli to make video games of their films,” said Eyre. “And in 8-bit style if possible. That’s what I like the most.”

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